Passion, pride and perseverance. Three qualities that well define “Bang & Olufsen”, the prestigious Danish company that leads the market in the engineering and design of television sets, music systems and high performing audio products. “Bang & Olufsen” has its roots in the small town of Struer where, almost ninety years ago, two engineers, Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen, decided to lay the foundations of a company they hoped would become an icon of audio visual perfection.
And so it was. Even today, company philosophy prioritizes the quality and innovation of its product lines, without forgetting the responsibility and respect it owes to the environment. This entails the manufacturing of sustainable products in working environments that are safe and healthy for all company employees.
Today, “Bang & Olufsen” products are sold in over one hundred countries and it is the “Bang & Olufsen Central Park” (Tecnica e Design SA) which officially represents the Danish company in Lugano.
We asked its owner, Mr. Schober, to tell us how he reconciles his own company philosophy with that of “B&O”.
“The term that best describes our company is that of “SOLUTION PROVIDER” because, apart from the provision and perfect installation of audio/video products of the premium Danish brand, we are also able to find any possible solution to our customers’ problems, with the same commitment and excellent results as “B&O”.
With regard to the supply of additional services (video surveillance, anti-intrusion alarms, the integration of complex home automation systems, etc.) we are backed up by a network of reliable partners who are able to satisfy any requirement.”
“What are your short-term objectives?”
“We already offer our customers a number of services ranging from on-site inspections and a careful assessment of individual needs, passing through multimedia design to a correct preparation of technical infrastructures. In the executive phase, we guarantee equipment installations performed to the highest standards and an efficient after-sales service, as well as offering a three year warranty on “B&O” products, against the two years contemplated by the law.
Moreover, to further extend our target, we have contacts with professionals in the real estate business and its related activities, to whom we offer our products, services and technology so that they, in their turn, may provide added value to their clientele.”
“What particularly innovative “Bang & Olufsen” products do you offer your customers?”
“In the audio segment, we can count on a diversified range of solutions for the reception of music in streaming from mobile devices (Apple/Android). Today, music is purchased on-line using iTunes or services such as Spotify. The “B&O PLAY” portfolio, for instance, consists of mobile stand-alone products that are intuitive to use and easy to integrate in one’s everyday life.
On the other hand, with regard to the video sector, our televisions do not only provide excellent quality images but they also interact with one’s daily activities, and “Bang & Olufsen” is at the crux of this revolutionary development in television sets. It is an important step towards the future and perfectly suited to the digital home and the needs of modern-day families. Our televisions offer a remarkable audio quality, fully integrated digital services such as Spotify and Smart TV, transmission to the Home Cinema wireless loudspeakers in CD quality up to a distance of 12 metres, the possibility to control devices of other brands (DVDs, decoders, Apple TV) with one single remote control. In this way, television becomes the hub of home entertainment.”
“What is it that continues to distinguish B&O design today?”
“Excellence, originality, synthesis and passion continue to be the four cornerstones underlying the work effected by the team of designers and mechanical experts who create and operate for the “Bang & Olufsen” brand.
“Bang & Olufsen” products are conceived by independent designers outside the company who are inspired by their observations of everyday life: an organ pipe seen at the flea market, the different colours taken on by the light through the long summer Scandinavian days or the doorways of a large department store, the ones that fascinated David Lewis (1939-2011), one of the most renowned designers in the history of “Bang & Olufsen”, when he was doing a walk right before Christmas. These inspired the respective creation of the BeoLab 8000, BeoPlay A9 Nordic Sky loudspeakers and the BeoSound Ouverture stereo.
In its production, “Bang & Olufsen” uses aluminium because it is a highly fascinating material which, once anodized, has an extremely long life.
Anodizing is an electrolytic passivation process that forms a long-lasting oxide layer on the surface of metal. “Bang & Olufsen” began anodizing materials in the fifties. The company’s current anodizing plant was inaugurated in 1992 and is still one of the most advanced plants in the world.”
