Global flightcase hardware and premium 19-inch racking manufacturer Penn Elcom has launched Penn Elcom Ireland, a new all-encompassing facility and operation that will spearhead expansion in a growing market and be headed by Rory Winston.
Penn Elcom Chairman and founder Roger Willems stated: “The Irish pro entertainment industry market shows definitive signs of recovering from the economic dip, there are many installations and other projects happening and flourishing! It’s been our intention to open a base there for some time, but then circumstances converged to make this a really opportune time!”
These circumstances include Winston becoming available to run Penn Elcom Ireland and also the 7,000 sq ft warehouse facility in south County Dublin coming on-stream, so with these two huge plusses, Willems activated the plan. Stock of Penn’s extensive standard flightcase hardware and accessories and its most popular 19-inch rack ranges will be available for Irish clients from stock.
Winston has been in the flightcase business since the late 1980s and has known Willems since the early 1990s initially through purchasing Penn products for his then company’s cases. He took a break from the world of flightcases in 2008 returning to the scene with a bang in 2016 after being head-hunted by Willems.
“We are extremely fortunate to have someone of Rory’s calibre taking care of the operation” continued Willems. “He brings a vast fund of experience, particularly in flightcase manufacture, excellent communication skills and large contact base to the equation. That and the fact that we’ve known each other for 25 years or so make him an ideal choice.”
Winston added: “I’m hugely excited to be running Penn Elcom Ireland. Penn’s brand is incredibly strong, the products are fantastic and renowned for quality and being well-engineered, and that’s why most of the most prolific flightcase manufacturers want Penn products on their cases.
“Having known and respected Roger and the core team for so long, it’s a real honour to now become properly part of the Penn family.” Winston will initially be working alongside other key personnel at the Dublin base and new staff will be recruited as the company grows. He thinks the current Penn ranges of 19-inch racking will have a big impact across all sectors of the Irish installation market.
The Irish base will also mean super-fast delivery of relevant in-stock items purchased through Penn Elcom Online, the new comprehensive e-commerce portal launched in January offering a comprehensive and convenient ‘anytime’ sales outlet for over 4000 product lines.