Brackets & mounts: External influences Features 13/10/2017 Hurrairah bin Sohail talks with bracket and mount manufacturers about how external factors and technology developments are impacting their business in the Asia Pacific region.Demand for brackets and mounts in Asia Pacifi c is growing. In response we have seen bracket and mount manufacturers increase their presence in the region. Jenny Li, area sales manager for APAC at B-Tech, says: “Asia Pacifi c countries have widely varying growth rates, but overall there is strong growth and opportunity. Generally speaking, the market is increasingly appreciating the benefi ts of professional mounting solutions, both from the integrator and the end-user perspective, and this is being refl ected in growth.” In a similar vein, Ron de Greef, business development manager for Asia at Vogel’s, comments: “We do see an increasing demand for mounts and brackets within the APAC region. This growth in demand is mostly driven by digital signage with hospitality as a close second.” The mention of the hospitality sector by de Greef is interesting. Hotels need premium visual solutions, especially for their ballrooms. In the past, LCD videowalls were the de facto choice. However, in recent years the improvement in pixel pitch and operational performance of LED tiles has seen them become a viable option. New hotels in Asia Pacific seem to be divided in their choice. The Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park in Bangkok chose LCD videowalls for its ballrooms while the St. Regis in Kuala Lumpur decided to go with LED tiles. Obviously, the former is better for bracket and mount manufacturers. Bracket and mount manufacturers are calm in the face of the increasing popularity of LED tiles for the hospitality sector. De Greef says: “We currently do not feel the increased presence of LED walls and tiles within the hospitality sector. Mostly because this is still a type of solution that requires specialised installation and know-how together with dedicated mounting solutions. The costs for a complete LED wall with a low enough pixel pitch are still a barrier.” Li says: “The hospitality sector is a very small part of our overall business, so we are not best placed to comment on LED trends in this market. However, we are seeing growth in videowalls as well as LED solutions, so we have not been adversely affected.” Bracket and mount manufacturers also believe that it is too early to respond to the increasing popularity of LED tiles. Li says: “We are enjoying good growth with videowalls and believe both LED and videowalls offer certain unique advantages where both technologies can continue to grow. The test will come in a few years when the long term reliability of LED pixels in a commercial environment will become clearer.” De Greef adds: “LED tiles are becoming more and more popular within the market. As it is still in the earlier stages we do notice that there is still a high level of required know-how, together with dedicated solutions for the type and size of installation. The versatility offered, combined with small bezels and high visual quality for an optimised solution will definitely help in keeping the panel-type videowalls attractive. As a bracket and mount provider, we are here to provide the most optimal mounting equipment for the solution desired by the customer, whether this is a panel or an LED tile. This is also what we as Vogel’s strive for.” In addition to LED tiles, bracket and mount manufacturers are also facing competition from another source. Panel manufacturers, such as Samsung for example, also offer a range of mounting solutions. Brackets and mounts and LCD panels are after all ancillary products. Li says: “This occurred several years ago in other territories and faded as the comprehensive range of mounts available along with competitive prices from mounting companies made it diffi cult for screen suppliers to compete outside of their core areas of competence.” De Greef comments: “We understand the desire of panel manufacturers to push their own brackets and mounts together with their displays. We are very lucky with our current clients and their desire to work with us as well as the high level of interest coming from the market. Within the segment this is a great trigger to improve the user friendliness and quality of our products.” Integrators in Asia Pacifi c however are feeling the pressure for now, especially those working in the hospitality sector, when it comes to putting forward bracket and mount solutions of their own as part of a project. Panel manufacturers generally have direct contact with hoteliers, which makes sense since the volume of LCD units shipped to hotels is high. With the ownership of the client relationship resting on the panel manufacturer side, they have a unique advantage when pushing their own brackets and mounts. When it comes to videowalls, acquisition of panels and mounts may be done by the clients themselves with the integrator just brought in for installation. Matters are compounded in Asia Pacific due to the price sensitive nature of clients. If panel manufacturers can offer brackets and mounts at a competitive price they have a high chance of having their offerings chosen. However, this choice might not be the best for all parties involved. Li says: “Mounting requirements are often complex and a bracket provided by a panel manufacturer may not come with all of the added features found on a bracket from an established mount manufacturer. These often save the installer a huge amount of time and make the maintenance process much simpler.” Bracket manufacturers are also responding as de Greef says: “As a bracket and mount manufacturer, we can compete with the bundles by offering user friendliness, quality, design and functionality.” Another area of growth for bracket and mount manufacturers where the Asia Pacifi c region is concerned is trolleys. Li says: “We have seen increasing demand for trolleys, both single and multi-screen confi gurations. Having a display or videowall that is portable brings many benefi ts to the customer, as they can be deployed when and where necessary. She continues: “We offer several trolley options with a large variety of confi guration options from single to multiple screen, side by side, back-to-back and kiosks.” De Greef says: “We are defi nitely seeing an increased demand in multi-functional and mobile solutions within the professional market. Trolleys are the most ideal solution when you want to use a limited amount of displays to provide a large number of solutions. Luckily, our trolleys are ideal for these situations. Vogel’s provides trolley solutions for displays of any size, and even offers solutions enabling someone to install a small videowall on a trolley. With our Connect-it system, we have the possibility to provide unlimited mounting solutions with a limited amount of components.” Clients from all sectors are beginning to realise that space is at a premium and rooms need to be designed with multi-functionality in mind. Trolleys are extremely effective at enabling this multi-functionality that end-users desire. With the right displays and the right trolley, a mobile visual solution can be carted to and fro. This enables end-users to save on costs, as every room does not need to be provided with a projector or LCD display, while also giving them fl exibility of use. We saw trolleys and LCD displays being employed at the Yusof Ishak mosque case study, featured in last month’s issue, in exactly this fashion. Best of all, for now, bracket and mount manufacturers can offer their trolley solutions to clients without external competitors to deal with.