SpeakerCraft Joins PRO Group

By Joseph Palenchar and Alan Wolf -- TWICE, 4/5/2010

Riverside, Calif. - Custom-install supplier SpeakerCraft has joined the Progressive Retailers Organization (PRO Group), bringing to three the number of custom suppliers in the group.

PRO was attracted in part to SpeakerCraft's position as a supplier of a broad array of custom speakers and electronics as well as the planned Nirv multi-room-A/V system, said PRO executive director David Workman.

Nirv will distribute multiple 1080p video streams and multiple stereo music streams simultaneously to up to 256 zones over category cable. The network is compliant with Blu-ray's HDCP copy-control technology.

 "We were first intrigued by the quality and innovation of the product line, but it goes beyond that," Workman added. SpeakerCraft's "fresh perspective and willingness to help our members market custom as a category makes them more than just another supplier," he said.

Jeremy Burkhardt, SpeakerCraft president, concurred saying, "This is an important alliance for both organizations. We bring a unique perspective to the partnership having focused solely on the custom market for the past 30 years. Combining this experience and knowledge with the retail power of the PRO Group will create an incredible market force. We are looking forward to this relationship and helping the individual members advance their position in the custom market."

SpeakerCraft, based here, began in 1976 as an in-wall speaker designer and OEM and later introduced it own line of architectural speakers.