Leviton Looks to the Future Following Decision to Nix OnQ Purchase

June 6, 2003
In the wake of last month's announcement that it would not buy OnQ Technologies Inc., Middletown, Pa., Leviton Manufacturing Co. said it would continue

In the wake of last month's announcement that it would not buy OnQ Technologies Inc., Middletown, Pa., Leviton Manufacturing Co. said it would continue to build its business in the high end of the structured wiring market.

Bill Marshall, the company's vice president of sales and marketing, told Electrical Marketing in an exclusive interview that while he was not at liberty to discuss details about why Leviton withdrew from the deal, the company would continue to focus on strong relationships with installers in the security and audio-visual and other low-voltage fields.

He said Leviton still believes these installers are key players in the structured wiring market, and the company will continue marketing its products to them.

Marshall also said Leviton is working to expand its internal product development and seek technology alliances in the higher-end products of the residential structured wiring market, an area in which OnQ had a major presence. “We expect to be able to share some of our successes in those areas in the next quarter,” he added.

In other home-networking news at the company, Leviton formed a technology alliance with Crestron Electronics and joined its family of I2P Coalition Industry Partners, a coalition of manufacturers in the system integration market.

The partnership will focus on joint marketing of the companies' complementary audio/video and lighting-control solutions, starting with the development of a system interface that enables Crestron's line of home-automation systems to interoperate with Leviton's Dimensions D3200 series architectural lighting control system.

“As leaders in our respective industries, Leviton and Crestron can offer sophisticated, easy-to-use control systems that integrate audio, video, computer, Web and lighting-control solutions for homes and businesses,” said Tom Leonard, director of marketing for Leviton's Lighting Control division.

Related

Photo 226496518 / Mohd Izzuan Ros /Dreamstime
Iillustration 19276996 / Dirk Erck / Dreamstime