Draft:Electronic Theatre Controls

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  • Comment: Be careful about use of trade publications for establishing notability as per WP:ORGIND. Trade publications must be used with great care. While feature stories from leading trade magazines may be used where independence is clear, there is a presumption against the use of coverage in trade magazines to establish notability. lizthegrey (talk) 16:43, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
  • Comment: If it wasn't for ref 7, 8, 9 and 11 I would be marking this as a reject without ability to re-submit. Segatari, please use these examples to find more reliable sources... press releases, profiles, interviews are all no good to establish notability. This has now been submitted 8 times over the past 2 days, it's getting tiresome - RichT|C|E-Mail 20:25, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
  • Comment: Apart from the passing mentions, run-of-the-mill coverage, and articles created in association with the company present in the sources, there really is no need to have the subject's own website as reference 6 times. Utopes (talk / cont) 04:12, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
  • Comment: Segatari, you need to let us know if you have a conflict of interest and especially is you are being paid for this article.
    There seems to be only one ref which leads to a "news" story about the company (ref 5) and that is an a B2B (aka SEO journalism) publication and so is not a reliable source.
    If this is the best you have then I really do not think this article is going to be promoted. You've submitted it 5 times and got the same response each time. Not all companies get a wikipedia article. Tagishsimon (talk) 00:24, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
  • Comment: This would need much more significant independent seocndary sources of the company as a company. Stuartyeates (talk) 03:20, 11 November 2023 (UTC)
  • Comment: Still need independent, significant coverage. A lot of that stuff is not independent. WikiOriginal-9 (talk) 20:59, 10 November 2023 (UTC)
Electronic Theatre Controls
IndustryManufacturing of lighting and rigging technology
Founded1975; 49 years ago (1975) in Middleton, USA
Founder
  • Fred Foster
  • Bill Foster
Number of employees
1400...[1]

Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC) is an American manufacturer of theater, entertainment and architectural lighting[2]. The company was founded in 1975. by brothers Fred and Bill Foster[3] and as of 2023 operates in 13 countries[4]. The company is based in Middleton in the US state of Wisconsin[5]. Notable clients of ETC include Cirque du Soleil, the World Cup, Disneyland[6] and the Super Bowl[7]

History[edit]

1975: Founding[edit]

Electronic Theatre Controls was founded in 1975 by brothers Fred and Bill Foster, with the help of their friends Gary Bewick and Jim Bradley[8]. All four of them were UW-Madison undergraduates[9]. The company began operation in the basement of Fred's flat with $500[10] Their original goal was to bring the first solid-state microprocessor controlled lighting system into the Metropolitan Opera House[9][11].

Acquisitions[edit]

ETC pursued a significant expansion early on through their many acquisitions.

  • 1990: Lighting Methods Inc[3]
  • 1995: ARRI GB, Lighting Controls Department[3]
  • 1998: Irideon Inc.[3]
  • 2002: transtechnik Lichtsysteme[12]
  • 2003: AVAB France[3]
  • 2004: IES[3][13]
  • 2004: Penko Engineering BV[3]
  • 2009: Selador[14]
  • 2014: Vortek[6][15]
  • 2017: High End Systems[16]

Products (selection)[edit]

ETC manufactures a whole range of products and continues to sell some products from acquired companies (in many cases with a different design and under a different label). For example, transtechnik light control panels are now sold under the transtechnik by ETC label.

  • Eos, Ion, Element, Gio Lighting console
  • Cobalt, Congo, Congo jr (formerly avab)
  • Prisma NTX, Focus NTX, Iris NTX (formerly transtechnik)
  • Sensor Dimmer
  • Unison Architectural lighting control system
  • Net3 Networking components
  • Selador LED-Spotlight
  • Source 4 Spotlight[17]

Source Four[edit]

A prominent product within the company's portfolio is the Source Four. Unveiled in 1992.[17], this release represented a substantial milestone in the development of ellipsoidal spotlights[18]. As opposed to other attempts in the market, the Source Four featured a 15- to 35-mm zoom[18], complete pan and tilt functionality[18], a 24-frame color scroller[18], and an exclusive QuietDrive motor control[18]. Notably, ETC had incorporated the traditional four shutters of standard ellipsoidals into a remote-controlled module, allowing users to select additional modules like a color scroller, rotating wheel module, static wheel module, and an iris module[18]. These modules were autosensing, removing the need for patching or internal adjustments[18] In 2012, ETC introduced an LED version of their Source Four, removing the need for coloured gels[19]. Despite that, the original tungsten Source Four remains in production[20]

Awards[edit]

  • 1997: Manufacturer of the Year Award for innovation and diversified growth (from Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce)[17]
  • 2007: Wally Russell Lifetime Achievement Award (attributed to co-founder Fred Foster)[21]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Electronic Theatre Controls | Company Overview & News". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  2. ^ "Electronic Theater Controls: Lighting Theaters, Churches and Theme Parks Around the World". In Business Madison. 2009-01-01. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "The history of ETC through company acquisitions". blog.etcconnect.com. 2021-11-02. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  4. ^ Mark Robins (2019-10-01). "Salvaged Shipping Containers Aid Building Expansion - Metal Construction News". Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  5. ^ "Still on stage after 40 years: Wisconsin firm grows beyond theater lighting". news.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  6. ^ a b Journal, Judy Newman | Wisconsin State (2016-03-20). "Electronic Theatre Controls owners give away one-third of company stock to employees". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  7. ^ "Top 10 Stage Lighting Manufacturers". Vorlane. 2022-12-13. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  8. ^ NEWMAN, JUDY (2008-09-14). "SPOTLIGHT ON A LOCAL SUCCESS ELECTRONIC THEATRE CONTROLS IS EXPANDING, EVEN IN THE SLUGGISH ECONOMY". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  9. ^ a b "Theatrecrafts - Archive - Electronic Theatre Controls / ETC". www.theatrecrafts.com. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  10. ^ Moe, Doug (2008-03-23). "FOSTER FOLLOWS WINDING PATH TO HOUSE". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  11. ^ "Electronic Theatre Controls sheds new light on entertainment". www.jsonline.com. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  12. ^ Johnson, David (Jun 3, 2002). ""ETC Acquires transtechnik Lichtsysteme"". LiveDesign. p. 1. Retrieved Nov 10, 2023.
  13. ^ "ETC Acquires Dutch Dimming Firm IES". Live Design Magazine. Jun 14, 2004. p. 1. Retrieved Nov 12, 2023.
  14. ^ Newman, Judy (2009-02-19). "MIDDLETON'S ETC BUYING LED FIRM". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  15. ^ Rivedal, Karen (2014-08-04). "Electronic Theatre Controls purchases rigging division of Daktronics". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  16. ^ Novak, Bill (2017-03-31). "Electronic Theatre Controls buys Austin event lighting firm". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  17. ^ a b c "Middleton firm dominates theater lighting - Document - Gale Power Search". go.gale.com. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g Moody, James; Dexter, Paul (2013-05-02). Concert Lighting: Techniques, Art and Business. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-136-08270-2.
  19. ^ "ETC expands LED luminaire line with Source Four LED Series 2 spotlight". LEDs Magazine. 2014-03-17. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  20. ^ "Light and Sound International". edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  21. ^ "Fred Foster". Theatrecrafts.com. Retrieved 2023-11-10.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Electronic Theatre Controls.


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