QSC, LLC announces the acquisition of Ultra-Stereo Labs, Inc. (“USL”), effective September 30, 2016. The acquisition will allow QSC to offer an industry-leading portfolio of audio-visual processing and B-chain solutions under the QSC and USL brands for the motion picture exhibition industry.
“As the first major acquisition in the nearly 50-year history of our company, we naturally wanted to find a company that would be an excellent strategic fit for QSC,” says Jatan Shah, Chief Operating Officer of QSC. “We recognise the many valuable contributions that USL has made to the cinema industry over the years, and are confident that the integration of the two companies will provide an even more powerful total value proposition for our customers. The two companies are complementary in terms of product offering and how we view our commitment to the customer.”
Barry Ferrell, QSC’s Chief Strategy Officer and leader of the Cinema business unit for the company, agrees. “While there is certainly overlap in our domestic distribution channel, the breadth and depth of the QSC international distribution network will significantly expand the combined QSC/USL global footprint. And while the product catalogs have some areas of overlap, for the most part the catalogs are extremely complementary, allowing QSC to offer an unprecedented and comprehensive range of cinema solutions.”
Both companies are well-established in the global cinema market. QSC and USL product philosophies are extremely compatible; both emphasise high quality, high value products at a reasonable price, backed by best-in-class service and product support. This is evidenced in the fact that USL has won the highly-coveted International Cinema Technology Association’s (ICTA) “Manufacturer of the Year” award a record six times, and QSC has won it three times. QSC and USL are the only companies in the history of ICTA to win consecutive “back to back” awards.
“I can think of no better company in the cinema industry to turn over the stewardship of the USL brand than QSC,” says Jack Cashin, USL Founder and Chief Product Visionary. “We are so pleased to finalise this agreement, and look forward to an amazing future together.”
QSC is looking forward to joining forces with Jack Cashin as an integral part of the product development team for USL branded products.
Founded in 1968, QSC has evolved from an audio amplifier manufacturer to a full audio systems supplier for the live sound, systems integration, and cinema industries. Based in Costa Mesa, CA, QSC is the top supplier of power amplifiers for the global cinema industry, and also a leader in signal processing and loudspeakers.
San Luis Obispo, CA-based USL was founded by Jack Cashin in 1982, and has been one of the leading suppliers of award-winning audio signal processing and audio-visual test and measurement products for the cinema and pro AV industries.
