SpeakerCraft was founded in 1976 by Edward Haase, Ken Humphreys and Eugene Humphreys.
Beginning as a retail stereo store and original equipment manufacturer
of loudspeakers for companies such as Sonance, Niles Audio, Bang and Olufsen, JBL, Polk Audio,
and many others, the company evolved into a designer and installer of
custom audio systems. In 1988 Humphreys sold his interest to Jeff King,
Sr. Jeff remained with the company until it ultimately sold in 2000 to
Burkhardt, Management and Kinsman Capital. Jeff was a major force in
both operations and development as well as defining the companies
position for future growth. He was the primary decision maker that
included hiring Jeremy Burkhardt in 1991 in the companies 16th year of
business. Jeff Francisco managed the custom installation business and
retail store where he studied product development and developed custom
systems for the company. In 1994, Ed Haase, Jeff King and Jeremy
Burkhardt founded The SpeakerCraft Brand of architectural loudspeakers
as a line of high-end custom speakers; they were set on making a new
brand for the CEDIA marketplace. In 1999 Haase and King offered
Burkhardt a partnership.[3]
From 1994 to 2000 this team invented and patented products, grew the
brand and took market share. As mentioned Burkhardt, Management and
Kinsman Capital bought out Haase and King, with the two exiting the
company in 2000. Burkhardt remained with the company, serving as Vice
President of Sale and Marketing[Along with Jim Munn the companies CEO and Bob Cavasos the companies
CFO. This team-up led to the fastest growth in company history,
Kinsman's
access to capital vaulted SpeakerCraft to the number one position in
the industry. Management and Kinsman sold SpeakerCraft again in 2004 to
Nortek,Inc, for 58 million dollars, and Burkhardt, like all minority
shareholders benefited proportionately from this sale. Munn and Cavasos stepped out and Burkhardt
remained as a 32-year-old CEO with a vision for growth, seeing the iPod
as forever the defining grounds for SpeakerCraft's future in
distributing audio through the home. Selected by CE PRO
magazine as a top ten industry leader, Burkhardt again leveraged his
ownership and became an owner in Nortek, Inc and was promoted to company
CEO. Since 1994 SpeakerCraft has reinvented itself based on a common
vision of innovation, best of class products, business training and
close partnerships with their retailers. The company currently produces
more than 1000 products, which include loudspeakers, amplifiers, iPod
multi-room music distribution systems, and accessories that allow for
various system configurations and sizes. SpeakerCraft's patented AIM
series of speakers is available in ceiling and wall versions; these were
patented by Haase, Francisco and Burkhardt are the largest advancements
in architectural speakers.In 2007 Haase returned to SpeakerCraft as Chief technical Officer.
Developing some of the finest SpeakerCraft inventions, Haase is known as
the man that invented the in-wall speaker.
Amplifires Control
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