We learned this month that Don Winget will retire, having sold Broadcast Tools Inc. to Inovonics.
BTI makes products such as audio routers, remote controls, satellite channel controllers, analog mixers and DAs, silence monitors and program schedulers. Inovonics will continue the BT name and product line, moving production from Sedro Woolley, Wash., to Felton, Calif.
Winget began in broadcasting as a gofer for the chief of a station in Eau Claire, Wis.. He served in the Army during the Vietnam war and later started an engineering contracting business. Winget and engineer Lee Hurley created Sentry Systems, an early PC-based automation systems. Winget founded BTI in 1989 while he was chief engineer at KXRX in Seattle.
We caught up with Winget.
Radio World: What has prompted you to sell BTI, and why now?
Don Winget: After nearly 40 years at Broadcast Tools, I felt like I had accomplished everything I wanted to do, and I’m ready to enjoy retirement while I’m still young and in good health.
RW: What are your plans after November?
Winget: My wife Connie and I plan to travel around the USA in our RV. We are excited to spend time with friends and family and be able to visit all the places we’ve wanted to see without a time constraint.
RW: How many people are employed by BTI, and what is the impact on them?
Winget: Besides Connie and I, we have three amazing employees at Broadcast Tools who have been with us for literally decades: Christina Molina, Chriselda Gutierrez and Ben Nason. Although it’s bittersweet, they have known for a little while that Broadcast Tools may undergo a transition like this, and they are all preparing for the next chapter in their working lives. I will miss seeing them every day.
RW: Your website has a detailed history of how you came to start the company that readers can find here. Looking back, what are you most proud of in your 37 years of running the company?
Winget: That we have been here 37 years! Through industry ups and downs, as well as economic uncertainty, Broadcast Tools is still doing what I intended: making useful, reliable, affordable products for our customers. Now, with the purchase by Inovonics, I am proud the product line will be able to continue.
RW: Is there one product that you feel particularly proud of or that played a particularly important role for you?
Winget: The ACS8.2 Plus Stereo Audio Switcher. Some version of this switcher has been made by Broadcast Tools for most of our 37 years and is still combined with radio station automation systems around the world. It’s our most recognizable product and has been the bedrock of our product line. This product is one of the first I designed and it makes me happy to see it is still in use in one form or another and hopefully will be made for many years to come.
RW: The marketplace of companies that make products for specialized broadcast applications feels challenged by industry contraction. Would you encourage an engineer who has an idea like yours to make a go of starting a business?
Winget: Absolutely! Starting my own business has been the most worthwhile adventure in my working life. It’s not easy though. And you need more than a good idea. My advice would be to start small and make sure you understand the business side just as much as the engineering side. And remember the most important thing: listen to your customers and work to meet their needs.
RW: Anything else we should know?
Winget: I, personally, and Broadcast Tools by extension, could not have enjoyed our success without the support and friendship of our employees and the many outstanding folks in our industry.
I am especially thankful for my wife, Connie Miller, who has been by my side from the beginning, working in any role that was necessary.
It has truly been a team effort. I wish to thank everyone who contributed to our success: employees, dealers, vendors, and most importantly our customers.
