International Audio Group (IAG) announced further expansion with the appointment of industry veteran, Steve Hutt to Director of R&D - Wharfedale Pro. With more than 30 years in the professional audio business Steve chairs the AES standards and technical committees on loudspeakers, has authored numerous AES technical papers and holds 15 Patents.
Steve Hutt moved to Wharfedale Pro having spent time spent in technical and leadership roles at Harman, THX and Eighteen Sound to name just a few companies. As IAG Director, Tim Chang confirms, “Steve actually joined Wharfedale Pro mid-2015 and we’re thrilled to bundle this strategically delayed news along with the tangible results shown since he took over R&D. With twenty-nine new speaker products to be unveiled at Prolight+Sound 2016, we have never before had such an array of fantastic new products on our booth.”
“As a division of IAG, Wharfedale Pro is in a unique position with its extraordinary vertical integration where we build not just the box and speaker, but “everything” in house. Very few pro audio systems companies still manufacture their own woofers and compression drivers let alone cones, spiders, voice-coils and HF domes - not to mention amplifiers and DSP electronics. We are releasing numerous new products this year, leveraging this in-house capability to bring a new level of high performance systems to the Wharfedale Pro catalogue,” adds Steve Hutt.
Founded in Hong Kong in 1991, the IAG Group represents some of the oldest and most respected brands in the hi-fi and electronics world in its portfolio. In 1997, the group acquired Wharfedale and while growing and diversifying its product line, Wharfedale Pro was developed as a brand within its own right to meet the growing, demanding needs of the sound reinforcement market. The groups internationally recognized hi-fi brands include Wharfedale, Quad, Audiolab, Mission, Luxman, Leak and Castle, with additional pro-audio and lighting brands including COEF, F.A.L and Quad Industrial.
While Wharfedale’s roots are maintained in the United Kingdom, research and development now takes place on an international scale, including Japan, Hong Kong and China, now the centre of operations for IAG. The new manufacturing site now in Jian, Jang Xi Province covers and area of approximately 400,000 square meters in size with complete “raw-material to finished goods” manufacturing processes for loudspeakers and electronics. IAG has flourished since its inception through a strict policy of vertical integration, including a fully-equipped tool shop enabling on-site prototyping and development. The group designs, tools and manufactures over 95% of all their products’ constituent components.
The new Wharfedale Pro products will be introduced at Prolight+ Sound 2016, Hall 3.1 H51.
www.wharfedalepro.com
