Draft:Electronic Theatre Controls

Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC) is a global manufacturer of live event technology based in Middleton, Wisconsin with more than a dozen offices worldwide. Starting in the entertainment industry with a custom lighting control console in 1975, ETC has since expanded into rigging, luminaires, architectural, commercial, and horticulture lighting sectors. They are known for lighting theatres, museums, building exteriors, stadiums, and houses of worship. ETC has won dozens of awards for its products, innovation, and company culture, including awards from LiveDesign and PLASA. They are especially known for developing the innovative Source Four lighting fixtures, Eos lighting controllers, and Paradigm architectural control systems.

ETC History

On Christmas Eve in 1975, University of Madison, Wisconsin students Fred Foster, Bill Foster, Gary Bewick, and James Bradley announced their goal of creating a theatrical lighting control system. Brothers Fred and Bill Foster had previously examined the then-$150,000 lighting console at UW-Madison and declared they could make a better one for only $5,000. The four friends set to work in the Fosters’ home, creating what would eventually be known as Mega Cue. For the first several years in business, the consoles were sold exclusively to Berkey ColorTran, who then sold them under their company name.

By 1982, ETC launched its first branded console called Concept, which Disney used to light their parade routes. This was the beginning of ETC's long-running relationship with Disney, providing gear for many of their well-known theme parks and cruise lines. Around this time, ETC also began working closely with the dimming system manufacturer Lighting Methods, Inc. LMI became ETC’s first acquisition in 1990, doubling the size of ETC’s staff.

Source Four, one of ETC’s most well-known products was announced at the Live Design International tradeshow in 1992, kicking off a period of massive growth for the company. By 2017, ETC had sold 3.5 million Source Four Fixtures.

In 1995, ETC opened its first international office in Hong Kong. Following the opening of ETC Asia, ETC expanded further, opening offices in Denmark (1997), Rome (1999), and Germany (2002).

In 1996, ETC began to experiment in the architectural lighting market as it developed the Unison lighting control systems. This led to another acquisition in 1998 of Vari*Lite Inc.'s architectural lighting company, Irideon.

ETC continued to expand, creating a growing need to move its international headquarters to a larger building. In 2004, the current headquarters building opened at 250,000-square-feet in Middleton, Wisconsin, USA. By 2007, the company had again outgrown its building and another 77,000 square feet were added to the manufacturing space.

The lighting industry began a shift to LED technology, so in 2009, ETC acquired a Selador LED product line called the x7 Color System. As LED lighting became an important part of the industry, ETC poured a large portion of its R&D budget into developing the Selador product line, creating the Vivid, Lustr, and Paletta light fixtures.

Following ETC’s move into LED lighting, the company again expanded in 2013, purchasing a 355,000-square-foot building in Mazomanie, Wisconsin. This manufacturing facility currently functions as both a warehouse, a woodshop, and a place for both the power distribution and rigging assembly lines.

In 2014 ETC purchased the Vortek rigging division of New York-based Daktronics and began to offer rigging solutions internationally.

In 2015, ETC celebrated its 40th anniversary, and became one-third employee-owned, eventually enlarging its Employee Stock Option Plan to become 100 percent employee-owned in December of 2023.

ETC continued to expand into new markets as the company bought the automated lighting company High End Systems in April of 2017 from Barco, Inc. The new acquisition brought with it a new office in Austin, Texas, for sales, manufacturing, and marketing.

In 2019, ETC entered the market of horticultural lighting when the company launched RAYN Growing Systems and began exploring the effect of LEDs on plant growth. Accompanying the increasing size of the company, ETC added another 75,000 square feet to the company’s headquarters in Middleton. This space includes offices, meeting rooms, and research and development facilities and incorporates 40 shipping containers in the design.

In 2019, Fred Foster, the founder and CEO of ETC passed away from cancer at the age of 61 and Dick Titus stepped in as President/CEO.

Offices/Locations

ETC is located internationally with 15 offices, training centers, and manufacturing spaces.

• Middleton, Wisconsin, USA—Headquarters
• Mazomanie, Wisconsin, USA
• New York, New York, USA
• Orlando, Florida, USA
• Burbank, California, USA
• Austin, Texas, USA
• Victor, New York, USA
• Squamish, British Columbia
• London, UK
• Holzkirken, Germany
• Ede, Netherlands
• Paris, France
• Rome, Italy
• Hong Kong, Hong Kong
• Dubai, UAE

References

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