LEN:'We Were Able To Evolve When Our Competitors Could Not'

Regional Film and Video have caught up with Clive Baty of LEN, a leading UK specialist in passive signal enhancement. He has given us the run down on what they have to offer the industry, what to expect from them in 2012 and their greatest achivements to date.
RFV: LEN have been involved in the industry for quite some time. Give us a brief overview of how the company launched.
CB: We launched LEN in 1995. I had been working as a Senior Engineer on analogue and digital video projects for several years, one of which was the development of the original Cable Clone. Setting up LEN gave me the freedom to pursue a number of new ideas that I felt would provide innovative solutions to long standing video signal problems. As a result we quickly built our reputation and carved a niche for producing high end and cost effective solutions.
RFV: 2012 has just begun… What do you have planned for this year?
CB: Its simple – to support our distributor network by getting the right information to the right people. There will be the usual product upgrades and launches, as well as continuing our expansion into other markets, such as Medical imaging.
RFV:In the second half of 2011 you launched some new equipment? Tell us a bit about this.
CB: Having acquired the Cable Clone name, we were able to launch our own new Cable Clone range in HD and 3G. The 3G version is unique to LEN. We also produced switcher boxes, and plan to consolidate this range in 2012.
RFV: LEN brands itself as solutions based company. ‘You find the problems – we develop the solutions’- what problems does the company see itself tackling next or are you working on anything new that you can discuss at this time?
CB: We’ve been developing isolation products, which fit into two categories – standard voltage for video / television use, and high voltage for medical imaging use.
RFV: In the same line of thought – what LEN created solution has been the greatest challenge so far?
CB: Our isolation products. The digital signal is very different from analogue, meaning that we needed to research completely new technologies in order to achieve a working, yet cost effective solution.
RFV: Despite being a very specialist industry the broadcast industry can often become over saturated in certain areas- "LEN is now the only dedicated video to RF filter and delay line manufacturer in the UK. We now have an international reputation as a specialist in this field."- How has LEN reached this point?
CB: When we launched seventeen years ago, our market was crowded. However, we were able to evolve to meet new challenges when our competitors could not, and we are now the only world provider in our field.
(LB)