WHITINSVILLE, MA — If you have been involved in live audio for any significant period of time there are a few companies that you probably think of as forming the foundation of the business in the U.S. One of those "foundation" companies, Eastern Acoustic Works, better known as EAW, has joined that steady stream of U.S. manufacturing concerns packing up their domestic operations and shipping them off to Asia. On Nov. 22 the company gave the legally required 60-day notice to its Whitinsville, Mass work force, and other published accounts have said that the transition of high-volume manufacturing to Loud Technology facilities in Asia would be complete in early 2007. Although jarring, the news cannot be a surprise to anyone who has been following EAW news over the past few years. The company that was started by Ken Berger and Kenton Forsyth (the "KF" in all of those speaker model numbers) was acquired by Mackie in 2000 and just a few years later, in 2003, Mackie, now operating under the Loud Technology corporate umbrella moved its manufacturing operations offshore. The greater return on investment that resulted made it all but inevitable that other Loud brands would follow Mackie to Asia.
But the company has been pretty quiet about the whole thing, choosing to release the news through a European online news outlet only. Loud's longtime press liaison recently left the company and efforts to get further information have been met with silence and unreturned phone messages. Even the local newspaper in Whitinsville has reported being unable to reach anyone from the company.
We hate being ignored. So in typical FOH fashion we are taking our own road. A topic called EAW Goes to Asia has been started on the fohonline forums (www.fohonline.com and click on the "Wild and Wooly Forums" link). If you have comments or questions about the move, post them there and we will forward them to the EAW brass. Maybe then they'll pick up the phone.
To go to the Forums directly, click here.
