Liquid Automation recognised at CEDIA design awards
Kiwi superyacht tech company Liquid Automation is celebrating a perfect score, after winning big at the globally-recognised CEDIA design awards for the 11th year in a row.
The company was started in 2004 by two New Zealand marine electronics engineers, Stephan Goodhue and Bruce Cox, who began by installing high-tech control systems in superyachts. They entered their first CEDIA awards in 2008 and have won at least one award every year since.
The CEDIA design awards recognise technical excellence and innovation and are considered to be the gold standard amongst the design tech sector. Winning one establishes the entrant as one of the top tech influencers around the world. www.liquidautomation.co.nz
Asked about Liquid Automation’s strategy for their 100% track record of success, Stephan says: "Our motto is ‘do it once, do it right’."
This year, Liquid Automation won in two categories: Best Auto, Marine or Aircraft Award for the outfitting of the superyacht Hemisphere, the largest sailing catamaran in the world; and Best Technology Meets Design Award for their installation of automated control systems in a residential home in the Auckland suburb of Chatswood.
The superyacht project was completed within an incredibly tight schedule with only one month of planning and a two month fit-out in Malta for the installation team of five. In addition to a hard-wired control system, they installed an ultra-reliable enterprise-grade WiFi network from which the audio/visual system, security system, blinds and lighting can be operated from anywhere in the 44.2m vessel.
The system allows users to select instantly from a large selection of audio and video sources with no switching delay, including zone specific and global sources, as well as from their own devices. As a follow-up service, Liquid Automation monitors the system remotely and receives email alerts if any equipment goes offline or responds abnormally.
The company has expanded from doing marine installations to delivering tech solutions into high-end homes as well as NZ businesses, including ongoing-projects with Sky City and Goodman Fielder. At present, there is an even split between these three client bases providing individualised control systems for energy use, lighting (natural and artificial), communications, information sharing, entertainment and security.
However their luxury home market is growing rapidly and many of Liquid Automation’s awards over the past few years have arisen from their delivery of outstanding technological design in large homes around NZ and internationally.
One of the surprising aspects of their company is they have no sales or marketing staff, relying solely on word-of-mouth to gain new business. According to Stephan, what sets Liquid Automation apart from their competitors is they offer a combination of in-house design, install and software. "We deliver a custom-made system tailored to the client’s requirements.
"We were ecstatic to win the CEDIA awards again. It was a proud moment for us and we are very happy for our team. We’ve gone from a small start-up company to being regarded as a global industry leader in our field."
