In our first “Spotlight On” article dedicated to
Latin America, we will introduce Argentinean company Equaphon, that has been
doing a great job with Powersoft from its headquarters in Buenos Aires. The
company was founded in 1973 and it was in 2003 when they became official
distributors of the Italian brand, currently also taking care of Uruguay.
Engineer Carlos Maiocchi, general manager, tells us
more about the company and his personal experiences.
How did you start in the audio
industry and how did you start Equaphon?
“I started studying electronic engineering. Equaphon
was initiated by providing home audio equipment but, at the end of the ’70s, we
started entering into the professional market little by little, manufacturing
different solutions for the local market. In the’90s, with the country’s
aperture to the international market, we began representing international
brands in Equaphon. The first amplifiers brand we represented was BGW. In 1997,
we took the representation of B&C Speakers, the speakers brand with which
we manufactured an acoustic systems line for professional use that we still
manufacture under the STS Touring Series brand and we are competing in the
market and the region with several international brands”.
How does Powersoft fit into
Equaphon’s portfolio?
“Actually, in 2003, Powersoft was not very well-known
in our professional market, but we knew that their technologies would rule the
market. Since they were the first in adopting those technologies, without place
to doubt they are today pioneers in the professional amplification market.
Today that sounds easy, but it has been really a very hard work to convince the
market. We made it and we now we can reap the fruits of our labor”.
Which are the principles you
follow when choosing a brand to partner with?
“We try to find manufacturers that are leaders in
their segments or that, due to the technology the use, they will be in the
future. We choose brands and products that will not compite among each other,
that have the same premium quality and mainly that are not for one focused on
one specific economical group”.
Why is Powersoft the right
choice for rental companies, integrators and designers you work with?
“There are so many advantages about Powersoft for
rental companies that Powersoft is the fritas choice indeed. It is also
unbeatable for installation: low consumption, small size, lightweight, low heat
dissipation and integration possibilities make these amplifiers invincible for
fixed installations”.
In which kind of projects have
Powersoft products been present in your country up to now?
“Almost every sound company in Argentina has
Powersoft. The most important rental company in Argentina, Buenos Aires Live
Show (BALS), was one of our first Powersoft clients and that helped us a lot.
On the other hand, Powersoft
was the ideal complement to our own loudspeakers line. In fact, we always try
to sell systems integrating Powersoft with STS Touring Series.
We have currently launched an
acoustic cabinets line for installation called mikra that perfectly
integrates with different models in the Powersoft Ottocanali line. We are sure
that when you integrate solutions, you strengthen and improve sales”.
How have sales grown since you
distribute Powersoft?
“Sales have grown in a continuous way year after
year. We are really happy with Powersoft as a product and the strong support we
have always had from the company”.
How fast is the audio industry
changing in your country? And what do you think about that?
“We believe that, currently, how fast the industry
changes is becoming much more the same from country to country. In the
globalization process we are all stepped in, changes are much faster. We all
have access to information at the same time”.
How has your relationship with
Powersoft been and how is the brand evolving to keep pace with the industry?
“We know that the success of this partnership between
Powersoft and Equaphon
is due to both companies work
with very similar ethics, values and focus.
Powersoft, as an innovative
company, has always beaten competitors. I remember once in 2004, during a visit
to the factory, somebody was showing me a K10 amplifier that had just been launched to the market; of course
something really innovative at the time. Then I realized that, inside its
electronics, there were some empty spaces for more components and I asked: ‘What’s
that open space for?’. The answer was simple: ‘When the competition presents an
amplifier as powerful as this one, we will introduce the K20, 50% more powerful’.
That is definitely what I call to be one step ahead!
This has not changed ten years
after. In 2014, Powersoft presented the X-Series: the best amplification
platform we will have for many years more, giving a huge number of advantages
that have never been found in any other professional amplifier before”.
What motivates you to continue
working in the industry as a professional and company owner?
“Passion and love for what I do. That is the main
driving force and I enjoy this very much”.
What did it mean for you to
have won the best distributor in Latin America award once again in 2016?
“An enormous satisfaction, but for our organization
this is, at the same time, a big challenge, because we know that we can
continue growing with Powersoft in Argentina and now we have to do it too in
Uruguay”.
What strategies and actions
will you follow this year to continue your job with Powersoft?
“We have planned to carry out a workshop focused
specifically to the Armonía software, having the participation of the most
important local sound engineers. The idea is to take the event to the maximum,
showing visitors all the features this powerful tool has to offer.
We will also do a formal
presentation on Powersoft’s potential in Uruguay.
We will also present a special
project we are developing together with Powersoft for the region, but we will
keep it secret for now!”.
