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Martin Professional

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Martin Professional
IndustryStage and architectural lighting as well as effects
FoundedAarhus, Denmark (1987)
Headquarters
Aarhus
,
Denmark
ProductsIntelligent lighting fixtures, Fog machines, LED equipment
RevenueIncrease$38 million (Q3 FY12)
OwnerSamsung Electronics
Number of employees
800
ParentHarman International Industries
Websitehttp://www.martin.com
File:EntourMartinMac250.JPG
A Martin Mac 250 fixture, primarily utilized in smaller theater venues.

Martin Professional (Harman Professional Denmark ApS) is a Danish company specializing in manufacturing and distributing lighting and effect equipment for stage and architectural applications. It operates under the ownership of Harman International Industries, itself a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics. The headquarters are situated in Aarhus, Denmark.

History

The origins of Martin trace back to 1978 when Peter Johansen, the founder, ingeniously converted a coffee maker into a smoke generator.[1] The enterprise was officially established in Aarhus in 1986, initiating production primarily of fog machines along with a limited range of disco lighting by 1987.[2] The brand name was obtained through collaboration with a French manufacturer specializing in smoke machines.[3]

In 1993, Martin launched Mach, an audio equipment division.[4]

By 1994, the company’s turnover surpassed 100 million Danish kroner. The following year, Martin went public on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, successfully raising a net capital of 85.5 million Danish kroner.[5] In 1999, Schouw & Co., a Danish industrial group, acquired a majority stake of 60 percent in Martin. Full ownership was achieved by Schouw in 2001, leading to the company’s withdrawal from the stock market. Expansion continued with the opening of a new 11,500 square metres (124,000 sq ft) manufacturing facility in Frederikshavn in 2002. Production was partially relocated to China in 2003 with operations established at a factory in Zhuhai.[2]

The Mach Audio division was discontinued in 2006.[4]

Martin experienced steady growth until the impact of the 2008 financial crisis. In 2009, the company reported losses exceeding 200 million Danish kroner,[6] which led to workforce reductions including layoffs of approximately 130 employees at its Frederikshavn production site.[7]

The firm navigated through the downturn by focusing on innovation, particularly advancing LED technology, which earned it multiple industry accolades. In 2010, the MAC 350 Entour—an automated LED lighting fixture—was honored with the annual product award from the Confederation of Danish Industries.[8] This LED advancement came from a three-year partnership with Aalborg University. Additionally, the MAC Aura luminaire and MAC Viper Profile received PLASA innovation awards in 2011[9] and 2012 respectively.[10] During early 2012, Martin began relocating some production back to Denmark at its Frederikshavn factory, hiring 26 new staff members. This repatriation was facilitated by lower labor requirements on newly developed production lines.[11]

Under Harman

In 2013, Harman International Industries finalized the purchase of Martin from Schouw.[12] This deal excluded the two manufacturing facilities located in Frederikshavn; however, it included an arrangement to lease these premises from Schouw.[13] Following the acquisition, the Mach brand was divested and sold to a consortium of investors from Canada and Hong Kong. The brand was subsequently relaunched as an independent company.[4][14]

In August 2015, Harman declared its plan to shut down the Frederikshavn factory.[15] The closure process was finalized on 31 March 2016.[13]

In March 2018, Elation Professional acquired the M-Series lineup of lighting controllers and associated software.[16] Harman continues to regard lighting as its primary product focus.[17] Since that time, Martin has been incorporated within Harman Professional Solutions.[18]

Today

Martin's products have been showcased at numerous prominent international occasions, including the 2001 Eurovision song contest held in Copenhagen, the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens,[6] as well as the Beijing 2008 summer olympics, where Martin served as the principal supplier of automated lighting fixtures with over 1100 units featured during the opening ceremony.[19] Additionally, Martin stands as a leading technology enterprise within the Aarhus region and maintains a strategic collaboration with the Aarhus University School of Engineering.[20]

Products

Initially, Martin concentrated on producing fog effect machines, with only a limited range of lighting equipment. In 1993, the company ventured into the live sound sector by launching the Mach series, though these products were soon phased out. By 1997, Martin had firmly established itself as a key player in the growing field of DMX intelligent stage lighting through the introduction of the MAC 500 and MAC 600 models.

The MAC 2000 moving head fixture remains Martin's flagship product. It is widely utilized by prominent theaters, concert organizers, major television broadcasters, and production firms.

Beyond moving heads, Martin's portfolio extends to flat mirror scanners, rotating drum scanners, strobes, color changers, semi-intelligent effects devices, LED fixtures, intelligent lighting controllers, media servers, and a variety of smoke machines.

Currently, Martin's offerings include the Martin MAC Viper, the LED MAC Quantum series, MAC Aura, and the RUSH DJ lineup, which succeeded the earlier Martin Mania series.

The Era series is another significant product range from Martin, comprising models such as the era 400 performance, era 500 hybrid up, era 600 performance, era 300 profile, and era 800 performance.

In October 2018, Martin introduced the LED moving head MAC Allure Profile to its product lineup.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  12. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  16. ↑ martin.com 14 March 2018 (includes link to Elation), retrieved 6 February 2021.
  17. ↑ www.promedianews.de 14 March 2018, Elation Professional erwirbt Lichtsteuerungen der M-Serie von Harman Professional Solutions (German), retrieved 6 February 2021.
  18. ↑ churchproduction.com 14 March 2018, Elation Professional Acquires Martin Professional's M-Series Controller Range from Harman, retrieved at 6 February 2021.
  19. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).Template:Fix/category[permanent dead link]
  20. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

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