Nortek, the parent company of Linear, announced on Monday that it is combining 10 of its companies together into a "Core Brands" group.
According to a statement, the new group, which consists of brands familiar to security installers including Aton, BlueBOLT, Elan, Furman, Niles, Panamax, Proficient, SpeakerCraft, Sunfire, and Xantech, will combine the product and marketing strengths of these formerly independent companies into its Technology Solutions segment.
"The formation of Core Brands reflects the strategic refocusing currently taking place as we pursue new markets and new opportunities to serve our dealers, channel partners and end users," said Nortek president and CEO Michael J. Clarke. "We expect that combining the unique capabilities of each of these 10 formidable brands will deliver new and powerful benefits they can only achieve as a group."
The Core Brands group will be based in Petaluma, Calif., and will have offices in Carlsbad and Riverside, Calif., as well as Marblehead, Mass. Panamax President Bill Pollock has been tapped to the lead the new group, while Dave Keller, vice president of sales and marketing for Panamax/Furman, will head up worldwide sales efforts. In addition, Keith Marshall, president of SpeakerCraft/Proficient will be in charge of channel management and Elan President Paul Starkey will be responsible for marketing for all brands.
"Operating as Core Brands will enable us to leverage economies of scale while strengthening our ability to invest in launching innovative technologies and a range of new marketing programs designed to increase the value, clarity and acceptance of each brand," said Sean Burke, group president of Nortek’s Technology Solutions segment. "In addition, combining these market leading brands will allow us to deliver more localized and responsive factory training and product support expertise. These initiatives should position the brands not only to improve their business performance, but also to increase their penetration of un-served and underserved market segments during a period of generally improving business conditions in their respective distribution channels."
