I'VE HEARD THE FUTURE and it comes from Bose®

WHENEVER we gather together, as we often do, to celebrate Irish music successes on the international stage, there is a tendency for us to focus almost exclusively on the performers - on U2, Clannad, Van Morrison, Chris de Burgh, and the rest of that litany - invariably to the total exclusion of other equally noteworthy achievers from what some might regard as the more unglamorous wing of the industry.

The modest County Monaghan town of Carrickmacross can now quite rightly boast about one major Irish success story emanating from the impressive Bose® complex based in the town's thriving industrial centre. At a time when job-loss stories are sadly run-of-the-mill in today's beleaguered Irish economy, here we have an Irish-run company not only increasing its work-force substantially, but receiving international awards for the quality of its work against the usual intense competition from its American counterparts, among many others.

But this is no overnight success story. Bose® set up in Ireland in 1978 to make Bose® loudspeaker systems, many of which can be seen in countless pubs, hotels and clubs throughout the country. The original operation basically concentrated on assembling the loudspeaker boxes, but in time they began to make some of the parts too and the plant now employs 270 people. About 80% of the work focuses on the manufacturing and assembling of about 25 different types and sizes of loudspeakers.

Even more remarkable is the fact that nearly all of that product is exported to various European markets. The company has its own wholly-owned sales subsidiaries in many of those markets, a substantial advantage, giving the Irish operation direct access to potentially-lucrative trading areas . . .

Bose® Ireland is run by their Managing Director John Coleman and on a recent visit to Carrickmacross, Hot Press asked Mr. Coleman some pertinent questions about how and why this company is bucking more than one trend both at home and abroad.

"One simple way of looking at our growth is to compare the space we utilise now compared to what it was only two years ago," explains Coleman. "Two years ago we had 40,000 square feet. Now we're using about 100,000 square feet. We're also now making our own loudspeaker cabinet parts ourselves as well as our own PCB's, so we now have a much more integrated and complicated operation. Of course we haven't integrated everything yet, so there are lots of opportunities here for the future, especially with the electronics and the Lifestyle® systems which are new to Bose®."

Items manufactured and/or assembled in Carrickmacross are subsequently shipped to Holland for re-distribution to other markets. Meanwhile the company does not ignore the domestic market. "That's been reasonably good, and we're still developing the market here. Although we've been in Ireland fifteen years, we've only been actively selling to the market for a couple of years. At the moment we're looking closely at that.

Bose® sell their products through "the usual distribution channels," Coleman adds "but we also have a Consumer Direct Division. Now Bose® in Europe is looking at how to sell products that way too. In Ireland we're looking at a dual approach, by continuing with some of our key dealers and operating our own consumer direct business as well."

As yet, Bose® have not decided who that dealer network will include, and while it will mean that the public will have the option of either buying from an authorised dealer or purchasing direct from Bose®, there will be no difference in price. The company has taken some soundings in the market-place about this comparatively unorthodox approach and have met with a positive response.

"We'll be supporting all our dealers with our fairly extensive back-up, through audio-visual shows and so on and we expect to be in operation in the next six months. We're teasing out the whole thing now," he told Hot Press.

One crucial aspect of the consumer direct approach is that it literally brings the company into direct personal contact with the consumer and, in consequence, the company develops a closer empathy with customer attitudes, needs and desires.

Another exciting development for Coleman is that the new thrust will not just be centred on loudspeakers, but will include complete new hi-fi systems, for Bose® have just recently introduced to the European market a highly innovative new system for home use and when the systems were unveiled at the recent Ideal Homes Exhibitions in Dublin and Belfast, the public response was highly favourable.

Much of the Bose® reputation for innovation that constantly challenges the accepted norms of the industry originates with the man who is the sole owner, Doctor Amar Bose. Whereas the industry norm is for the hi-fi system to direct sound into the listeners' ears, Dr. Dose believes in pumping the sound into your walls, thus virtually making the room an essential extension of your sound system. This, he is convinced, produces a more true-to-life sound compared to the usual tendency towards aiming for a "sweet-spot" midway between the two speakers.

"Bose® patented the Direct Reflecting® technology about twenty-five years ago and Doctor Bose has researched all this with electronic equipment in concert halls. Our 901® speaker reflects about eight-ninths of the sound off the back walls and ceilings and envelopes you in sound. You can walk anywhere in the room and still get stereo, unlike conventional speakers which require you to sit in one specific spot to get the stereo effect," says Coleman.

Using the ground-breaking Bose® Acoustimass® technology, their biggest markets are now in the USA, Japan and Germany. Acoustimass® is a pioneering three-piece speaker system, the third speaker being a bigger bass module usually tucked away out of sight. The result has to be heard to be believed, and John Coleman now enthusiastically demonstrates it regularly to visitors to the Carrickmacross base.

"The system separates the omni-directional bass unit from the mid-to-highs, which come through two very small speakers, the only ones visible and from which you'd swear all the sound is coming. It's particularly attractive for those who don't like big boxes cluttering up a room. We call it the Virtually Invisible® system because the speakers are so unobtrusive. When you walk into a room you'll hear wonderful sounds but it will not be obvious where it's coming from."

