Internal Newsletter

THE CRESTRON CHRONICLES EMPLOYEENEWSLETTER
JULY 2016

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Inside this issue:

Letter from the CEO 1

Fun facts/Other 2

Interns 3

Plano Campus 4

InfoComm16 5

Going Green 6

Coming Soon 7
8
Reminders/
Announcements

1

“Great things
in business are
never done by

one person.
They’re done
by a team of

people.”

- Steve Jobs

June, the busy c
month for the ware-
c
house, receives
New Hires:
about
deliveries.

HDMI cables are From the Orangeburg
shipped and re- Distribution Center

ceived a year.

8 3Crestron ships
In months the warehouse

ocean containers and
has shipped

air freights a week. little widgets domestic and

international.

2

Intern Social

June 3, 2016

To kick off the Summer Internship Program,
Crestron hosted an intern social at Escape
Room NJ. Interns, along with their mentors,
started their day getting to know each other,
and, of course, eating. Then they participated
in various challenges such as air soft,
“minute-it-to-win-it”, and “escape the
room”. Thanks to Staffing & Recruiting for
planning such a fun-filled day and bringing
the interns to the Crestron Family!

What are they up to?

“Right now I’m working on “I’m working on “It’s been really fun
the bridge between marketing the ET side of 2 projects writing apps for web de-
and recruiting. Even as a new- that involve creating servers. velopment! I love having
comer I’ve had lots of independ- Having mentors is so helpful various tasks to work on. It
ence and exposure, which I’m to making this experience as makes me excited to go in

really thankful for. fulfilling as possible.” every day.”

Dannah Lawrence Jack
Mena Bugaoan S taker

DEPARTMENT DEPARTMENT DEPARTMENT
Staffing & IT Software Prod./
Recruiting Enterprise Sol.
SCHOOL
SCHOOL Rutgers University SCHOOL
Marist College University of Wisconsin

3

EYEFLYINGTHE LAUNCH OF THE

HOSPITAL

AWARDS WON InfoComm16

5 Commercial Integrator The face of Crestron’s booth, which headlined the theme
“Technology for every space”.
Best Awards
ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL YEAR
5 Government Video Best
Every year, Crestron leads InfoComm, the largest profes-
of Show Awards sional Audiovisual trade show in North America. On June 8
-10, Crestron had another extremely successful year at
4 Sound & Video Contrac- InfoComm16, winning 20 awards, hosting manufacturers &
industry training classes, and greetings hundreds at their
tor Best of Show Awards booth which featured products and experiential exhibits.
At this year’s convention, which was held at the Las Vegas
2 SCN® / InfoComm In- Convention Center, industry professionals came to see
what Crestron has in store.
stallation Product Awards
AT THE SHOW FLOOR
2 AV Technology Best of
The Crestron booth takes 7 days to build. Once it’s set up,
Show Awards attendees of the conference flock the stands to see
Crestron’s newest products and solutions. Crestron experts
1 rAVe Reader’s Choice explain the benefits and functionalities of products such as
the Crestron DigitalMediaTM, Crestron Fusion® Cloud,
Awards and .AV FrameworkTM. Here, Crestron also introduced the
brand new Crestron DSP Tool, which further simplifies the
1 Global Presence Alli- process of programming, tuning, integrating, and expand-
ing audio performance in meeting spaces.
ance’s Global Excellence
Award RECAP of the Crestron A+ Educational Program
For a total of…
By Roger Takacs, Director of Educational Programs
20 prestigious “The first night of InfoComm, Wednesday, we hosted an A+
only event at the Stratosphere in Las Vegas. Over 300 edu-
industry awards cation partners from all over joined us on the 108th floor overlooking the strip as well as the
eastern and western horizon. Our education partners enjoyed a few hours of networking with
5 other schools and had the opportunity to ride the thrill rides on top of the Stratosphere. We
even raffled off 2 bungee jumps off the top of building, for some reason people actually were
willing to jump off a perfectly good building. Our A+ partners were very appreciative of an
event held especially just for them and enjoyed the extremely low pressure environment with-
out any dealers, consultants, or third party programmers. Knowing that everyone at the event
was in a similar role at another school allowed for anyone to engage with anyone and speak
freely. The gatherings around the bar weren’t people waiting for a drink, or watching the bas-
ketball, they were people that met for the first time at the event and enjoyed talking
about what they were doing with Crestron at their schools. Fantastic!!”

5

“As you are getting ready for the big move to Texas, what are your thoughts and feelings Plano, Texas
on the future of Crestron at this new location, as well as your part in the expansion?

To sum it up in one word…

THRILLED!!”

