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THE REINVENTION OF PR LIGHTING Bold New Restructuring Leads To New Approaches, Advanced Products
Providing the leading edge of LED and Plasma
technology. Creating products featuring maximum light output in smaller and more efficient bodies. Having all professional-level products come standard with RDM. Wireless DMX. Streaming ACN. Expansion into the architectural market. It’s all part of embarking on an aggressive development to expand PR’s current horizons and add new ones. So if you think you know PR Lighting, you need
a new introduction, because while they’ve always enjoyed an enviable level of worldwide success, they came to conclusion that they could be more. And admirably, the management team did not back down at the challenges any organization faces when implementing serious changes. “We knew we needed to adapt quicker to the fast-paced changing market, and so we made fundamental changes to ensure we attain that goal.” says Ernie Armas, international sales director. “We felt that despite operating in the same manner for a few years and enjoying success, we needed to reassess our position in the market and develop new approaches.” He adds that while they’ve already produced more advanced products of better quality featuring the newest technology, they’ve still been successful at maintaining their price competitiveness. “Our customers have voiced their appreciation and satisfaction with our new products, and we can’t wait until they see what else is coming out.” The biggest change has a name, and it is Steve
Tulk. “We felt we needed some new leadership in the management of our R&D department and it was clear that Steve [Tulk] was the perfect man for the job! We promoted him Vice-President of R&D, and he brings not only his extensive technical knowledge but also his keen understanding of the Chinese culture and how to implement our goals into the western industry.” R&D, PR Style
“The R&D process here has been greatly
improved,” Tulk says. “Drastic changes have been made and the process our progress can be seen with everything that is coming out of our warehouse.” First, he streamlined the process and pared down the staff keeping only the very best. Then he added more talent, and expanded the program from 20 to 47 people. “This allows us to concentrate on a larger quantity of product and also focus on the details necessary to make the best quality product.” Although PR has always had an ISO-9000 type
of system in place, but now it’s significantly refined. “In the past, R&D and Production Engineering have always worked separately. I have always thought
R&D needed to maintain more influence over the product once it was in production. This is being addressed now and is part of an ongoing process improvement effort.” PR has spent the last year and a half restructuring
the company to devise a comprehensive strategy that will take them to the next level. Tulk says that they will be more technology-driven and quality- minded than ever before. “We will shift our focus to offer something more than the competition has to make our product more attractive to the lighting professional.” The creative and financial foundation that PR
has achieved is beyond reproach – something few other companies can say. “The professional can count on the fact that PR
is a solid company with a solid past,” Tulk says. “It has been in business for 25 years, is privately owned, and is self-funded with no bank debt. We are large enough to make bold moves, but are still small enough to have a personal interest in customer requirements and needs. I will personally take calls and emails any time of the day or night within reason to deal with any customer issues.” Tulk credits the management team for making
a bold decision a few years ago to look inward and really scrutinize the company’s strengths and weaknesses, noting how the commitment to continuous improvement has led to a stronger, more cohesive company Armas earnestly admits another key part of
this equation that is needed: public relations. “We have a real challenge in educating our customers about what sets PR far apart from other Chinese manufacturers. We’re fighting against the stereotype that mass produced high quality products cannot be made here, and that is far from our reality. We’ve achieved unsurpassed, reliable products and backed it up with customer support that is beyond reproach.” Armas adds that they are glad they revisited our company’s long time goals and plan to achieve new levels of success in providing lighting professionals with amazing products at great prices. “Our vision for the future is reasserted and we have a renewed enthusiasm.” “Going forward, our emphasis will be on designed- in quality so it is repeatable and reliable,” Tulk adds. “Proper product testing by industry professionals is very high on my list. Field serviceability is another strong point with me. We will break the mold on perceptions of products made in China and prove that PR can make the best professional lighting products in the world.”
www.pr-lighting.com Q&A with Steve Tulk
Steve Tulk might be one of the most influential people in the industry that you’ve never heard of. You’ve likely used technology or seen shows using technology, which he had a hand in designing. If you haven’t, then there’s a good chance that you will.He was one of the first employees of the company that became High End Systems. For much of the 18 years he spent working at High End, he was the right hand man to the head of research and development, Richard Belliveau. Tulk designed much of the electronic circuitry in the company’s most successful products, including Laser Chorus, Color Pro, F-100 smoke generators, Intellabeam and more. In 2000, he made a bold decision to leave the company and go to work for PR Lighting.
Q: Why did you decide to go to work for PR Lighting? ST: I had been asked to team up with some other people at High End to do an OEM “China Project” where we would source finished products and parts from China. After a trip or two there, I saw a huge potential for doing anything China-related. Eventually I met the PR people and was really quite impressed. Then one of them threw out a “Why don’t you come work for us?” and I jumped at it. Q: Can you give us a sense of how far the company has come since you arrived? ST: When I joined PR in 2002, the company was already well established as an OEM and also as a distributor and manufacturer selling into the Chinese market. They mostly made scanners and small disco products then. Every product they did, though, had a distinctive innovative twist to them. They wanted to break that mold and be the first Chinese company to launch their own brand of moving heads. In addition to me, they hired Paul Dodd, and we worked well as a team to show them the path to new, innovative products. Q: How has the company changed since your early days? ST: There were roughly 200 people in the company when I joined them. When I first visited them in 2000, the operation consisted of three buildings. Within a year they built two more buildings to house a metal fabrication facility and a warehouse. By 2002, they were in the process of securing some land to build a new factory. So at the end of 2006, we moved into this new factory, which is much bigger than the first one, and that’s where we are today. There is also room to build one larger factory building when it’s needed. Right now the staff is between 600 to 700 people but we hope will increase those numbers with our new plans. Q: Are you working on more implementation of Remote Device Management (RDM) and other new protocols and technology? ST: Currently the entire XL range and XLED range of products have RDM. In fact, we have had RDM for several years. In the near future we’ll introduce Streaming ACN. On LEDs, we were among the first and are now poised to retake the lead. We now have a firm plan in place to produce a range of LED products that will equal or beat the competition. Q: Describe how the process of creating new products has changed. ST: In the past, the criteria for product design was driven more from asking ourselves what part of the market don’t we have that others do have, and it was easy to sell on those factors because of China’s price advantage. But you can’t just keep doing that – for one thing, it’s not interesting! [Laughs] So we restructured and devised a bold strategy to get to the next level. Looking ahead, we’ll be more technology-driven. We now question every stage, every procedure and ensure that we try different approaches – whatever it takes to make our products the best.
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