It’s official. SnapAV, a manufacturer of audio/video, surveillance, networking, and remote management products for professionals, and Control4 Corporation, a global provider of smart home solutions, have successfully completed their merger. Unified into a single organization, Control4 becomes a professional smart home platform in the SnapAV portfolio.
The combination of the two companies brings together a product a combination of in-house brands and third-party products, backed by experienced product engineering teams, award-winning customer service, education and training programs, and in-field technical support. Together, company leadership believes, they have the resources and logistics infrastructure to be a “one-stop shop” that drives value-added services for technology professionals across the industries that they serve.
“The smart home industry is poised for massive growth, and much of that growth will be driven and satisfied by professionals. Our team shares a passion to deliver fantastic experiences to homeowners and businesses,” said John Heyman, CEO of SnapAV. “Through this combination of industry leaders, we have organized ourselves around delivering a unified and integrated company that gives dealers one place to go for the best and broadest selection of products, greatest technical support, most rewarding sales programs, robust training resources, and more.”
Heyman noted that bringing the companies together will help the professional smart home industry grow, help its dealers grow, and help their dealers put together even more amazing experiences for consumers. “The investment in the company is growing, not shrinking,” he added.
The SnapAV product development team, led by Charlie Kindel as chief product & technology officer, envisions a roadmap that blends deep innovation with simplicity, interoperability, and quality. “We know this to be true: the number of connected devices in the home will continue to increase. Homeowners want help removing complexity so they can enjoy life at home more and manage technology less,” Kindel said. “We’re focused on the vision of making end-customers rave about our fantastic products and the great living experiences our dealers create with those products. Through this merger, we will fulfill the true promise of the smart home.”
Together the combined company offers a broad product portfolio. Adding the Control4 Smart Home OS, an operating system specifically designed for the modern, pro-installed smart home, makes SnapAV one of the most connected product portfolios, with interoperability across nearly 14,000 devices from hundreds of manufacturers. Control4 will continue to be available only through Control4 Authorized Dealers, and the high standards required for dealer certification will not change. All brands in the combined product portfolio – including Pakedge and Araknis, OvrC and BakPak, Triad and Episode – continue to be supported, and dealers can use the solution that best fits their business needs.
Dealers can expect to see continued investment in both local and international expansion. Ordering products will remain the same for now, but over time, the combined portfolios will be made available through online ordering, shipping, or local pickup. SnapAV intends to invest further into the international markets that Control4 has established, including the UK, Ireland, China, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and Switzerland.
“Control4’s global platform in 100 countries was a major attraction to us,” Heyman said. “SnapAV has a very small presence outside the U.S. – fairly limited to Canada. We’re really excited about bringing our SnapAV platform and products to the global economy. Some of those products are ready today. Others require some evolution in terms of design and certification. We will be working on those very quickly.”
Heyman referred to the merger as “day one of this journey.”
“We are just getting started. SnapAV is committed to investing relentlessly in the success of its dealers and fueling broad industry growth to better serve our shared customers. We believe in the importance of professionally installed systems, and we are laying the groundwork to ensure those businesses succeed long into the future,” Heyman concluded.
Kindel echoed Heyman sentiment about the importance of professional installation. “Part of the promise of the smart home is that you have a seamless experience as an end-user, and we will be able to deliver that more effectively through our dealers,” he said. “This whole space is still very nascent. There’s a ton of innovation on behalf of customers left. By combining forces, we will be able to do a lot more innovation in the customer experience in the home, as well as in how we continue to integrate all of those other products that are out there from other players in the pro install space.”
With a combined 1,200 employees, SnapAV CEO John Heyman will lead the merged teams, while former Control4 CEO Martin Plaehn joins the Board of Directors. Jeff Hindman joins the executive team as chief revenue officer, while former Amazon Alexa executive and Control4 SVP of Products & Services Charlie Kindel is named SnapAV Chief Product & Technology Officer. Mike Carlet will serve as the company’s chief financial officer. Additional executives of the combined company include Jeff Dungan, G Paul Hess, JD Ellis, Barrett Schiwitz, Bryce Judd, Carmen Thiede, Graham Jaenicke, and Wally Whinna. The company will have headquarters in Charlotte, NC, and Salt Lake City, UT, with offices and local facilities around the world.
