The historic manufacturer of networking and cabling systems, the pride of Made in Italy and active since 1987, has launched Link On Air. A courageous and determined response to the sudden stop of live events, its primary market, which reinvents the company but also offers an opportunity for rebirth to the entire sector.
For some companies, the pandemic meant reorganising, for others it unfortunately meant suddenly stopping work entirely. This is how it has been, and still is, for a large part of the live entertainment sector of which Link is also a part, which the asynchronous reopening in various foreign countries was able to remedy, even if only partially.
How to restart the business of the company, given that the usual market has been practically eliminated by the pandemic? How can we not lose the know-how of 35 years of activity as builders? Putting it at the service of new needs!
Assunta Fratocchi, Link’s Managing Director, explained to us: “We didn’t just want to continue to do our job, we wanted to contribute to the reopening of activities in our sector, with a virtuous mechanism useful for its recovery but also obviously for us. Businesses thrive if the market is active. We therefore turned to safety devices, choosing the line of air sanitation. We intended it primarily as a useful tool for the reopening of event venues, but to be eventually applied to other areas as well.”
Luca Opizzi, Link’s Technical Sales Executive, joined the conversation to delve into the details of this change of course.
Connessioni – How does this technology work?
LO – We turned to the industry leader – the American ActivePure Technology -, which produces the ActivePure® technology based on RCI (Radiant Catalytic Ionization): in a nutshell, we don’t just force the air exchange or filter it but, thanks to an ionisation mechanism, some oxidants act on the molecules present in the air, actively decontaminating it. This is the difference between changing and sanitising the air. To this we have added our traditional approach, made of the desire to deepen the technologies and give clear answers to customers. We have therefore developed a predictive system which, as is done with acoustic simulation software, is able to demonstrate the effectiveness of the system moment by moment, and to monitor it. It is composed of a very sophisticated software and sensor system, based on protocols of industrial derivation: with Link On Air we are able to offer a complete solution for sanitising the air in closed environments that is safe, reliable and controllable, without chemical agents,. A dashboard (also available via app) allows you to turn the system on and off, acquire data, bind it to certain parameters, etc.
C – Over time you have refined your approach …
AF – A few months ago we thought of this product as a spin off, today we decided to give it its own identity, with a defined Brand – Link On Air in fact – which recalls our history even on autonomous channels. We decided to enter a product category that was already covered but with a different approach, linked to our history, which helped us to involve the market in this stagnant moment.
C – How did you organise your catalogue?
LO – We have created three strands: Rock, i.e. installation systems for air ducts, monobloc air conditioners, etc. for fixed installations, from trade fairs to offices; Roll are the systems for events inserted in flight cases of various sizes, or adapted to the measures for installation in racks, or to be installed in means of transport to extend the supply chain from sanitized air to the entire route. The system is used as a sanitising air knife, to be placed at the entrance of public areas, or even designed for hanging, to be placed on trusses. Finally, the House line, consisting of small appliances for rooms up to 90 square metres, equipped with an LCD display for management and programming.
C – Today your catalogue is also composed of new products for you, how have you reorganised the sales approach?
AF – In the live events sector we will continue to collaborate with our regular partners, and there is still a lot of space for development both in the Install, which we consider very interesting, and in the residential area, where we are structuring a channel with agents and distributors specific.
C – Link, as a company and as a group, is undergoing a major change. Is there something you want to communicate?
AF – Obviously it is a time of great planning and energy… change is not easy, but the reasons do not only concern the future of the company, but also the recovery of the entire sector. We are aware of the commitment we are taking, and when the inevitable moments of fatigue arrive, we always think back to the motto we chose for Link several years ago, now more relevant than ever: “If you can imagine it, we can build it.”
