Bluetooth Innovator Parrot Opens Office in Detroit
DETROIT--Parrot (Paris:PARRO), one of the world’s leading innovators in wireless Bluetooth® technology, has joined the ranks of high technology companies moving into the Detroit area.
Parrot, Inc., the North America subsidiary of Parrot S.A., Paris, France, has opened an office in Southfield to serve as an automotive OEM and aftermarket sales and marketing base for its North American operations. Parrot’s North American operations are headquartered in Austin, TX and are headed by Ed Valdez, president and COO.
The Southfield office will be base of operations for Parrot’s OEM Detroit sales and engineering efforts, as well as for its 12-volt aftermarket sales and marketing. The OEM sales team will report to Eric Riyahi, global director of OEM sales, who is based primarily at the company’s global headquarters in Paris, France. The aftermarket and marketing group reports to Valdez.
“With our rapidly expanding business with the automotive industry, it was clear that we needed to be in the Detroit area full time in order to best serve the North American vehicle manufacturers and tier one suppliers,” said Valdez.
“Automotive applications for our Bluetooth modules and chipsets are evolving rapidly as we introduce more advanced technology beyond hands-free telephony. At the recent Convergence Exposition in Detroit we introduced our new CK 5050 OEM chipset with streaming audio capability, and will soon introduce streaming video – all enabled via Bluetooth technology which eliminates expensive wiring harnesses, saves weight, and allows for more efficient integration and packaging of technology.”
Parrot’s portfolio of chips and modules for OEM manufacturers includes its building-block chips like the P4+ with advanced digital signal processing including echo cancellation, noise reduction and voice recognition; and the P5 with DSP functions plus Bluetooth 1.2 and audio streaming. Parrot’s CK 50xx family of modules provides everything needed for Bluetooth hands-free telephony along with audio streaming, high-speed USB and other capabilities.
In addition, Parrot is the world’s leading manufacturer of installed car kits for the mobile electronics aftermarket.
Parrot’s new office is located at 28446 Franklin Road, Southfield, MI 48034 near the 12 Mile and Northwestern Highway intersection. The phone number is: 248-354-5400.
ABOUT PARROT
Founded in 1994, Parrot has rapidly established itself as a pivotal global player for wireless mobile telephone accessories. Drawing on its tried-and-tested expertise on voice recognition and signal processing technologies, Parrot was one of the very first companies to produce Bluetooth®-based wireless hands-free car kits, having identified this standard’s vast potential as early as 1999. In the first half of 2006, Parrot sold more than 1 million units.
Determined to accompany the mobile telephone’s irresistible breakthrough into our day-to-day lives, Parrot has developed two new products in 2006: the Parrot PHOTO VIEWER™, an LCD photo frame designed to display photos transmitted from a mobile telephone via Bluetooth, and the Parrot SOUND SYSTEM™, a wireless hi-fi system with speakers linked up to one another using Bluetooth.
Today, Parrot truly has a major international focus: 87% of its sales are generated outside of France, and a large percentage of its production is outsourced to carefully selected partners, enabling it to achieve the best possible level of quality and responsiveness. Parrot is now particularly well positioned to capitalize on the bright future opening up for mobile telephone devices.
Parrot has achieved strong growth in its consolidated revenues, up from 80.9 million euros pro forma in 2005 to 116.4 million euros in the first 9 months of 2006.
www.parrotcorp.com Euronext Paris – Eurolist, Compartiment B : FR0004038263 – PARRO
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