This was Sameh Sabet’s immediate an- sponsibility of day to day management of petitors, however, the selection of Legacy
Tower was made based on several variables.
swer when I asked him about his move to the engineering function in Plano. The Legacy Tower is at the center of a large
corporate park which includes several other
Texas for Crestron’s new location in Plano. Bell: Once I’ve relocated to the Plano facili- global companies and is a hot bed for tal-
Crestron is leasing 56,000 square feet of ty, I will be continuing my current role as ent that can help Crestron grow. The prox-
space in the glistening Legacy Tower, where Director of Materials Management and imity to DFW airport as well as several local
they plan to employ about 250-300 staffers. working on developing a team to help sup- restaurants and stores makes it a very at-
Two of the employees who will be moving port our global inventory expansion to tractive location.”
to Texas to assist with this expansion is the Crestron’s international entities. I will also
previously mentioned Sameh Sabet, the be focusing on how to better support our So not only is Plano a location that
Managing Director, and James Bell, the Di- business relationships with Crestron’s con- shows Crestron’s status a leader in its indus-
rector of Material Management. Bell, who is tract manufactures who will play a key part try, but it is also one of convenience and
busily preparing for his relocation while in Crestron’s future success. sensibility. Sabet explains that, “the location
providing his thoughts, enthusiastically de- is central within the US allowing us to coor-
dinate any activities between east and west
scribes this new stage as a very exciting According to Sabet, this opening is an coast.” He reminds everyone that this move
to Plano, is also a move to the “next level”.
point that reflects Crestron’s growth, poten- opportunity to tap into great new talents Sabet solidifies that there is one overall goal
in mind:
tial, and success. and drive Crestron’s product line to amaz-
“To continue to drive Crestron to be the
What specifically will you be doing at the ing new levels. Bell also states that it exem- hands down leader in everything we do!
Plano campus? plifies Crestron’s continuation of investing
in infrastructure as well as people, while Good luck to Sameh, James,
and everyone else at Plano!
Sabet: I will be heading up engineering at solidifying its global presence.

the new campus. I will continue to be re- Speaking of affirming its presence, the
sponsible for firmware development in vid- Legacy Tower is only 15 minutes from
eo streaming products, audio products and Crestron’s rival: AMX. When asked about
low level development support for Touch- this particular decision, Bell answered,
Panels as well as Unified Communications “Crestron is always aware of it global com-
products. However, I also take on the re-

4

Crestron’s SafettyhTiesamswuamntsmtoeker,ep you safe
this year,

life!and for

You’ve heard it before—It’s better to stay safe, than sorry! Accidents happen all the time. Be attentive to your surround-
ings and always be prepared with the following tips and guidelines provided to you by the National Safety Council.

EVERY DAY PRACTICES MEDICAL PRECAUTIONS CAREFUL AROUND WATER!
 Get trained in First Aid and CPR  Know the signs of opioid painkiller ad-  Never let children go near or into
 Know what steps to take in an emer-
diction water alone
gency  Excessive mood swings or anxiety  Sign your children up for swimming
 Recognize the emergency  Sleepiness
 Check the area for safety  Slurred speech lessons
 Check the victim and ask for permis-  Confusion or poor decision making  Teach children to never use a pool,
 Small pupils or shallow breathing
sion to provide assistance  Continually “losing” prescriptions so got tub, or spa that’s missing a drain-
 Call 9-1-1 when appropriate age cover
 Care for the person more must be written  Empty all buckets, bathtubs, or kiddie
 Have the person seek medical atten-  Seeking prescriptions from more than pools of water immediately after use
 Install a 5-foot-tall fence with self-
tion when needed one doctor closing fate latches around your pool
 Be prepared for emergencies  Stealing, forging or selling prescriptions or hot tub
 Participate in emergency drills at work  Talk to your family about the risks of  Don’t let kids eat, drink, or chew gum
in the pool. It’s a choking hazard!
and home opioid painkillers
 Practice fire escape plans in the house  Keep medications out of a child’s reach

Safety Tips Crossword Puzzle Across

4 1. People who are addicted to painkillers may seek ___ from
4 more than one doctor

2 6 2. A sign of opioid painkiller addiction is excessive ___ swings.
2 3. Talk to your family about the dangers of ___ prescription
drugs with alcohol.
3 4. A side effect of opioid painkillers that could hinder your
ability to drive or work safely is difficulty ___ directions.
6 5 5. Teach kids the difference between swimming in a pool and
swimming in ___ water.
1 6. You can introduce your little one to the water as early as 6
1 ___ old.

3 Down
5
1. In the case of a fire, you should always have an ___ plan
ready.

2. You should regularly participate in ___ drills at work and
home.

3. ___ is the 2nd leading cause of unintentional death among
children from one to four years old.

4. When calling 9-1-1, stay on the line until the ___ says you
can hang up.

5. It’s a great idea to sign your children up for ___ lessons.
6. It’s essential that you make sure that smoke ___ are work-

ing properly.

ANSWER KEY: Across: 1. prescriptions 2. mood 3. mixing 4. following 5. open 6. months
Down: 1. escape 2. emergency 3. drowning 4. dispatcher 5. swimming 6. detectors

Crestron and the Environment

What is Crestron doing for the home we share?

