Wheatstone founder and owner Gary Snow will retire from the company by the end of next year.
Snow, 77, started the manufacturing firm with his wife Kathy in 1974. Its brands include Audioarts, Wheatstone and Voxpro. Since 1998 it has been based in New Bern, N.C.
“Wheatstone’s management team of 50-plus years, including VP of Technology Andy Calvanese, will continue to support the company’s large installed base of customers in the U.S. and around the world,” the company said in a brief statement to Radio World.
Asked if the company has been sold, a spokesperson said it has not. She said Wheatstone is working on a management transition plan but that customers should expect business as usual. She declined further comment.
The company sells products into radio and television, including consoles, AoIP networking, software, audio processing and audio editors.
Wheatstone started as Audioarts Engineering. “A classic garage start–up, Audioarts began with $400 cash in hand, in the attic of the Snow’s small one-bedroom home in rural Bethany, Conn.,” according to a history on the company website.
“At that time they designed and hand-built small mixing boards for live bands, as well as a club mixer … A year later in 1976, a parametric equalizer, a feedback suppressor and an electronic crossover for high-end sound reinforcement systems were added to the product mix.” Its first broadcast audio console was sold to WGBH in Boston in 1984.
[Read a history of Wheatstone.]
