Calrec

Source: Manufacturing Digital

Date :05/12/2007 11:53:05

Having worked with organisations including BSkyB, NBC and the BBC, Calrec Audio has often been the first in the market with innovative technology. Operations Manager David Carr explains

Written by Lucy Mowatt and produced by Ben Weaver

In August of this year, audio equipment company Calrec Audio saw a major change: it was acquired by the Japanese group, D&M Holdings. For the first time since 1964, the company ceased to be owned by the directors of the business, meaning that it has access to a stronger financial background as well as a wider global network.

As such, this is a new era for Calrec Audio; although it was already a global company, with customers in numerous countries, D&M has offered Calrec access to new countries and emerging markets. David Carr, the company’s Operations Manager, explains: “One of the advantages of joining the D&M group has been that we have gained footholds in new areas and we can see that is going to help us.”

Going forward, Calrec is looking to add South American customers to its portfolio of clients from the UK, Ireland, the US, Australia, South Africa, Japan, Korea and China. Mr. Carr points out that the customers in many emerging markets are still using analogue technology, creating markets for the more traditional of Calrec Audio’s equipment.

However, Mr. Carr explains that this is not the case in established markets. He says that the market has changed: “When I first joined the company [five years ago], the split was something like 60:40 in favour of digital. It’s probably 80:20 now and in the future this will probably reach something like 90:10.”

In the light of these changes, electronics companies have to keep ahead of their market in order to remain competitive. Part of this will be down to the capabilities of the business and its technology.

Calrec is a vertically integrated company, which Mr. Carr claims is “unusual for a manufacturer.” He continues: “Literally, the raw materials come in through the front door and the built and configured consoles go out the back door.”

These processes are all carried out at the company’s facilities in a Victorian Mill in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire. In spite of the building’s age, its contents are modern: “Calrec has continually invested in equipment since I’ve been here. We look at new manufacturing processes and the equipment we need to do that.

As such, we have invested heavily over the past five years.” The engineering department has gained two new CNC profiling machines and an engraving machine. The surface mount department has acquired a MYDATA surface mount machine and new optical inspection tool, further developing its capabilities.

Lean business

Lean operating systems have been in place at Hebden Bridge for some time too, and it operates with 108 people. In order to ensure that skills are not lost to its competitors, Calrec Audio tries to promote employees from within.

Mr. Carr explains that the company is also keen to offer its employees ongoing skills training to ensure that everyone is working to the highest possible standard. The Operations Manager says: “Recently one of my guys in the production side was supported through local college on day release, so that he could achieve academic qualifications.” This is in addition to any on-the-job training that maybe required. This supportive working environment has meant that the company has held the Investors in People Award since 1996.

There is also a focus upon getting new blood into the company and supporting the local area, because Calrec is one of the biggest employers in Calder Valley. As such, it has strong links with local schools for work experience schemes. Mr. Carr states: “We think that it gives students a broad understanding of our business; as we are a vertically integrated company we can give them experience not just in the office side of the business, but in manufacturing, R&D, and sales and marketing.” This will encourage young talent to stay in the area and seek local employment.

Innovative products

In such a competitive industry, it is important for the company to constantly be thinking of the future. This has led to the development of market leading technology. There is an in-house research and development team, which is continuously investigating new options: “We’ve worked very closely in recent years with BSkyB for one of our projects. They were the first UK broadcaster to use High-Definition technology. Everyone thinks that this is all about better pictures, but the audio quality also has to match up with that. As such, we worked with them to launch High Definition and Dolby 5.1 Stereo broadcasting.”

Another significant introduction to the market has been its award-winning Bluefin High Density Signal Processing (HDSP) technology. Released in 2006, with patents pending, this technology has given Calrec a competitive edge.

Mr. Carr explains exactly why this development is so special: “It provides lots of 5.1 surround sound channels on one digital signal processing card. It is based on Field Programmable Gate Array technology and provides a 5000 percent improvement in efficiency compared with conventional DSP platforms. It’s the first implementation of this technology by any large scale audio manufacturer, so we were the first in the market.”

Support services

As the audio visual market is developing so quickly, not only does Calrec Audio have to keep developing, but it also has to design products which will be to some degree future-proof. Mr. Carr says: “The life of our audio mixing consoles is ten to 15 years, while some of our equipment has been in operation for 20 years.” The company focuses on the possible developments in the markets at the planning stages, and ensures that it can be upgraded.

Calrec’s output is also subject to strict quality standards. The facilities hold the ISO 9001:2000 certificate; these standards are upheld by a specialist member of staff and reviewed by an internal auditing committee. They are also audited by external authorities either once or twice a year.

This quality is accompanied by a comprehensive service offering. Technical support can be offered to customers, which is often vital when a piece of equipment is being used for the first time in a live-to-air broadcast, like the Beijing Olympics, for which NBC has just purchased new equipment. “We see that as a core part of the business; we have a specialist support department within the business to offer technical support. Quite often our customer support engineers will offer first line support for the first live-to-air broadcast, and we support our customers throughout the life of the product.”

There has also been a rebranding project undertaken by the business, which has been used in the past 18 months to update their image to reflect their innovative and modern product range. Mr. Carr explains that it was a case of making people aware of what the company can do with an image change, especially when the company’s client list is considered. “If you can think of any blue-chip broadcasting company worldwide, we have probably supplied equipment to them. As such we’re putting our feelers out and making people aware of what we can do.”