Midwich finalises 3M short-throw contract
Partnership plans to allow VARs to sell short-throw projectors as a stand alone project
Midwich has secured a deal with 3M for its short-throw projectors in a move it has claimed will allow resellers to offer the projectors as a stand-alone product for the first time.
Short-throw projectors are particularly favoured in the education sector when coupled with an interactive whiteboard (IWB) because they reduce the glare of ordinary projectors and do not need to be mounted to a ceiling, reducing the installation cost.
Under the agreement, Midwich will stock 3M’s DMS800 wall-mounted projectors and DMS700 desktop projectors, both of which feature 3M’s Vikuiti technology, as well as 3M’s Digital Whiteboard and Digital Easel.
Paul Gardner, business development manager for visual systems at 3M, told CRN: “To date we have only sold these products through a dozen audiovisual resellers. We have been getting a lot of enquiries from outside our existing customer base. Midwich was very enthusiastic about the products and has a good reputation in the industry so we chose Midwich as our first distributor.”
Darren Lewitt, divisional director at Midwich, said: “Resellers can now buy a short-throw projector on its own rather than feeling pressurised to buy it as part of a bundle. 3M’s projectors complement any vendor’s IWB.”
Colin Messenger, senior consultant at analyst Decision Tree Consulting, said: “This is a great result for VARs. Midwich needs to actively sell and push the technology though.”
Last year, IWB vendors Promethean and Smart Technologies both launched all-in-one IWB systems featuring short-throw projectors.