ROLAND’S FOUNDER RETURNS

15 April 2015

Atelier Vision Corporation (ATV) will be exhibiting for the first time internationally at the 2015 Frankfurt Musikmesse/Pro Light & Sound exhibition. ‘So what?’, you might say ‘just another start-up’. This is no ordinary start-up, not when Ikutaro Kakehashi is behind it, who many will know as Roland Corporation’s founder and godfather of MIDI.

ATV’s audio and video product lines will be focusing on applications in the broadcast, entertainment, networking, corporate AV, events, installation, and digital signage markets internationally — pretty darn broad. For the MI arm of the business, the company will focus on electronic products in the drums (about the only thing on the ATV website at the minute), percussion, keyboards, and guitar segments.

Atelier Vision’s production and twin R&D departments have been located in Japan from the company’s inception (the Hamamatsu R&D centre handles MI products, while the Matsumoto centre looks after AV), but from the first, a European office was planned to handle sales and marketing for the EMEA region, headed by Paulo Caius, former President of Roland Iberia.

We watch with interest. No doubt Roland Corporation’s new private equity owners will be thrilled!

Atelier Vision Europe: www.ateliervisioneurope.com