ASK projects a smaller future

European projector vendor ASK Proxima will sign more distributors and dealers when it launches smaller, cheaper devices with digital light processor technology later this year.

European projector vendor ASK Proxima will sign more distributors and dealers when it launches smaller, cheaper devices with digital light processor technology later this year.

The Norwegian manufacturer, which sells indirect, claims to be second only to US company InFocus in worldwide projector sales. Last month, it added Brentford specialist Steljes to its UK distributors Sahara and GEI.

Thomas Nedder, sales and marketing vice-president at ASK Proxima, said the company's market is likely to expand. Its data/video projectors sell as presentation tools and are often shared between PC users, but may start to sell as truly portable models, and for consumers wanting large screens for games, DVD and home cinema.

"The dealer is still the decision maker for most projector sales. We are talking to manufacturers about home cinema, DVD and games, and to retailers about co-brand or OEM deals," he said.

Technological advances mean projectors that currently cost more than £7,000 and are similar in size to vacuum cleaners, are set to shrink to £2,500, dictionary-sized models this year. Following its C2-C6 Compact launch six weeks ago, ASK Proxima will introduce its £5,000 M5 compact model at CeBIT and another revision will follow in the fourth quarter.

Electronics giants, including Sony and Epson, are to increase competition in the audio/visual market as data/video projectors become smaller and less expensive. Nedder said ASK Proxima could change its distributor line-up if the products fall below £1,500 and sell through retailers.

ASK bought US rival Proxima in 1998 for $83m (£52m) and expects to report turnover in excess of Kr2bn (£180m) for its 1999 results. It sells 85 per cent of its products through resellers.