Nigel Wood, Managing Director of Celestion, was recently interviewed by Pro AVL Central as part of their ‘Digitally Steered’ series. The discussion covered the challenges of manufacturing during the covid era, the benefits of foresight, and combining the best of 21st century innovation with almost a hundred years of heritage as an iconic brand.
Below are some of the highlights from the interview, along with the full interview video on the Pro AVL Central YouTube channel.
Effects of the Pandemic
Trade orders pretty much vanished in the first few weeks of the pandemic, but consumers kept on buying, to the point where we need to double our UK production to keep up.
On MI Products Bouncing Back at the Beginning of the Pandemic
Covid kicked off in March two years ago and for the first six weeks we had no orders… but what we found is that the consumer kept on buying, and they kept on buying MI type products and it came back so strong we had to double the output of the UK factory, which is unbelievable!
The Digital Advantage
New software tools developed over the past fifteen years have enabled us to modernise production lines and to support flexible working; our engineers can work from anywhere in the world.
Supply Chain Challenges
Supplies and energy have all increased in price with some items being difficult to source in the short term; we expect two years before the business world starts to normalise. Meanwhile, we are investing in materials, switching from a “just in time” model to “just in case” to protect our growth.
The Future
We are investing heavily in our world-leading Pro PA business, we have invested in a factory in Asia, we are investing in a facility in Thailand, and at the same time we are increasing our UK production to keep up with demand.
Which Product Best Symbolises Celestion?
Celestion is a business of two parts, our iconic Celestion Greenback guitar speaker reflects our rich legacy, and the new AxiPeriodic driver represents our leading-edge innovation in the Pro PA market as new product with worldwide patents.
Hitting the Century
Celestion will be 100 years old in 2024, we’re going to have a big industry party to celebrate – pandemics permitting!
You can check out the full interview below: