I recently sat down with Patrick Kittredge, CTS, Product Marketing Manager, Middle Atlantic Products, Legrand AV Division about Middle Atlantic’s 40th birthday, the new Forward accessories, and making the integrator’s life easier. Part 1
Maureen Jenson: At CEDIA EXPO in Denver, I saw Middle Atlantic’s new Forward accessories for its BGR enclosure. Forward is an innovative way to approach rack building. Can you tell me where the idea came from?
Patrick Kittredge: Middle Atlantic’s biggest priority is listening to our customers’ pain points so we can solve them. We have heard the same story time and time again of integrators wanting to speed up the installation process; instead they spend an excessive amount of time fumbling around in the dark while squeezed into a tiny closet, carefully putting in rack screws, zip ties, and Velcro. Therefore, integrators couldn’t focus their energy on delivering a great AV experience to their customers, which is at the heart of why we created our Forward family of rack solutions. Forward helps integrators not only work five times faster but to do so with systems reliability in mind. We like to say, “It’s the solution that finally lets them release their inner speed demon so that they can reliably install today’s systems at tomorrow’s speed.”
Middle Atlantic’s No.1 AV Enclosure, the BGR, and Forward, a New Family of Installation Solutions
MJ: I’ve never seen anything quite like Forward. Can you tell me what it’s comprised of and how each piece makes an integrator’s life easier?
PK: Forward is a family of installation solutions and accessories all designed to deliver greater system reliability, efficiency, and flexibility to the rack. The family includes rack lighting that illuminates the entire workspace from top to bottom, assuring that integrators can work with the best visibility even in the darkest closets; cable management that keep cable runs tidy with horizontal and vertical options; a power bracket to simplify any button power strip installation — eliminating the need for tools; blank and vent panels and horizontal lacer bars that simply click into the new rackrail to achieve optimal rack design in minutes and without needing hardware; small device mounting clamps for integrators to quickly mount and secure small non-rack mount devices vertically or horizontally using absolutely no hardware; and finally a UPS base that comes pre-installed, saving integrators’ backs from having to lift and maneuver the heavy, large unit into the rack.
MJ: It’s Middle Atlantic’s 40th anniversary. Are there any achievements you can point to that explain the longevity and success of the brand?
PK: Our long-standing leadership in the industry is undoubtedly a result of our commitment and passion for solving integrators’ biggest challenges. As the industry continues to evolve, we strive to keep pace so that integrators don’t waste any time or labor installing the latest components and technology. It’s a concept that is at the heart of what great systems are built on. For example, our BGR rack has been around for more than eight years and is the number-one-selling enclosure. It’s even used in CEDIA corporate offices, which is a great testimonial for the product. Despite these wins, we continue to innovate on its design. It’s the first rack within our family to ship with the new Forward rackrail for fast, tool-less rack configuration and device mounting.
Stay tuned next week when I talk to Patrick about power distribution and making radical in-roads into the residential market. Part Two Here