I recently sat down with Kevin Luther, Owner, BlackWire Designs to talk about what differentiates BlackWire, the company’s partnerships, and the future of BlackWire. Part one here.
Maureen Jenson: Speaking of drivers, what is one that really stands out in differentiating BlackWire?
Kevin Luther: If I had to pick one that’s made the most impact, I’d say it’s our Ring Doorbell Events driver, which we offer for Control4 and URC automation systems. This one stands out for the simple fact that no one else has it.
We created the driver through an official partnership with Ring a few years ago, it’s available for free with the purchase of any Ring Doorbell from BlackWire. It also happens to be our most widely adopted driver because it is so unique.
MJ: What other manufacturers does BlackWire have partnerships with?
KL: Recently we announced a partnership with ProDataKey to distribute their pdk.io•, the industry’s first completely cloud-based wireless access control system. We’ve also moved into lighting with Lumilum LED strips, controllers, and accessories, and are the only distributor to support the integration of Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controllers into both the Control4 and URC platforms.
The big news on this front is that we just inked a deal with Yamaha to be a national distributor of its Commercial Installation Solutions (CIS) product line. As part of this partnership, we’ll also be developing all the drivers for their platform and selling those for Control4 and URC systems. So that’s something we’re really excited about.
MJ: So after 10 years, where does BlackWire go from here?
KL: As we move forward, we’re looking to make a push into the light commercial market. A recent example is an installation by RevampIT AV at K O’Donnell’s sports bar and grill in Scottsdale, Arizona. RevampIT purchased a Just Add Power 3G Ultra HD over IP platform from us.
Since the bar needed to remain open during normal business hours for the duration of the project, all work was done at night after close. Of course, we were there to help with our off-peak support, and the installation was a huge success. Look to see us involved in more projects like this in the future.