Wilsonville Spokesman Online

Local company on the move with digital display acquisition

Former InFocus colleagues branch out on their own

• By: Michelle Te  
• Published: 12/8/2009 1:58:04 PM

New company
Scott Hix (left) and Brad Gleeson (right), owners of Target Path, brought on former InFocus colleague Brian Carskadon to help market their company and recently-acquired Vertigo.

Digital displays make up one of the the fastest growing markets in the world today.

“Dynamic” advertising pops up in subways, freeways and even the grocery store, dramatically increasing sales and the availability of information.

Now, Scott Hix and Brad Gleeson, InFocus veterans and Wilsonville residents who’ve stayed active in the digital display industry, plan to play an integral role in this burgeoning market with the recent acquisition of Vertigo Group, a Toronto, Canada-based company.

The duo formed TargetPath earlier this year, a management consultant and business development business focused on the digital display market.

The acquisition of Vertigo’s digital division, along with the partnership of Chi Lin Technology, could boost sales by 30 to 40 percent over the next two years, Hix said from his Wilsonville office recently.

Forming a new company
TargetPath formed a new company called Vertigo Digital Displays. Its focus will be on the “continued development of advanced, engineered outdoor LCD display solutions,” said a press release. Two Vertigo engineers developed an enclosure system that allows LCD TVs to be placed outdoors and still withstand the elements of nature.

“There are over 10,000 displays that Vertigo has developed and manufactured and has placed around the world,” Hix said, ranging from subways in New York and Chicago, to the streets of Las Vegas and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The displays range from 40-100 inches, and are manufactured both in Canada and China. With the acquisition, TargetPath will bring Vertigo’s headquarters to Wilsonville, while keeping some light manufacturing in Toronto. It also plans to move some manufacturing to Chi Lin’s headquarters in Tainan, Taiwan.

“We’re pretty proud that our revenue will be in the seven-digit range this year,” Hix said of TargetPath’s initial success. “We will be profitable in our first year, and that’s pretty nice to see in tough economic times.”

Hix, who left a position at Planar Systems in Hillsboro, and formerly worked at InFocus for 15 years, said he brought on former associates who also cut their business teeth in the digital display industry.
Brian Carskadon has been named vice president of product marketing. He will work specifically with Vertigo to help take the company to the next level of sales, particularly in designing and marketing “street furniture” that includes digital displays.

“I like being involved with a company that has seen that digital signage is the next thing,” said Carskadon. “It will grow. You look at the digital market, and growth is not in TVs. In fact, the actual percentage of sales has gone down. There was a huge growth in projectors, but that went back and normalized. Now, it’s digital signage. From static to dynamic, that’s the next wave.”

Worldwide travel
But growing a worldwide company means heavy air travel for these top executives, who’ve marked their territory in several countries. To illustrate their travels, Carskadon showed a picture drawn by his first-grade daughter. It showed her father’s two “homes,” one in Wilsonville, and the other in China.
“She understands,” he said. “This is what we do. But we’re able to provide a good living for our families, and that’s just how it is.”

Hix said it’s a balancing act.

“Last week I went to Taiwan for the week, then yesterday I was coaching a 5 p.m. soccer practice, and a 6 p.m. basketball practice,” he said. “I’ve never felt like, because we travel, we sacrifice too much. We’re very big on balance. We Skype a lot. Ultimately, our job is to create financial stability for our family, and have fun with what we do.”

Both Gleeson and Hix had dreams of starting their own companies, learning what works and doesn’t in the digital display market.

“For me, I was very blessed, as were my colleagues, coming up the ranks in InFocus,” Hix said. “I learned a ton, had great mentors that helped us grow our capability. As leaders, we all had the dream of starting our own business. We are cheerleaders of InFocus, we talk to them, offering input and support in whatever way we can.”

In fact, some of TargetPath’s furniture came from the InFocus building, which Carskadon said he helped design.

“We built the business with InFocus,” said Hix. “But we’re excited to control our own destiny and build our own company.”

As owners of Vertigo Digital Displays, Hix said he imagines LCD screens anyplace where people wait, from doctor’s offices to the checkout line of the grocery store. They’ve already discovered how successful the latter has been, with both Albertson’s and Walmart posting higher sales once the screens were placed in stores.

“Hopefully lightning will strike once again,” said Hix of his former days at InFocus. “So far, we’re thrilled about this. We’re out of start-up mode, and now into managing the business for profitable growth.”

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