Snell Delivers Bonus Value After Merger

Correspondent Carl Lindemann reports on Snell announcements at the NAB Show.

According to Snell CEO Simon Derry, the 2010 NAB Show marks the end of the shakeout following the merger of Pro-Bel and Snell & Wilcox.

“2009 was an extraordinary and tough time for the industry,” he said at the company’s press conference. “The timing was excellent for the merger, [now] creating great value for customers and extending the reach of our distribution.”

A highlight of the press conference was the introduction of the Kahuna 360 production-switcher platform. Besides integrating 3D capabilities, it supports 16 simultaneous broadcast productions in a single mainframe — an industry first, according to the company.

Also introduced was Archangel, a real-time restoration tool that opens the door to repurposing media assets for HD. Meanwhile, the company’s Morpheus and Morpheus ICE automation products support Virtual Machine environments.

“Virtual Machine environments cut the clutter of the proliferation of boxes and emulate multiple discrete machines,” said Derry. “This saves lots of power, space, and maintenance.”

He acknowledged a “slight hiatus in the business,” allowing the merger process to go forward in creating efficiencies in the unified company. “We’re capitalizing on combined skills in R&D, customer service, and our product portfolio,” he added.

Another key asset, he said, is the company’s strength as a brand. An industry survey showed widespread appreciation for its being “trustworthy and authoritative.” Building on this, Snell’s new slogan, “Innovation in multiscreen world,” shows the direction ahead.

“Innovation for us in the future will mean business innovation,” Derry said. “We’ll have much closer customer intimacy. We need to be close to the customer as the business evolves.”

He hopes to correct one misapprehension about Snell: “We’ve got a great sensitivity to driving down costs, lowering the total cost of ownership. Snell has a reputation for premium pricing. I want to assure you that is an out-of-date perception. We are very competitive in the marketplace. We’re extremely cost-effective, saving money for customers.”

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