Martin Professional
{{Short description|Manufacturer of stage and architectural lighting and effects}}
{{COI|date=June 2014}}
{{Update|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Martin Professional
| logo = Martin logo.svg
| foundation = Aarhus, Denmark (1987)
| founder =
| defunct =
| location_city = Aarhus
| location_country = Denmark
| area_served =
| key_people =
| industry = Stage and architectural lighting and effects
| products = Intelligent lights, Fog machines, LED fixtures
| production =
| services =
| revenue = {{increase}}$38 million (Q3 FY12){{cite web|last=Schouw & Company|title=Q3 FY12 Report|url=http://www.schouw.dk/ref.aspx?id=1287|work=Schouw & Co. Website|access-date=18 December 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426061344/http://www.schouw.dk/ref.aspx?id=1287|archive-date=26 April 2012}}
| operating_income =
| net_income =
| aum =
| assets =
| equity =
| owner = Samsung Electronics
| num_employees = 800
| parent = Harman International Industries
| divisions =
| subsid =
| homepage = http://www.martin.com
| footnotes =
}}
Martin Professional (Harman Professional Denmark ApS) is a Danish manufacturer and distributor of stage and architectural lighting and effects fixtures. It is owned by Harman International Industries, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics. The company is based in Aarhus, Denmark.
History
The history of Martin began in 1978 when founder Peter Johansen realized how to make a smoke generator from a coffee maker.{{cite web|last=virk.dk|first=Peter Johansen|title=Biography|url=http://virk-info.dk/Pers-J/Johansen,Peter.htm|work=A danish cooperate history archive|access-date=18 September 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090808184712/http://www.virk-info.dk/Pers-J/Johansen%2CPeter.htm|archive-date=8 August 2009}} The company was founded in Aarhus in 1986 and began producing primarily fog machines and a small selection of disco lights in 1987.{{cite web|title=Martin Gruppen A/S|url=http://virk-info.dk/Virk-M/MartinGruppen/Martin%20Gruppen.htm|work=A danish cooperate history archive|access-date=17 September 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130212212128/http://virk-info.dk/Virk-M/MartinGruppen/Martin%20Gruppen.htm|archive-date=12 February 2013}} Its name was acquired through cooperation with a French smoke machine company.{{cite web|last=Martin|title=Martin Professional|url=http://www.martin.com/general/history_popup_english.asp|work=Company history|access-date=18 December 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117071036/http://www.martin.com/general/history_popup_english.asp|archive-date=17 January 2012}}
In 1993 Martin established Mach, an audio unit.
In 1994 the revenue exceeded 100 million Danish kroner and in 1995 the company was listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, raising a net value of 85.5 million Danish kroner.{{cite web|last=ing.dk|author-link=ing.dk|title=Bright Entrepreneur|url=http://ing.dk/artikel/17099-lysende-ivaerksaetter|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130213024253/http://ing.dk/artikel/17099-lysende-ivaerksaetter|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 February 2013|work=Engineering trade association news site|access-date=17 September 2012}} In 1999, Danish industrial firm Schouw & Co. purchased a 60 percent stake in the company. By 2001, Schouw had fully acquired Martin and delisted it from the stock exchange. Martin expanded production in 2002 through a new {{convert|11500|m2|sqft|adj=on|sp=us}} factory in Frederikshavn, and a year later the company began outsourcing production to China at a factory in Zhuhai.
In 2006 Mach Audio was phased out.{{cite web|last1=Stassen|first1=Murray|title=Mach makes pro-audio comeback - PSNEurope|url=http://www.psneurope.com/mach-makes-pro-audio-comeback/|website=PSNEurope|access-date=13 May 2017|date=8 April 2014}}
Martin enjoyed continued growth until the 2008 financial crisis; it reported a loss of more than 200 million Danish kroner in 2009{{cite web|last=elex.dk|title=Erhvervslivets leksikon|url=http://www.elex.dk/martin-gruppen-as/|work=Danish business lexicon|date=10 January 2012 |access-date=17 September 2012}} and had layoffs of 130 employees at their production sites in Frederikshavn.{{cite web|last=eurofound.europa.eu|first=Fact Sheet Details|title=Company: Martin Professional|url=http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/emcc/erm/factsheets/14300/Martin%20Professional?template=searchfactsheets&order=date&issearch=&page=1059&sel=1063&totalRecords=11832|work=European Monitoring Center on Change|access-date=18 September 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905082408/http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/emcc/erm/factsheets/14300/Martin%20Professional?template=searchfactsheets&order=date&issearch=&page=1059&sel=1063&totalRecords=11832|archive-date=5 September 2014}}
Continued innovation especially within LED technology has helped the company through the crisis and resulted in several product awards.
