Paragon Protection appoints former Steljes boss
Sales director declares intent to improve channel partnerships in the AV rental and hire market
Audiovisual (AV) rental specialist Paragon Projection has taken on a former Steljes director to help it drive its AV rental offering through the channel.
Formerly a hire director at Steljes, Eddie Bance has joined Paragon as sales director.
Bance said: “My remit is to work in partnership with resellers to find innovative ways to take the AV rental proposition to market. Historically, Paragon hasn’t worked with resellers in this way, so this will be a new way of working for the company.”
Paragon has been in business for seven years and has claimed that it is the only true trade-only rental company in the UK.
Bance said: “Our competitors have many other aspects to their business, such as distribution, sales and hire, whereas we focus solely on the rental of plasma LCD screens and projectors to resellers.”
He added that most AV resellers are involved in the rental market, but because they are attempting to be masters of all trades, they sometimes cannot afford to maintain an up-to-date, pristine fleet.
“AV rental is Paragon’s sole focus, so our equipment is always best-of-breed and of the latest specification,” Bance added. “It is important in the AV rental market that the equipment on hire is of the latest specification so it makes complete sense for resellers to work with a company that has such a large and relevant rental fleet. Paragon’s objective is to increase its overall share of the AV trade market.”
Brendan Davies, managing director of Paragon, said: “Eddie’s experience at the highest levels of management and his knowledge of the AV hire business make him an ideal choice to lead the growth of Paragon.”
Stuart Holmes, managing director of PSCo, the rental arm of distributor Maverick, said: “We’re very different to Paragon as we offer both rental and distribution to resellers. The verticals we have most success in on the rental side are conferences, product launches and award ceremonies. We don’t do a lot in the exhibition space, whereas Paragon does well in this market.”
PSCo started off as Maverick Hire about 13 years ago. It then became the Plasma Screen Company and is now known as PSCo.
“Our strategy is to focus on new and innovative technologies,” Holmes added. “A key focus for us over the past 12 months has been a 42in bezel-less plasma from Orion.”
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