Ballantyne Strong, Inc. (NYSE Amex: BTN), a provider of digital cinema projection equipment and services, cinema screens and other cinema products, today announced it will sell and install 144 NEC digital cinema projection systems, including GDC servers, to St. Louis-based Wehrenberg Theatres, the nation’s oldest family-owned-and-operated cinema chain.
Ballantyne expects to complete shipments and installations by mid-to-late November.
In addition to handling the remaining installations, Ballantyne’s Strong Technical Services group is providing after-sale annual maintenance and 24/7 monitoring for all of the Midwestern exhibitor’s 210 digital projection systems from its state-of-the-art Network Operations Center (NOC) located in Omaha, Nebraska at its corporate headquarters.
“The complete migration to digital cinema technology offers our guests perfect, crystal clear presentations and allows us to explore an array of alternative entertainment,” said Ronald P. Krueger, Chairman and CEO of Wehrenberg Theatres. “We are proud to once again partner with Ballantyne Strong and NEC, who are playing an instrumental role in facilitating our chain’s digital transformation.”
Ballantyne Strong President and CEO Gary L. Cavey stated, “Wehrenberg has a rich, 105-year reputation as a leading family-owned operator in the cinema space, and we are delighted to offer them Ballantyne’s turnkey digital cinema solution – from installations of cutting-edge NEC projectors through after-care maintenance and NOC services.”
