Christie, the global leader in visual displays and audio technologies, announced that it has acquired Cologne-based coolux GmbH (‘coolux’), a world-renowned developer and supplier of 3D compositing and rendering systems, best known for its Pandoras Box product family. coolux will be integrated into Christie’s Global Market Solutions team, maintaining its office in Cologne, Germany. Jennifer Smith, executive vice president, Global Market Solutions, said “Christie is committed to deepen its marketplace lead in supplying a total solution for advanced applications such as projection mapping, broadcast delivery and all manner of large-scale digital canvas creation, so the fit between our products and services and those of coolux is a natural one.” Continuing, Smith said “Pre-visualization capability when creating stunning, experiential events – including real-time rendering of same – is increasingly important in the creative plans of entertainment designers and creative visionaries. The acquisition is a boon to those who need multiple display technologies to come together to create both continuous and non-continuous digital canvases, but most importantly, to be able to create and manage the content that flows onto these canvases,” added Smith.
coolux CEO Jan Huewel, who will report to Jennifer Smith in his new position of senior director, Processing Solutions, commented, “In a world where visual and audio experiences are assuming new importance in inspiring and moving audiences, content orchestration and synchronized content delivery is paramount and with today’s news. Christie, with its already impressive presence in this arena, has gained another leading-edge product line and development team to ensure it keeps its lead.”
Initial reactions to the news of the acquisition were positive among global leaders in augmented reality and experiential-marketing projects, exemplified by award-winning projection designer Bart Kresa of BARTKRESA design Inc. who said “I’ve used coolux and Christie products in a number of my productions and value both for their feature-rich gamut and reliability, so I’m excited about what Christie will come up with in future, leveraging its expertise and that of the coolux team.”
coolux has become a welcome feature at various industry shows, including ISE, NAB, LDI and InfoComm, and this presence will continue in the Christie experiential marketing booths at said shows, beginning with the NAB 2015 show in Las Vegas, Nevada, April 13-16, 2015.
coolux, on its own and in combination with Christie products, has earned an enviable track record in delivering impactful 3D visualisation and compositing solutions and driving many notable events.