ESTA (the Entertainment Services and Technology Association) awarded its Customer Service, Dealer of the Year, and Product Awards during the ETS-LDI show in Las Vegas. The Customer Service and Dealer of the Year Awards were presented at ESTA's Annual Dinner held in conjunction with the ETS-LDI 2004 show on Thursday, October 21st and the Product Awards were presented during the ETS-LDI 2004 awards ceremony on Saturday, October 23rd.
The Dealers’ and Manufacturers' Choice Awards offer ESTA's Dealer Members the opportunity to publicly recognize those manufacturers that provide consistently good customer service. These awards recognize superior performance in four main areas: Customer Service, Shipping and Billing, Technical Support, and Quotations / Project Management. The winners for 2004 are: Doug Fleenor Design, Inc.; City Theatrical; Apollo Design Technology, Inc.
The Manufacturers' Choice Dealers of the Year Awards publicly recognize those dealers with superior performance that "just do it right". The four main areas recognized by the awards are: Staff, Sales and Marketing, Inventory, and Financial Responsibility. The winners for 2004 are: Murphy Lighting Systems; Parlights; Vincent Lighting Systems.
The Dealers’ Choice Product Awards recognize outstanding entertainment technology products in three categories: Expendable, Widget and Equipment. These Awards acknowledge the fact that dealers have an enormous impact on the success of a new product, as well as a unique perspective on its merits. The winners for 2004 are:
Expendable Category - EZ Kleen Preventative Maintenance Fluid from Le Maitre Special Effects
EZ Kleen is used as a preventative maintenance measure to ensure longer heat exchanger life. It is easy to use and should be used on a regular basis to prevent blockage of your heat exchanger that frequently happens to fog and haze machines.
Widget Category – Remote Addressing Device (RAD) from Doug Fleenor Designs
The Remote Addressing Device is used to set the DMX address of compatible products. A new enhancement to DMX512, called RDM (for Remote Device Management), allows users to receive status information and set parameters (such as the DMX address) of compliant products using the DMX link. Designed to draft version 2.0 of the RDM specification, RAD will be upgraded to comply with the released standard at no charge.
Equipment Category – SafeCam from Union Connector
A system of cam outlets that sense the insertion of plugs into the outlets. The system trips the disconnect (breaker) unless all plugs are in the outlets. Any exposed cam outlet is safe and "cold".
Votes by dealers and manufacturers are cast in each of three categories based on their number of employees, 1-6, 7-25, and over 25.