In 2010 the Confederation of Danish Industries presented Martin with its annual product award for the MAC 350 Entour LED based automated lighting fixture.{{cite web|last=di.dk|title=Di's product price 2010|url=http://di.dk/DI/Kampagner/Aarsdag/topmode2010/Pages/DIsProduktpris2010.aspx|work=Danish business and employers association|access-date=17 September 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110217091706/http://di.dk/DI/Kampagner/Aarsdag/topmode2010/Pages/DIsProduktpris2010.aspx|archive-date=17 February 2011}} The LED technology used in the product was a result of a three-year collaboration with Aalborg University. Furthermore, the MAC Aura luminaire and MAC Viper Profile won the PLASA award for innovation in 2011{{cite web|last=Plasa 2012|title=2011 PLASA Awards For Innovation Announced|url=http://www.plasashow.com/press/releases/140911/|work=Industry trade show|access-date=17 September 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120718113051/http://www.plasashow.com/press/releases/140911/|archive-date=18 July 2012}} and 2012 respectively.{{cite web|last=Stage directions|title=PLASA Announces 2012 PLASA Award for Innovation Winners|url=http://www.stage-directions.com/industry-news/4548-plasa-announces-2012-plasa-award-for-innovation-winners.html|work=Art and Theatere news site|access-date=17 September 2012}} Martin started moving its production back to Denmark in the first half of 2012 their factory in Frederikshavn with 26 new employees. The move was made possible by a reduced labor demand in Martins new production lines.{{cite web|last=hoejteknologifonden|title=Martin Professional A/S moves production back to Denmark|url=http://hoejteknologifonden.dk/nyheder/nyhedsoversigt/martin_professional_as_flytter_produktion_tilbage_til_danmark/|work=The Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation|access-date=17 September 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111211342/http://hoejteknologifonden.dk/nyheder/nyhedsoversigt/martin_professional_as_flytter_produktion_tilbage_til_danmark/|archive-date=11 November 2014}}
=Under Harman=
In 2013 Harman International Industries completed the acquisition of Martin from Schouw.{{cite news|title=HARMAN Completes Acquisition of Entertainment Lighting Company Martin Professional|url=http://news.harman.com/releases/harman-completes-acquisition-of-entertainment-lighting-company-martin-professional|access-date=February 28, 2013|agency=HARMAN Newsroom}} The acquisition did not include the two factories in Frederikshavn, but included an agreement to rent the buildings from Schouw. The acquisition led to the release of the Mach brand which was sold to a cooperation of Canadian and Hong Kong investors. They relaunched the brand under its own company.{{cite web|title=Mach Audio|url=http://www.mach-audio.com/Company.html|website=www.mach-audio.com|access-date=13 May 2017}}
In August 2015 Harman announced the intention to close the factory in Frederikshavn.{{cite web|last1=Neldeberg Jørgensen|first1=Asger|title=Kendt lysvirksomhed lukker i Danmark og flytter til Ungarn|url=https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/regionale/nordjylland/kendt-lysvirksomhed-lukker-i-danmark-og-flytter-til-ungarn|website=DR|date=5 August 2015 |access-date=13 May 2017|language=da}} The closure was completed on 31 March 2016.{{cite web|last1=Isen|first1=Marianne|title=Martin lukker ved udgangen af marts|url=https://nordjyske.dk/nyheder/martin-lukker-ved-udgangen-af-marts/f8d80953-c144-486e-9887-b3f5c2dc11c8|website=www.nordjyske.dk|date=10 February 2016 |access-date=13 May 2017|language=da}}
In March 2018 the M-Series range of lighting controllers and software were acquired by Elation Professial.[https://www.martin.com/en/products/m-pc martin.com 14 March 2018 (includes link to Elation)], retrieved 6 February 2021. Harman sees lighting as the core product.[https://www.promedianews.de/business/elation-professional-erwirbt-lichtsteuerungen-der-m-serie-von-harman-professional-solutions www.promedianews.de 14 March 2018, Elation Professional erwirbt Lichtsteuerungen der M-Serie von Harman Professional Solutions] (German), retrieved 6 February 2021. Since then Martin belongs to Harman Professional Solutions.[https://www.churchproduction.com/daily411/elation-professional-acquires-m-series-controller-range-from churchproduction.com 14 March 2018, Elation Professional Acquires Martin Professional's M-Series Controller Range from Harman], retrieved at 6 February 2021.
Today
Martin has been displayed both a number of major international events such as the 2001 Eurovision song contest in Copenhagen, the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and at
the Beijing 2008 summer olympics where Martin was the main provider of automated lighting with over 1100 luminaries at the opening ceremony.{{cite web|title=Martin to Light Beijing Summer Olympic Games|url=http://wrd.mydigitalfc.com/2008/martin-light-beijing-summer-olympic-games|work=Financial news site|access-date=17 September 2012}}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
Furthermore, Martin is one of the chief technology companies in the Aarhus area, and has a strategic partnership with Aarhus University School of Engineering.{{cite web|last=iha.dk|title=School of Engineering Coorporate partnerships|url=http://www.iha.dk/Default.aspx?ID=12237|access-date=17 September 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130212181007/http://www.iha.dk/Default.aspx?ID=12237|archive-date=12 February 2013}}
Products
Early on, Martin specialized in fog effect machines; They produced few lighting fixtures. In 1993, the company started producing the Mach series of live sound products, which were quickly discontinued. By 1997, the company realized its full potential as a leading manufacturer in the emerging market of DMX intelligent stage lighting products with the launch of the MAC 500 and 600.
Martin's most prominent product to date is the MAC 2000 moving head fixture. It is used primarily by large theaters, concert producers and major television networks and production companies.
In addition to moving heads, Martin also manufactures flat mirror and rotating drum-style scanners, strobes, color changers, semi-intelligent effects, LED fixtures, controllers for Intelligent lighting, media servers and a line of smoke machines.{{cite web|title=Company Overview of Martin Professional A/S|url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=5663559|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130118153740/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=5663559|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 18, 2013|work=Bloomberg Businessweek - Investment directory|publisher=Bloomberg.com|access-date=17 September 2012}}
Martin's current product line includes the Martin MAC Viper, the LED MAC Quantum series and MAC Aura and the RUSH DJ range, a successor to the Martin Mania range.
Another of Martin's current product line is the Era series featuring the era 400 performance, the era 500 hybrid up, the era 600 performance, the era 300 profile and the era 800 performance.
In October 2018 the LED moving head MAC Allure Profile was launched.[https://www.lightsoundjournal.com/2018/10/19/ldi-2018-martin-mac-allure-profile-debuts lightsoundjournal.com October 2018, LDI 2018 – Martin MAC Allure Profile debuts], retrieved 6 February 2021.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Harman International Industries}}
{{Samsung Electronics}}
Category:Companies based in Aarhus