Sharpened focus

For Barco, the divestment of its lighting activities is in line with its strategy to sharpen the focus on its core activities in markets where Barco already enjoys global leadership positions and to optimize its business portfolio in order to contribute to the company’s sustainable profitable growth trajectory. 

Realize full business potential

High End Systems has offices in the United States and employs 60 employees, primarily in Austin, Texas. In 2016 the lighting activity booked 20 million US dollar in sales with EBITDA close to break-even. 

ETC, based in Madison, Wisconsin, is a global leader in lighting and rigging products and its offering is fully complementary with High End Systems’. Joining forces with ETC will enable High End Systems to grow and unlock its full business potential leveraging its assets, including a strong brand name and solid IP portfolio. High End Systems is an excellent strategic fit with the core markets and desired technology growth areas of ETC, adding valuable scope and scale to the display capabilities of both entities. 

ETC will operate High End Systems as a separate company located in its current Austin, Texas facility. The transaction with ETC will be effective as of 1^st of April 2017 and ensures continuation of the product portfolio and future development for the current High End Systems customer base.