ACE celebrates 30 years of success with major celebration
Published: ASIA
CHINA: Hong Kong-based distributor Advanced Communications Equipment Co Ltd (ACE) is this year celebrating its 30th anniversary, having recently marked the occasion with a special event at the Jiuhua Resort & Convention Centre on the eve of Beijing’s Palm China exhibition.
Initially focusing on the broadcasting and telecommunication market in The People Republic of China (PRC), Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), ACE was founded shortly after China had practiced the ‘Open Door Policy’ thus putting the company in a very strong position at an early stage. With over 300 personnel, it now operates from several offices in mainland China where it oversees prestigious engineering projects, in addition to distributing the Harman Professional and Shure brands plus others such as Clay Paky, Dolby, MA Lighting and Tascam.
The special anniversary event – promoted as ’30 years together, success forever’ – saw the company host an action packed 24-hour Open House spread over two days, with some 800 dealers, end users, systems integrators, consultants, broadcasters, lighting designers and cinema companies in attendance.
Two large ballrooms were set up for the event. One showcased a 15.1 cinema surround sound and multi-channel playback system, stage and lighting products, while the other demonstrated JBL loudspeaker products such as the new PRX400, Control 322, Pendant and CBT speakers via a Soundcraft Vi1 digital console over a fibre network.
‘In comparison to a trade show, the set-up here is very hard as it is a working system that has to work in front of our customers,’ explained ACE’s Ben Lui. Although some displays, such as a JBL STX800 system were silent, the majority including the outdoor stage hosting the new JBL VTX system were fully operational for critical listening and evaluation.
Two working karaoke rooms could also be evaluated where JBL KP KI and KS speakers specifically developed for the karaoke market were set up. Other new products that ACE’s loyal customers could appreciate included the Crown IT4x3500HD amplifier, the Studer Vista 5 with new metering and a Soundcraft digital console remote controlled via an iPad. Additionally, Harman Pro’s Stuart Dingwall offered a technical workshop.
‘We were expecting around 500 to 600 guests, so welcoming 800 here to Beijing has been a great end result,’ furthered Ben Lui, during the banquet that was held in the evening. ‘It’s more of a get-together with old friends where you can relax and catch up and talk about the new products in a good closed environment. You get a much better reaction than a trade show or the website.’