[August 4, 2005]
Nortek, a leading supplier of building products and home communications products, has announced that a company formed by its Linear LLC subsidiary has acquired the assets of Niles Audio Corporation, a supplier of speakers and audio and video distribution products to the custom home installation market. This acquisition expands Nortek's home technology product offering.
Niles is a privately held firm located in Miami [Florida]. From the very beginning, Niles has been a solutions-based company. In January of 1978, company founder Ivan Niles Zuckerman opened Niles Audio Corporation for business. The fledgling company’s first products were switching systems designed for use by audio retailers as a tool to help them demonstrate speakers and amplifiers to potential customers. These switching systems greatly simplified the selling process because the salesperson no longer had to disconnect and reconnect wires and cables manually each time a customer wanted to audition a specific component.
From Zuckerman’s vision and those early switching systems, Niles has evolved into a solutions-based consumer electronics company that offers a comprehensive line of lifestyle electronics products for custom-installed home-entertainment systems.
During a quarter-century of creativity and innovation, Niles has played a major role in the transformation of custom-installed whole-house audio systems and Home Theater from a hobbyist pastime into a thriving, highly professional industry. Niles grew by refining existing product types and inventing new ones, always delivering value to its dealers, installers, and end-users through quality engineering and materials, ease of installation and operation, and the best possible sound for the money.
According to Richard Bready, Nortek's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, one of Nortek's major business strategies was to acquire growing businesses that complement their existing wide range of products for the home. The acquisition of Niles adds another leading brand name, new product and additional distribution that complements Nortek's existing home-technology businesses that manufacture and sell products to distribute audio and video in residences. Mr. Bready added that he was very pleased that Frank Sterns, Executive Vice President of Niles, is remaining with the company to lead its continued growth.
Niles has a product offering of over 500 products covering every aspect of whole-house audio distribution and the integration of audio/video systems, including speakers, receivers, amplifiers, controls and accessories. Niles product lines and dealer networks complement those of Elan, Panamax, OmniMount, Xantech, M&S Systems and SpeakerCraft-Linear subsidiaries, which also manufacture and sell products to distribute audio, video and data in residences.
Linear also manufactures and sells security devices, structured wiring, garage door radio controlled operators, commercial gate operators, telephone entry systems and other related products.
Nortek is an international manufacturer and distributor of building, remodeling and indoor environmental control products for the residential and commercial markets.
The company offers a broad array of products which include range hoods and other spot ventilation products, heating and air conditioning systems, wood and vinyl windows and doors, vinyl siding products, indoor air quality systems, and specialty electronic products.
The company was founded in 1967 and has subsidiaries in the U.S. and around the world. In the home systems area, it acquired Multiplex Technologies [audio/video distribution products] and Xantech Corporation [home control products] in 1999.
The company is headquartered in Providence [Rhode Island]. Nortek, Inc. was previously publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. It was announced on August 27, 2004 that Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P., in partnership with Richard L. Bready, Nortek's Chairman and CEO and other members of management, has completed its previously announced acquisition of Nortek Holdings.
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