Herma manufactures LP Morgan, Grandview and 2C projection screens and distributes SunBrite Outdoor LCD screens, Brightline video conferencing lighting solutions and Panamorph lenses.

“On the back of our recent expansion with the Denon and Marantz Group, this is another significant expansion for Hills SVL,” says Hills SVL group general manager Stuart Craig.

“The Herma acquisition makes sense in many ways. It’s another step toward SVL offering an end to end solution for our customers and allowing us to take our ‘intuitive integrated solutions’ program to a whole new level.

“It also helps the SVL Group establish some new channels in the residential and IT markets which are key to our on-going growth. For Herma, it’s an expansion opportunity as it becomes part of a much larger team and will leverage SVL’s strengths in the commercial and education markets.

“Customers of both SVL and Herma will see immediate benefits. Herma will keep its identity and will not be merged into Hills SVL; it will operate as a division of Hills SVL, just as Crestron and Australian Monitor operate.”

Herma Technologies was founded more than 15 years ago by German-born Dick Marquardt. In 2005, the company was taken over by Carlinea Williamson and Josh Hills.

“Everyone at Herma is enthusiastic about the Hills acquisition; we see it as an exciting new chapter for the company,” Carlinea says.

“The team at Herma is looking forward to working with Hills management to maintain the high level of service and support we are known for. The backing of a major Australian company will bring great opportunities for Herma to continue developing and expanding its offering in both manufactured and distributed products.”

Carlinea says she will stay with the company until the end of the current financial year to ensure a smooth transition.

“For our dealers it will be business as usual. The only difference is that our products will be backed by a large company, giving Herma greater scope to reinvest into developing better products,” she says.

Herma will continue to be based in Melbourne, and all warranties will still be honoured and serviced in Preston. To further assist dealers, Herma stock will now be stored around the country making sourcing product easier.