PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Neilson/Clyne
Tel: (615) 662-1616
Fax: (615) 662-1636

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW CELESTION PLANT HOUSES WORLD-LEADING 
LOUDSPEAKER DESIGN AND TEST FACILITIES

NAMM WINTER SESSION, ANAHEIM, CA, January 15, 2004 — Demonstrating its continuing commitment to the creation of Celestion professional loudspeakers in the UK, Celestion International has made a significant investment in brand new development and production premises. 

These purpose-built headquarters are just across town from Celestion’s old home, the historic Ditton Works in Ipswich, England. The move has provided the company with a unique opportunity to create some of the most advanced listening and test facilities available anywhere in the world.

The R&D area is fully equipped with sophisticated design and measurement systems including software tools for Finite Element Analysis. Alongside this is a comprehensively equipped Development Laboratory, with direct access to a Hemi-Anechoic Chamber for precision measurement, and a Listening Room for loudspeaker evaluation and comparison. 

As Development Director Ian White explains, “An uncompromising approach to the design and construction of the all-important Listening Room has created a quite exceptional environment for analytical listening.” The result is a space in which the sound is not swamped by the reflections and resonances of the room. 

This enables loudspeaker engineers to conduct detailed A/B comparisons between speakers in a controlled environment, where there are none of the rattles that are inevitable when you’re listening in a non-acoustically designed space. “Listening is at the heart of the loudspeaker development process,” according to White, “and that makes the success of this room design of critical importance.”

Advanced manufacturing in the UK and China
The new Celestion plant also houses an advanced manufacturing facility for the production of the company’s premium, low volume products, and for sampling new designs. However, like many in the musical equipment and professional audio industries, a significant proportion of Celestion production takes place offshore to ensure the competitive pricing of the finished product. But as others are just setting out to develop new manufacturing partnerships, Celestion is entering the tenth year of successful loudspeaker production at its own factory 
in China. 

“The process of handing over our UK designs for volume manufacturing in China works extremely smoothly,” explains Sales and Marketing Manager Paul Richardson. “The facilities there are very impressive and we have a well-developed program of welcoming Chinese engineers to the UK on secondment to benefit communication and understanding. Likewise, our people spend a lot of time in China. We continue to achieve excellent quality and an exceptionally high degree of consistency in the finished product.”

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Celestion is renowned for high quality professional loudspeakers, used onstage and in clubs, theatres, and other venues the world over. From classic guitar speakers to complex sound reinforcement systems, Celestion has helped shape the history of sound reproduction. Celestion professional products are distributed exclusively in the U.S. by Group One Ltd. of Farmingdale, NY.

—For more information on the complete range of Celestion products, please contact 
Sue Adamson, Group One Ltd., 70 Sea Lane, Farmingdale, NY 11735. Tel: (516) 249-1399; Fax: (516) 753-1020; suea@g1limited.com; www.g1limited.com.

—For more information on Celestion, visit www.celestion.com.

Celestion is exhibiting at Booth #4358 during the 2004 NAMM Winter Session in Anaheim, CA.