Ozark-based speaker maker getting second chance
Springfield News Leader - Springfield, Mo.
Author: Tara Muck
Date: Dec 2, 2009
Start Page: A.1
Section: COMMUNITIES
Text Word Count: 696
Document Text
News-Leader
Ozark -- Nearly nine months after SLS International filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the Ozark-based company aims to re-emerge as a stronger, more focused competitor in the speaker market.
It's always been a small company. Eight years ago, the company began taking bites into the marketplace it couldn't chew.
SLS International's venture as a public company in 2001 never quite got off the ground.
What resulted was five straight years with a loss of income. In the third quarter of 2006, SLS reported a net loss of $6.99 million.
Public 'demise'
John Gott started Sound and Lighting Systems in the early 1970s out of a side business to his music retail shop in Springfield. The "speaker shop" gained attention for speaker technology and innovation. And, in 2000, it merged with a new entity, SLS International, which became the surviving company and the sole shareholder.
In 2001, SLS went public and Gott became chairman and CEO.
The company, which took up residence at the former Fasco building at 1650 W. Jackson in Ozark, began to design, engineer and manufacture speakers under the SLS Audio brand.
But the changes didn't stop there. Instead of focusing on its strength -- professional and commercial audio -- the company began to branch out into the consumer, in-home market, a decision Gott blames for the company's fall.
"The consumer marketplace is a disaster now with the economy the way it is," Gott said. "We got kind of sidetracked into the consumer marketplace by some investors. That's definitely the reason for the demise of the (old) company."
The public company's continued loss of income and other financial factors in 2006 meant SLS no longer qualified for listing under AMEX.
The company also could no longer file SEC reports beginning in 2007 because its "cash position" made SLS unable to pay outside auditors the required fees to review financial statements, according to an SEC filing.
That's when the company decided to file for protection under Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March.
The plan was to sell the company's assets to a new owner. Once that sale was complete, SLS International would dissolve under Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
It was the best way to save the company and continue to serve its customers, said Gott, who became one of several private investors to buy SLS International in May.
Now the new company, Intrinsic Audio Solutions Inc., is getting back to its roots.
Second chance
While the company continues to manufacture the same product under SLS Audio, other things have changed since the purchase. "We are strictly focused on the commercial and professional audio ... That's the core business," said Gott, now president of Intrinsic Audio.
In fact, 60 percent of SLS Audio products go to houses of worship.
There's also quite a demand in the cinema market. The company supplies about a dozen small- and medium-sized theater chains across the Midwest, as well as some international cinema customers.
Wehrenberg Theater Campbell 16 in Springfield uses SLS Audio. "(Cinema) actually does very well and is doing very well in the down economic times," Gott said.
The fountain at Branson Landing uses SLS Audio speakers during its musical-themed display.
A vast majority of SLS products are shipped.
Gott said in the last year, nearly half of the company's sales have been overseas. They have about 250 audio/visual contractors nationally who are qualified dealers, as well as 30 international dealers.
"We're pushing our marketing out into the international market space because it does give us flexibility," Gott said. "They also order in larger quantities in individual shipments because of freight costs and time issues."
And SLS is also producing with fewer employees -- 21 compared to the 52 it had in 2007.
Gott said many of those employees were to handle the public entity. Now, employees are focused on the products themselves.
To help SLS get back on its feet, the city of Ozark sponsored an application on behalf of the company to receive an Action Fund Loan through the Missouri Department of Economic Development.
The $500,000 loan will be used to retain the current 21 Intrinsic employees and hire six additional employees over a two-year period, Gott said.
News 
Market Data 
Discover 
