Biamp has announced its acquisition of Audioprof Group International from 3d Investors of Gent, Belgium. The move brings Community Loudspeakers based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Apart Audio, based in Antwerp, Belgium, under the Biamp umbrella.
Founded in 1968 by speaker design pioneer Bruce Howze, Community Loudspeakers has a long history of speaker design firsts on its road to becoming today’s manufacturer of a broad range of premium speakers, targeting indoor and outdoor applications including commercial, leisure, stadiums, and other large venues. Most recently, Community introduced the L Sereis LVH-900 Beamforming Venue Horn, continuing this tradition of innovation.
Apart Audio offers a broad array of speakers as well as amplifiers, mixers, controllers, and paging stations as a single-vendor solution for small and mid-size venues including retail, food service, education, and small offices. The company is well-established in Europe and entered North America in 2018, a market in which Biamp’s distribution system amins to boost.
‘Building a comprehensive line-up of speakers has been a priority of mine as we move to position Biamp as a full line provider of professional audiovisual solutions,’ says Biamp President, CEO and co-Chairman, Rashid Skaf. ‘Acquiring Apart Audio and Community Loudspeakers was my preferred route to accomplishing that quickly with incredibly strong and respected brands. The many products added to our portfolio give us powerful positions in several key growth markets for Biamp – most notably retail, hospitality, restaurants, stadiums, and outdoor venues. With this move, Biamp has clearly established itself as a leader in the pro A/V market.’
‘The great product complementarity and geographical fit strengthen my belief that we are now part of one of the strongest and most respected A/V solutions providers and that we will be able to offer best-in-class solutions to our channel partners and end-users,’ adds Apart Audio CEO, Kris Vermuyten. ‘I want to thank 3d Investors for their hands-on support and guidance during the last ten years that helped our company grow into a worldwide installed sound specialist.’
Biamp offers professional audio systems for business, education and government facilities. Under Skaf’s direction, the company has followed an aggressive growth strategy that blends organic product line and distribution expansion with entry into new markets via acquisition. The addition of Audioprof Group International comes seven months after the company acquired sound masking systems company Cambridge Sound Management. Biamp currently offers a wide range of audiovisual solutions that facilitate communication and collaboration in conference rooms, lecture halls, auditoria, and now hospitality and retail, as well as paging and notification for open areas like offices, concourses, stadiums, retail centres, and casinos.
Community Loudspeakers and Apart Audio will join Biamp as product families within the company’s portfolio, with business functions gradually blending to form a single Biamp business.