Acoustimass® also provides a very clear deep bass note, with minimal distortion, a likely boon to anyone who has to listen to a lot of music for professional reasons, apart from its obvious appeal to the serious or casual music fan, and the effect is breath-taking irrespective of the shape or size of your domestic room. Another advantage is the ease of installation, requiring no re-wiring or dismantling of your existing room arrangement.

Dr Bose's creation of Acoustimass® has enabled the com-pany to introduce the Lifestyle® music system, described recently by The Sunday Times as "probably the smallest quality hi-fi system in the world." The central component of the system is a Compact Disc player, a Pre-Amplifier and an AM and FM radio, all housed in a comparatively small well-finished elegant box with a minimum of dials and switches and capable of being operated by anyone.

Dr. Bose is not an advocate of systems with masses of flashing lights and unnecessary control knobs of the kind that often require a degree in Electronics before you even plug it in! He, reckons John Coleman, believes in asking the people what they want and he believes the people want simplicity, elegance, and the minimum number of buttons.

The main amplifier is housed it the hidden-away bass unit, so once again the key word is 'unobtrusiveness' and there are big advantages here too for the hi-fi buff who has limited space.

So what is all this futuristic technology going to set you back?

According to John Coleman, "There are actually three different systems in the Lifestyle® range. The top of the range would cost you about £2,000, then £1,600 and then £1,300 at the lower end. Those are rough figures. Ideally one might start at the bottom of the range and work up." He also points out another attraction of the Lifestyle® 10 System at the top of the range in that it is multi-zoned, and you can add any number of speakers to it.

"From that one central control you can fill any home, or even a castle. You could put any number of speakers and put them in every room. The multi-zoning facility means that you could listen to the CD in one room, someone else could listen to the radio in a second room and a third party could listen to a cassette-tape in a third and so on! You could outfit a house on this one Bose® system," he says.

The existence of a 'control expander' device means that you can, if you want to, add a mini-disc player or any similar item to your initial system. There is also a remote-control facility with the system, but unlike the TV 'zapper', which can only be used over limited distances and when the TV is in line-of-sight, the Bose® Lifestyle® control unit operates by radio wave from anywhere in the house.

When asked to offer some neutral advice to someone planning to buy some hi-fi, but who may be daunted by the mind-boggling array of brand names, technical jargon and models stocked by the most modest retailer, John Coleman argues strongly that it is crucial to let your ears decide.

"It's even a good idea to find a piece of music which you are very familiar with, bring it with you into the store, and ask to have it played on any system you are even remotely interested in buying. There's no better way of truly finding out how you yourself genuinely rate the system, and if you don't like what you hear, then don't buy it. Wait until you hear that piece of music on a system that your ears like."

Another advantage of the Bose® direct sales approach is that a company dealing with one comparatively small range can be expected to provide the potential buyer with a more detailed demonstration compared with the dealer who, with the best will in the world, may be struggling to explain several different systems to several perplexed customers simultaneously!

John Coleman believes that the Bose® Lifestyle® system is the most advanced system for domestic use, and further developments are likely given that up to two hundred are employed on research into a gamut of related areas, including television, radio frequencies and other key areas, and that Dr. Bose's forte, possibly his obsession, is research.

For an owner of such a highly successful internationally-known company, Dr. Bose has an individual philosophy that flies in the face of accepted capitalist attitudes. For example, he is known for his eschewing of the usual treadmill of acquiring more and more wealth and possessions, and has been quoted as saying that one house and car is all he needs.

Many of those maverick attitudes doubtlessly filter down through the entire organisation, which is still a private company, wholly owned by him. All of the company's profits are re-invested in the company, giving Bose® huge advantages in research and development over its competitors.

Coleman was able to observe the reputedly-retiring, violin-playing Dr. Bose in action recently on his visit to the Carrickmacross plant, during which he spoke to all the staff in a way which Coleman can only describe as 'awe-inspiring'. "His philosophy about the business permeates the whole work-force. He loves the company, he loves the business and he loves teaching, but his first love is research and development," he added.

The reason for Dr. Bose's most recent visit to the Irish plant was to celebrate the Monaghan operation receiving some of the afore-mentioned highly prestigious internationally-recognised awards for the high standard of their workmanship across a wide spectrum of criteria, including the MRPII Class A, BQSR and ISO9000 awards. For the uninitiated, MRP stands for Manufacturing Resource Planning and all assessments for that award are made by an independent company using a complex computerised judging system. According to the criteria, any company achieving a Class A designation is deemed to exhibit the potential to become a formidable competitor in the world marketplace, and for its recipients it has been described as 'the first step on the journey to world class excellence'. Bose® Ireland scored 96 points out of 100.

BQSR (Bose® Quality System Review) is an internal set of criteria used for auditing all Bose® manufacturing plants worldwide. Bose® Ireland has earned the unique achievement of winning the BQSR award outright for the past two years against intense opposition. Their third award, ISO9002, is an internationally-recognised quality systems standard, monitored on a regular basis thereby requiring the company to reach and maintain a consistent level of high quality.

All of these awards are of immense satisfaction to John Coleman, given that they are a signal that the standards achieved under his leadership prove that an Irish manufacturing operation can, as our musicians and writers do, compete and win against the rest of the world.

All that, plus Dr. Bose's constant search for innovation and his philosophy of ever striving to respond to the real needs of the customer, would indicate a healthy, if busy, future for John Coleman and for Bose® Ireland.