Pan-European audio visual distributor Midwich has moved into the US market with the acquisition of Starin Marketing, a specialist value-added distributor of AV products.
Starin, headquartered in Chesterton, Indiana, was founded in 1988 and generated revenues of over $200m in the last financial year. It is currently led by the senior management team of Bill Mullin (CEO), Bill Pak (COO) and Bobby Swartz (president), all of whom will remain with the business and continue to drive Starin’s growth strategy.
Stephen Fenby (pictured), Midwich Group managing director, said: “We are now working in the world’s largest AV market. This partnership will allow us to broaden our support to international customers and further strengthen our relationship with current and new group vendors. The acquisition also adds to the group’s UC capabilities, providing additional expertise in a strategically important market”
Starin has a particularly strong heritage in the unified communications market, and works with brands such as Barco, Poly and DTEN. The company has also pioneered the ZoomRooms “outfitting” model, allowing it to support certified Zoom integrators with a complete ecosystem of hardware components which are optimised to work with Zoom’s video conferencing software.
In addition to the firm's UC market product offering, the business provides a range of specialist AV technology solutions to US customers, and supports customers with video and technical video solutions, representing major brands such as LG, Vivitek and Advanced Network Devices. It provides customer solution and product training.
Starin's Bill Mullin said: “Midwich is keenly interested in having us go to the next level in our strategic initiatives and alliances. It was the best fit from many options we considered for advancing.
“Midwich’s existing global infrastructure gives us a platform for continued coverage and growth, in addition to providing resources for elevated structural, operational and financial capabilities. Best of all, our partners will benefit in significant ways.”
