Who owns Crestron?

Crestron – George Feldstein – Founder and Sole Owner

Crestron – in business for more than 40 years

Founder, sole owner and President of Crestron – George Feldstein (engineer)

George Feldstein started his own company in 1969 out of a room above Crestkill Delicatessen, New Jersey, when he got fired from an engineering company and decided that he could not work for anyone else.  At that point he had “no money, four kids, a mortgage, and a Dodge Dart” and the only equipment he had was his own tools (Ewalt, 2011).  He started off by designing controllers for slide projectors and doing anything for money.  The company really took off when he developed a “wireless remote for commercial audiovisual systems. Then came audio switches, video projectors and lighting control panels.” (Ewalt, 2011) Now the company is worth at least one billion dollars, with an annual income of $500 million. The company believes in development of new technologies and uses 15% of its profits towards the production of new products (such as energy management devices).

A majority of Crestron’s clientele are luxury home owners, but Crestron’s equipment can also be found in conference rooms at Microsoft, seven out of eight Ivy League schools, the penthouse at the Trump World Tower in New York, and the situation room at the Pentagon.  Crestron manufactures electronic control systems such as automated light, sound, and temperature controls, fancy digital screens and speakers for conference rooms, and classroom projectors (Ewalt, 2011). Crestron have educational products which are mostly used for classroom automation that include the following: CaptureLive HD (can schedule, record, publish, and view lectures or presentations in high-definition), FreeSpeech (wireless microphone), MediaManager (selects, transmits, and controls audio/video devices for classroom presentations), OnCue (directly connects to any projector), and IntelliClass (used for classroom presentations).  Crestron is trying to provide solutions to improve classroom learning and safety and has started a program called A+ Program for Education.  Clients in this partnership receive preferred pricing, extended warranties, and free training.

To this day, George Feldstein owns 100% of Crestron and will not be selling it off anytime soon.  It is a family affair, with his son, Dan, being the vice president of operations and his daughter, Wendy, director of engineering services.  He also has four key executives and 57 offices in 45 countries around the world, but the main operations buildings are found in Bergen County, New Jersey.  It consists of buildings for corporate management, manufacturing, training facilities, and a 100,000 square-foot research center.  Crestron has many partnerships with such groups as Government Support Services, Home Builders, hospitality partners, interior designing, and Integrated Manufacturers programs.  Crestron is also a member and participates in trade associations, business organizations, and affinity groups.  A list of these organizations can be found on their website.

I think that Crestron has worked as a company because of its founder, George Feldstein.  He initially would do any job to get the company off the ground and then came up with ventures that were not typical products.  He also targeted the right groups (such as luxury home owners) and then expanded to other organizations or businesses to buy their products.  George Feldstein can still be seen going through the operations, manufacturing, and research centers, creating a presence within the company.  He is still creating new technologies and promoting the production of new products.  The one thing that I could not find on the Crestron website was information about his board and advisors.  There was some mention of the use of engineers, programmers, architects, consultants, and designers, indicating the creation of jobs or affiliations with many people.  The website was very organized and had lots to offer someone who visited the site.

George Feldstein

References:

Ewalt, D.M (2011). Crestron Electronics: A Made-In-America Success Story. Forbes Magazine.  Retrieved on September 27, 2012 from:

Crestron Electronics (or simply Crestron) is an American privately held multinational corporation that manufactures and distributes control automation and integration technology. The company designs, manufactures, and distributes equipment used to control technology in commercial audiovisual environments such as meeting spaces, conference rooms, classrooms and auditoriums. Crestron equipment is also used for high-end residential audiovisual installations, built on the company's Crestron Home OS.[1]

History

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Crestron was founded by George Feldstein in 1972. After graduating from New York University with a master's in electronic engineering, Feldstein worked as chief engineer at a firm that built industrial control and testing equipment. He left in 1969 to start his own business. He began by cold-calling other businesses, offering to build or repair their equipment. His company's first job was for Colgate-Palmolive, building a device to help automated assembly lines put the right amount of powder into boxes of detergent. An early milestone was the company's development of a wireless remote for commercial audiovisual systems, which led to work developing audio switches, video projectors, and lighting control panels, and selling integrated audiovisual systems to businesses and universities.[2]

After George Feldstein's death in 2014, Randy Klein was named Crestron's CEO and president. In December 2021, Klein retired, and Dan Feldstein took over as CEO and president.[3] In May 2022, Crestron unveiled the company's engineering base, the George Feldstein Technology Center in Rockleigh.[4]

Crestron Certification began in 1998, which evolved into the Crestron Masters program in 2001. Crestron Masters is an annual certification and training event where programmers, technology architects, and systems designers are trained in the latest Crestron technology, industry best practices, and distribution strategies, with various levels of certification offered.[5][6][7]

Originally headquartered in Cresskill, New Jersey, Crestron is now headquartered in Rockleigh, New Jersey, with over 90 offices worldwide.[2][3]

Products

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The company does not sell its products directly, instead using a network of dealers and integrators to sell products to end users. Crestron equipment can be found in homes, offices, universities, government buildings, churches, and healthcare facilities worldwide.[8]

The company offers commercial business solutions for enterprise, education, and government, including conference room technology, video distribution, XiO cloud management software, and network security.[9] One such offering is Crestron Flex, a line that integrates video conferencing, wireless presentation, and smart room control.[10] Crestron has been noted for envisioning "the workplace of the future," helping to design workspaces for companies including Meta, Microsoft, and Johnson & Johnson.[11]

The company also offers technology solutions for residential, hospitality, marine, and multi-dwelling units industries using their own operating system, Crestron Home OS.[9][12] Crestron Home is used to configure and control home automation devices.[12] It integrates with Amazon Alexa, Siri, and Google Home.[13] Crestron Home OS can be customized for each homeowner, based on user preferences.[14]

Mark Zuckerberg's smart home technology, Jarvis, is built on top of smart home technology by Crestron. It uses Crestron to provide a way for Jarvis's app to speak to lights, thermostats, and doors.[13]

Starting in 2016, Crestron donated audiovisual and automation technology to Orbis International's Flying Eye Hospital, an eye care hospital located onboard an aircraft that flies to underserved areas to treat patients at risk of losing their sight. The Crestron technology helps enable staff to operate on these patients and gives local doctors the opportunity to be trained in a classroom onboard the plane. It is the world's first such hospital.[15][16]

Crestron Electronics hosted its Modern Work Summit on latest workplace trends at the Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel and Conference Center in Spain on May 23 and 24, 2023, and featured presentations from Microsoft, Zoom and Gensler.[17]

Acquisitions

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Crestron announced partnerships with Huddly in 2017 and with Shure and Jabra in 2021.[10] In 2022, Crestron acquired 1 Beyond, a video technology company.[10]

References

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