04 l April 2014
www.psneurope.com news BELGIUM
GiVa Audiovisual revives Apex line
Apex Audio’s Paul van Hees is back in business but will concentrate only on manufacturing, not on distribution, he assures Dave Robinson
PAUL VAN HEES, former director and founder of Apex Audio NV, has joined forces with Hendrik-Jan Gielis, an electronics engineer (and formerly in charge of hardware at Apex), to create GiVa Audiovisual Technologies BVBA. The new company has purchased all the assets and IP rights of the Apex brand as well as the production facilities and all
EUROPE NST Audio marks return for XTA/MC2 By Dave Robinson
AFTER AN absence from the industry of three years, Ian McCarthy, former managing director of MC
2 Audio and
latterly of XTA Electronics, has joined forces with long-time audio software and design engineer, Dan Cartman, and XTA founder Andrew Grayland, to form NST Audio Ltd. Speaking to PSNEurope at PL+S time, McCarthy revealed
Dan Cartman (left) is joining Ian McCarthy (right) and Andrew Grayland in the new venture
that NST – the initials have no significance – has been formed by the trio in order to design and
supply own-brand, OEM and licensed DSP-based software and hardware. “Primarily software,” notes McCarthy, “though there will be a hardware component. “Definitely not amplifiers though!” he emphasises. As managing director, McCarthy says he is looking forward to returning to the industry through the challenge of being part of a ‘start-up’: “Dan and Andy approached me with the project, which I could see has
stalwarts
a lot of potential and, having known them both for many years, I was fully aware of their undoubted talent and expertise, so I was delighted to be invited to join them.” “With Dan as technical
director and with the advantage of access to Andy’s extensive technical knowledge, I believe we are a strong team and I have every confidence that NST Audio will be a success.” Andrew Grayland has spent the
the stock. GiVa has already started shipping product. Van Hees has made a cast-iron
guarantee that his plans are for manufacturing and developing the Apex legacy, and not to build another distribution business. “We created GiVa with the sole intention of continuing the Apex brand,” says Van Hees. “Whilst the collapse of Apex as a
distribution/integration company was a devastating time for us all, it was no reflection on the Apex product line itself, and I wanted to find a way to save the brand.” Apex Audio NV filed for bankruptcy with the Hasselt Court on 17 October last year. The company was origimally formed by van Hees and Eddy Bergers in 1991, supplying
able to meet with most of our distributors, and almost all of them want to continue with the [Apex] brand. Some had even continued to market it during our absence from the market in the firm conviction that a solution would be found sooner or later. I’m glad to say that we have found a solution and we will be able to repay their confidence.” Van Hees is clear about
Hendrik-Jan Gielis (left) and Paul van Hees
digital outboard units (equalisers, system controllers and signal processors) to the live and installation markets. At the time of the bankruptcy filing, Apex was a fully-fledged manufacturing, distribution and solutions business, with a large portfolio of brands spanning several sectors, including DHD, AVT, Coda, DiGiCo, Genelec, Mogami, Riedel and Sonifex. The recent Prolight + Sound
show in Frankfurt proved to be decisive, says van Hees. “I was
GiVa’s intentions. “We have very ambitious plans for the Apex brand. We will continue to maintain and develop the current product range and our dedication to the live market, but our plans for the future include a new range of digital products for the fixed installation market as well. Our projects are purely those of a manufacturer. GiVa is neither a distributor nor an integration company, nor will it be.” GiVa is headquartered in the
former Apex premises.
www.apex-audio.eu
last few years involved in the sharp end of pro audio, hiring out PA and sound engineering, particularly on the festival circuit. “It is a pleasure to be back
putting some of the knowledge I have gained into the development of new products,” he says. The first fruits of the 18-month
collaboration are expected in around six months, suggests McCarthy, and further hints that the product will have a link with ‘audio networking’, and will be licensed to third-party manufacturers. “We want to offer something that other people don’t.” A website,
nstaudio.com, is
currently under construction.
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