C restron takes great cardboard, but they aren’t them more convenient for
pride in caring for not just stopping there. the customers in their dis-

only its customers, but also Currently, Crestron is posal process. Plus, these

its employees. Daniel Brady working with a new company boxes have both an environ-

(Vice President of the Manu- to adopt technology that will mental and economic ad-

facturing Supply Chain), Earl allow for more than basic vantage: more material

Feb (Senior Director of Cor- recycling. With an intern can be placed into one truck

porate Quality Assurance), solely devoted to directly or one pallet, saving fuel,

and David Chao (Director of communicating with this costs, and space in the

Operations and Product En- company, they are hoping to warehouse.

gineering) is the power team take on systems that will Other projects
working on environmental extract specific contents

initiatives to help Crestron out of the waste, instead

“go green” and make the of simply scrapping it all

earth a cleaner, safer place together.

to live. Many of their pro- A particular material
jects focus on the manufac-
turing process and the prod- that poses a challenge for
ucts themselves, but the
effects of these improve- Crestron is foam, which is How the box structure has changed
ments reach far beyond the not recyclable, and there-
ultimate customer. They are
vital steps that alter the en- fore very harmful to the en- On the manufacturing
tire carbon footprint that
Crestron contributes by sig- vironment. Crestron has tak- side, Brady, Feb, and Chao “We want to let
nificantly lowering carbon the employees
emissions and unnecessary en an alternative route by have also worked on know that the
waste. After all, the custom- company is willing
er’s planet is our planet and migrating to Korrvu® pack- “going green” by mak- to spend capital
an improvement for one, is investment in new
an improvement for all. aging which uses a thin, ing the process of sol- equipment that is
environmentally
strong film that holds prod- dering more environ-
friendly.”
ucts down to the cardboard. mentally friendly. Previ-
- David Chao
It is recyclable, biodegrada- ously, Crestron used a
6
ble, and makes the packag- ladle to get rid of

ing flat, resulting in less bulk waste, but that simulta-

waste. neously took away sil-

Another change to the ver, which is very ex-

The specifics packaging is the implemen- pensive. The new machine

According to Chao, “Six to tation of a new box struc- they have adapted saves
ten million components go ture. Previously, the boxes energy and costs by target-
used to hold shades were so ing a specific area to take
through the supply chain away wastes properly .
every single day.” So, how rigid that the end user was Overall, it increases accuracy
does Crestron manage the left with a large box that and efficiency.
couldn’t be collapsed to take
environmental affects of Future work
such a huge wave of pieces up less space. The new box-
es are foldable, making Other projects Crestron is
being handled in just one working on involve the
movement to go “paperless”.
day? Crestron of course al- They are currently looking at
new software and hope to
ready participates in stand- extend environmental friend-
liness to this sector, too.
ard recycling to properly dis-

pose of materials such as

metals, PCBs

(Polychlorinated biphenyls, a

mixture of chemicals), and Example of Korrvu® packaging

Coming Soon...

The inside scoop from HR

THE “CRESTRON EMPLOYEE LIFE QUICK LOOK
CENTER—TOTAL HEALTH AND FITNESS”
What are some
After months of planning, Crestron is ecstatic to announce the creation of a features that will
Health Center and Fitness Center, both of which will be available to all
employees upon its opening. be offered?

“This is one of the most exciting benefits to  Nurse Practitioner
look forward to as an employee.” - Christina LoVecchio  Biometric screen-

Serena Cuna, the Human Re- where employees can attend sem- ings
sources Administrator, opens up inars on various medical and  Check-ups on inju-
a manila folder that contains the health concerns such as smoking,
coveted information and floor nutrition, and weight loss. Don’t ries
plans for the incoming Crestron forget to look out for the Health  3 exam rooms
employee Health Center and Fit- Center’s table at the yearly health  Lab room
ness Center. These two separate fair!  Waiting room
centers are being implemented at  Conference room
6 Volvo as the outcome of an Furthermore, for all of those  Health related
agreement between Crestron who want to exercise with the
Electronics and their new health convenience of a gym close by, seminars
care provider, Cigna. As we excit- there will be a fitness center to get  Gym
edly wait, Crestron is aiming for a that quick morning jog in. Here, a  Physical therapist
grand opening on September 22, physical therapist will be on-
2016. board to provide expert services. Who will it be
available to?
The health center will pro- Crestron is expecting con-
vide on-site medical services such struction to start very soon and  All employees!
as biometric screenings and check they are extremely excited for
-ups on injuries. There will also these services to be available to When is it
be a nurse practitioner available all of the hard-working employ- expected to open?
for professional support. Not only ees.
will this particular center have  September 22, 2016
three exam rooms, but it will also - - Remember, you heard it here
contain a lab room, a waiting first from HR! - - 7
room, and a conference room

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