INTRODUCTION
Spectrum Brands Holdings, a member of the Russell 1000 Index, is a global consumer products company offering a broad portfolio of leading brands focused on driving innovation and providing exceptional customer service. The Company is a leading supplier of residential locksets, residential builders’ hardware, plumbing, shaving and grooming products, personal care products, small household appliances, specialty pet supplies, lawn and garden, home pest control products, and personal insect repellents. Helping to meet the needs of consumers worldwide, Spectrum Brands offers a broad portfolio of market-leading, well-known and widely trusted brands including Kwikset® , National Hardware® and Pfister® , Remington® , George Foreman® and Black+Decker® , Tetra® , Nature’s Miracle® and FURminator and Spectracide® , Cutter® , and Hot Shot to name a few.
THE CHALLENGE
As a leading global manufacturer, Spectrum Brands wanted to update their meeting room technology with intuitive, easy-to-use solutions in order to elevate the workplace experience for employees. Nathan Hunter, Senior Manager, IT Collaboration at Spectrum Brands and his team set out to find a robust and reliable collaboration platform that would bring their global offices together and facilitate collaboration on a grand scale.
THE SOLUTION
With an existing Microsoft Teams® infrastructure, AV systems integrator Spinitar was confident that Crestron Flex would be the perfect solution to implement throughout Spectrum Brands’ offices. The added functionality of Crestron XiO Cloud® Service would provide simplified remote management and make deployment of future systems easier than ever before. While this project began before the pandemic, Crestron Flex and Microsoft Teams have been instrumental in Spectrum Brands’ transition to remote work and keeping their teams connected.
THE TECHNOLOGY
The conference rooms at Spectrum Brands span from small huddle rooms to large, combinable spaces. The Crestron Flex portfolio was able to support their needs in all of these spaces with tailored solutions that met their varying sound and video criteria. The Flex solutions would also deliver a clean room design and simpler experience for the employees. For the smaller huddle rooms, Crestron B-Series smart soundbars provide an integrated camera that puts all participants in optimal view and a sound quality that is unmatched. “We have standardized on Crestron B-Series in all of our small rooms and huddle spaces because of the superb audio experience,” explains Hunter. “It provides a crisp and clean sound that makes the virtual participants sound like they are in the same room.” In the larger combinable spaces, Crestron C-Series is combined with Saros® in-ceiling speakers and Crestron occupancy sensors. These meeting rooms can be used individually or combined to create a space suited for even larger groups. From their laptop at home or from the Crestron touch screen in a meeting room, Crestron Flex and Microsoft Teams has delivered a consistent user experience for every way that Spectrum Brands employees choose to join a meeting. Crestron has transformed and modernized their spaces by making them more device-specific, creating a simple and consistent look for employees while meeting the demands of each space. With XiO Cloud, Hunter and his team can provide remote assistance to get the rooms up and running without being on-site. This has been especially beneficial during COVID, as a lot of their staff are working remotely. “When an employee has to sit and wait for an issue to be resolved, that’s time and productivity being wasted,” explains Hunter. “XiO Cloud has helped eliminate those situations across our offices.”
The IT Collaboration team is now able to be more proactive in fixing technical issues and get the rooms back to being operational before an employee even enters the room. To further promote safe and effective collaboration, Spectrum Brands has utilized AirMedia® Wireless Presentation for touchless, wireless presentation capabilities that allow employees to use their own personal devices. AirMedia has enhanced the look and feel of the meeting rooms, reducing the number of wires and making it easier for employees to connect to the display. Overall, AirMedia has simplified the presentation experience in these spaces, creating a more engaging environment for meetings with multiple presenters. It has provided seamless transitions, eliminating any disruptive exchanges of passing the connection cable. RESULTS
Once COVID lockdowns were lifted, Spectrum Brands was armed with new technologies from Crestron that helped get their business and workplace back on track. Connectivity across offices has also improved, allowing teams from all over the world to connect on a regular basis and support their brands more effectively than ever before.
A graduate of DeVry Institute of Technology, Doug has been in the Technology industry since 1976 and actively oversees Fearing’s daily operations. Along with his wife, Lois, and three others, Doug started Fearing’s in a 600 square-foot facility in Portage, Wisconsin. In the 25 years since, the company has grown to over 30 employees with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Doug likes to say he’s a “TV Technician with a dream� going back to his history with the family’s original business-Fearing’s TV and Appliance.
Doug values time with family, watersports, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing. In addition to being a devoted member of his church, Doug serves as Board President for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County, Board member of Schools for Haiti and Scripture Chair of the Gideons-Portage camp.
A graduate of MATC, Lois oversees Fearing’s daily book keeping along with various HR responsibilities.
Along with Doug, Lois is deeply connected to community outreach, serving as a Board member and Fundraising Committee Chairperson for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County. She also serves on the Schools for Haiti Fundraising committee. In addition, Lois’ ongoing passion and commitment to provide care for the elderly comes from her 10-year history of working in a Reedsburg, Wisconsin Nursing home.
Lois enjoys singing, hiking, sunny days on the pontoon, and spending time with her 4 grandchildren.
Ehren drives Fearing’s technology by continually seeking out trends to enhance capabilities while supporting Sales, Engineering and Installation teams. Throughout his years with Fearing’s, Ehren’s talent and vision have joined forces to create a wide variety of projects and strategic solutions that exceed expectation.
Ehren loves music, family time, movies, nature, sustainability efforts and electric vehicles.
With 10 years with Fearing’s and over twice that long in the industry, Ben continues to lead, coordinate, and develop the Commercial AV team.
By consistently delivering an outstanding experience and outcome, Ben contributes to the Fearing’s legacy of long-lasting partnerships that truly make a difference. Whatever the Commercial AV need may be, Ben and team deliver at the highest level.
Ben is an avid fisherman and photographer. He enjoys coaching his sons and other youth.
Chris has been with Fearing’s for 20 years and in the industry for over 2 decades. As a Certified leader in Sales Acceleration and trained in EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating Systems), Chris successfully utilizes his skills to lead the Fearing’s Salesforce. Chris and team are motivated and driven to develop new client partnerships while continuing to reinforce loyal long-term relationships with ongoing Service excellence.
Married for 19 years with 3 children, Chris enjoys skiing, hiking, fishing, boating, hunting, camping and golf. He’s also been actively involved as a Youth Football and Softball coach for his family and others.
