FEATURES: INSTALLATION
The next step for FBT will, Mr Tanoni
insists, be uncompromising in its
professional ambition.
But while that nal step is
tantalisingly close, for the time being
the manufacturer is continuing with
the same pragmatic strategy that
has already proven successful. It is
reacting to market demand, providing
increasingly sophisticated solutions
for the right applications at the right
price, and keeping its long-term goal
in mind.
‘The idea to do this started
at least 10 years ago,’ says Mr
Tanoni, re ecting on the change
the company had undergone. ‘It’s
not the kind of thing you can do
overnight. But FBT is an industrial
company based on an industrial
culture and mentality. In the past,
in the MI market, we used to do
good numbers, good quantities. As
we began to bring our experience
more into professional audio, we
discovered that the technology
Automation on the FBT
production line
we held in our hands was still
good. Now we have made more
investments and brought new
engineers on board with new ideas,
and we still believe that the assets
of the company and the structure of
the company are the reasons that
we can enter these new markets.’
With a note of con dence, he adds:
‘The technology we already have,
coupled with more investment,
is guaranteeing that we can
deliver good quality products with
a competitive price into these
markets’.
Nevertheless, the manufacturer
faces signi cant challenges. In
the time that it has been gradually
transforming its product line-up, an
increasing number of its competitors
have shifted production overseas to
China. In contrast, FBT has largely
worn its ‘made in Italy’ credentials
as a badge of honour.
‘We have been manufacturing in
Italy, in Europe, so the issues of
workmanship and cost are very
important to us,’ Mr Tanoni explains.
‘Everybody who is dealing with
MI, and even some professional
companies, have simply moved
production to China. They have
reduced the cost of manufacturing
and so on. This is one of the
reasons why we have felt the need
to move our production ideas and
investments into the professional
eld, where it is important to have
a good price, but quality is what
matters most.’
However, what was once a trend
towards lower-cost overseas
production has now become the
norm, and FBT is feeling pressure to
follow its competitors, at least when
it comes to the semi-professional,
more retail-focused markets. ‘We
don’t want to leave MI behind
completely,’ Mr Tanoni stresses,
‘but being an Italian manufacturer
today, we are automatically missing
part of the market – the part that is
manufactured in China. So what we
want to do now is develop and design
new entry-level products here in Italy,
and then manufacture those entry
level products in China, but under the
FBT brand.’
Assembly lines in the FBT factory
‘The technology we already have,
coupled with more investment, is
guaranteeing that we can deliver
good quality products with a
competitive price into these markets’
The change will mean the end of
the Kempton Audio name – until
now, FBT’s more budget-focused, MIfriendly range, and it comes as part
of the overall broader plan to ensure
all products from the company
bear the FBT logo. It also comes in
recognition of major brands within
the same price segment who have
The design process underway
shifted production to China in recent
years. ‘In the MI eld, the brand
is sometimes the most important
thing,’ Mr Tanoni re ects.
However, the decision in no way
signals a drop in quality from the
company – the opposite is in fact
true. Even when discussing the
more MI-focused, portable ranges,
the director of operations confesses
to feeling discomfort at producing
anywhere other than Italy, while
he proudly explains the company’s
policy when it comes to publishing
loudspeaker power ratings,
regardless of price point. ‘We give
three different power ratings, and
they are real.’
He laments, however, that within
that starter market, not every brand
publishes ratings with quite so much
zealous detail, and that ‘a young guy
with some money to spend might
see a 1,000W rating and believe
that is what he needs’. Again, the
director points to this as a reason for
targeting professional sectors. ‘It’s
different in the professional markets.
They are two different worlds.’
Perhaps most importantly, whilst
the MI-focused ranges will be
produced elsewhere, FBT’s Recanati
factory will turn its attention more
to the professional markets it has
long courted. The Muse line array
is an example of this – a carefullypriced, mid-range offering boasting
the kind of speci cation that will
appeal to the broader install and live
market, without pricing FBT out of the
competition. ‘We are very exi &