Lanxess, a global leader in specialty chemicals, recently undertook a strategic AV upgrade of its Thane facility in India.
With the goal of creating a technology-rich environment that supports client engagement, hybrid communication, and internal collaboration, Lanxess appointed AllWave AV Systems as the integrator for this project.
Harsh Tripathi, project engineer from AllWave AV Systems, explains how the integrator became involved in the project: “Our team in the design and business development team were involved in securing this project. Specifically, Lanxess already had a close pre-existing relationship with our CEO, Kuldip. Through our connections and expertise, we managed to secure the project.”
For this project, the scope of AllWave’s work included end-to-end AV integration within the experience centre and several medium-sized meeting rooms. Harsh elaborates on the client’s expectations: “Lanxess came to us with a clear vision of what they wanted. They aimed to create a state-of-the-art experience centre that would allow global clients and internal stakeholders to interactively engage with the company’s offerings. They specifically requested for professional-grade videoconferencing solutions to be implemented, as well as immersive presentation and product display capabilities. The solutions we proposed also had to be scalable for future events and versatile across multiple purposes and events.”
He added: “Microsoft Teams was their choice of videoconferencing platform, so we had to make sure that the solutions chosen could support global conferencing through MTR. The AV system should be able to present content using large and vertical digital displays. At the same time, they needed a setup that had intuitive control interfaces to ensure that it can be easily used on a daily basis.”
Designed for easy operation
At the heart of the experience centre is an LG 110UM5K 110-in display, serving as the primary output for presentations. Harsh comments: “The idea behind the centre was to demonstrate Lanxess’ progress and future direction in a seamless and interactive way. We set it up so that all content sharing and displays could be controlled from one device, literally with a single tap on a phone or tablet. The main target audience of this centre is Lanxess’ foreign and local clients.”
The 110-in display is supported by vertically mounted 55-in Samsung digital signage screens, which are used to display content related to branding, wayfinding, and ambient communication throughout the space.
Harsh shares the justification for going ahead with display signage instead of other forms of visual output like projectors: “This decision was based on the client’s requirement. Since it is an experience centre, the space itself needed a clean and open layout. For projection, you need a proper environment such as controlled lighting, curtains, flat surfaces. But this space had to remain partially open, so a projector setup would not work well. That is why we went with a 110-in display instead.”
The visual infrastructure is driven by the Yealink MVC940 Microsoft Teams Room system, which was chosen for its native Teams compatibility and ability to support high-resolution PTZ camera feeds. For additional flexibility, AllWave integrated a wired BYOD extender which allows presenters to connect their personal devices to the system.
Having a high-performing audio infrastructure was equally important to the client. Harsh observes: “Lanxess required clear, intelligible sound for both everyday meetings and larger internal events such as town halls. To meet this brief, we deployed Shure ceiling microphones with beamforming capabilities and paired these with Helvia’s range of audio solutions including its amplifiers, openceiling speakers, and front-ofhouse units.”
Harsh explains why Helvia’s products were selected: “Given this was a flagship experience centre, audio quality had to match the high expectations set by Lanxess. We chose Helvia solutions because they offered the right balance between performance and coverage. The two Estro 8P speakers placed beside the 110-in display delivered powerful, front-facing sound, while the ceiling speakers ensured consistent audio dispersion across the space. In the end, the system met the client’s standards.”
He adds: “We also decided to install the Q-SYS Core 110f DSP for audio processing as it is a central platform that can function as an audio processor, video I/O device, and control interface. This helped us to minimise rack space and system complexity.”
Beyond the experience centre, AllWave also worked on the meeting rooms in the facility. Each meeting room was equipped with the Poly X30 and X52 videoconferencing system which includes built-in audio and visual capabilities.
Harsh elaborates on the choice of technology in the meeting rooms: “Poly is Zoom and Microsoft Teams Room certified, which was a criteria that the client was looking for. They were deciding between Poly and a competitor brand, and since Poly has been around longer and is a well-trusted brand, they preferred Poly. The Poly video bars are all-in-one with mics, speakers, and cameras integrated into the product so we did not need any separate microphones or extra audio equipment. Considering the size and purpose of these meeting rooms, having an all-in-one system was more than enough.”
To ensure all systems could be managed with ease, a unified control platform was implemented. Users interact with the AV environment through an iPad Air mounted in an iPort wall station. The backend is supported by QSC control processors and a Cisco AV network switch.
He notes: “The iPad interface gives users the option to toggle between different pre-set modes such as town hall, presentation, and video call configurations without too much effort. This user-first design was a priority for Lanxess as they wanted to empower non-technical staff to manage the AV systems independently.”
Ensuring it all fits
One of the key technical hurdles in the project was ensuring seamless wireless content presentation from the primary control device to the 110-in display. Harsh explains: “We had three main devices: a Surface Pro, a MacBook and the 110-in display. The issue came up when trying to share content from the Surface Pro tablet to the big screen. The aspect ratios didn’t match, so we couldn’t get full-screen output. We tried various alternatives, but it just did not work out technically.”
The team identified that the Surface Pro tablet and the 110-in display had incompatible aspect ratios, which resulted in black bars or cropped content during casting. To address the issue, the AllWave team decided to use an iPad as the primary control device, since the resulting black bars were less visually disruptive than those produced by the Surface Pro tablet.
Harsh continues: “In the end, the combination of the iPad and the 110-in display, while not technically perfect, was functional and met the client’s expectations. Apart from this minor setback, the overall installation went really smoothly. We completed everything within the given time span, with no pending tasks before the client’s inauguration. Today, the setup is doing great. Our support team and Lanxess’ IT department conduct regular manual check-ups on the system, and there have been no issues so far.”
A representative from Lanxess reflects on the successful completion of the project and concludes: “We would like to thank everyone involved in the project. AllWave did an excellent job executing within a short timeframe, despite multiple challenges and scope amendments. On site, we appreciated the support, deliverables and hard work from the team, who all put in extra effort to ensure the system was fully functional.”