Today, SnapAV and Control4 have announced the completion of a merger to become one company.
The merger means that Control4 is now a professional smart home brand in the company portfolio, and SnapAV will continue to bring technology professionals a trusted, end-to-end partner that invest relentlessly in growing the industry and helping their businesses succeed.
John Heyman, CEO of SnapAV, told HiddenWires: “We think the smart and connected home market is one of the most exciting spots in the global economy to invest in. And while DIY is certainly a mega trend, we have a strong conviction that the smartest and most connected homes are going to be installed and supported by professionals who will be serving a growing segment of consumers who want a smart home.
“We’re excited that we are bringing together what we feel are two of the best teams of people in the industry with this merger to serve this growing industry and create an amazing experience for dealers and their customers.”
John Heyman, CEO SnapAV
The combination of the two companies creates a large product range of in-house brands and third-party products, backed by highly-experienced product engineering teams, customer service, education and training programmes, and in-field technical support.
Control4’s new Smart Home OS3, an operating system specifically designed for the modern, pro-installed smart home, is one of the main product focuses for the newly joined company.
Charlie Kindel, now the chief product and technology officer, SnapAV added: “In order for customers to really experience a complete, robust, reliable smart home across all the myriad of devices and scenarios that already exist and continue to exist, there needs to be a cooperating system for the home and Control4 Smart Home OS3 is really the first modern, smart home operating system.
“As a combined company, I’m really excited that we get to move forward in a single company vision. I will be running the product development team and we also have a single marketing organisation, a single sales organisation, a single support organisation, and so forth. So we are in a position to lead the industry in the transformation towards smart homes that are served by local professionals.”
Charlie Kindel, chief product and technology officer, SnapAV
Control4 Smart Home OS gives SnapAV one of the most connected product portfolios with interoperability across almost 14,000 devices from hundreds of manufacturers. Some of the brands in the combined product portfolio includes Pakedge and Araknis, OvrC and BakPak, Triad and Episode, and they will continue to be supported through the merger.
Dealers can expect to see continued investment and growth both locally and internationally. Heyman explained: “A big attraction to us around this merger was SnapAV has been a company that does almost all of its business inside the US but our products have applicability around the globe. We are really excited about what Control4 has started to build outside the US, whether it’s their distribution capabilities or their direct operations in the UK, Ireland, China, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, etc.
“We are really excited about the platform this gives the combined company for growth. This is just day one and we think there are going to be benefits to the industry immediately but it’s a journey and I think it will take years for us to really show the industry the power of this combination.”
Combined, the company now has 1,200 employees, with Heyman leading the merged teams as chief executive officer, while former Control4 CEO Martin Plaehn joins the board of directors of SnapAV’s parent company. As previously said, Kindel, formerly Control4’s SVP of products and services, will now take the role of chief product and technology officer.
The company will have headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Salt Lake City in Utah, with offices and local facilities situated around the world.