User talk:Carlsbro1

The late Stuart Mercer, a local musician and electronics engineer, set up Carlsbro in 1959 on his kitchen table at Station Street, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. His in-depth knowledge of the particular needs of the musician, coupled with his electronics skills, gave him the ability to make products that out-classed other manufacturers at the early stages of rock 'n' roll.

Pretty soon, demand grew to the point where a full-time business needed to be set up. Carlsbro Sound Equipment was registered as a company on the 5th September 1962 at Jenford Street, Mansfield.

By 1968 there were so many bands and venues using Carlsbro Equipment and visiting the factory that it was decided to set up a separate retail arm of the company. A young local drummer named Keith Woodcock was recruited as Sales Manager for Carlsbro Sound Centres Ltd. and a new chapter in music history was started.

In 1971, the rapidly-expanding Carlsbro needed more space and so moved to a purpose-built, 10,000 square feet factory at Cross Drive, Kirkby-In-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, England.

By 1980 Carlsbro Sound Equipment changed it's name to Carlsbro Electronics Limited, leaving Carlsbro Retail to manage the shops. It also extended the factory by another 10,000 square feet to meet the increase in business that the company was facing.

Carlsbro Retail was the subject of a mangement buyout in 1994 when Keith Woodcock bought the company and changed the name to Academy Of Sound. In the same year, Stuart Mercer was diagnosed as having cancer. After several operations he sadly died in May 1995, leaving his wife, Sheila to manage the company.

In 1996 Carlsbro Electronics Limited was sold to Pektron Ltd, an electronic manufacturing company based in Derby.

After four years Pektron decided to sell Carlsbro and the company was put on the market and on 2nd January 2001, Carlsbro Electronics Limited was bought by Andrew Bishop and Carlsbro once again regained it's pioneering spirit.

Since then the company has gone from strength to strength, increasing turnover year on year and developing and marketing innovative new products, that will help cement and reinforce Carlsbro's place, as a manufacturer of quality musical sound equipment.

For over 48 years the Carlsbro name has been synonymous with musicians the world over and as we approach our 50th anniversary, the passion for providing music makers with the quality equipment that they need at a price they can afford, has never been greater