Bellevue, Wash.-based Wipliance receives 2019 Consumer Technology Association TechHome Division Integrator of the Year Award at CES 2019.

“I have been coming to CES for 33 consecutive years and I was still just as excited to attend the show as I was for the very first time,” said Lee Travis, owner of Wipliance, a Bellevue, Wash.-based custom integration firm as he accepted the Consumer Technology Association’s TechHome Division’s 2018 Integrator of the Year at CES 2019. Travis’ ability to maintain that youthful exuberance for his business and the technology is among the reasons his company was recognized by the CTA.

The CTA Integrator of the Year Award is presented to a custom integration company that has shown proven leadership both inside and outside the industry.

Wipliance is the No. 62 company on the CE Pro 100 with $4.6 million in revenues from 151 custom installs. That equates to $30,464 per install. The company is also one of the most efficient in the industry, producing $230,000 in revenue per employee from its 20 staff persons.

Wipliance offers solutions for audio video and smart automation that are unique to the homeowner and their lifestyle, and easily customizable to add value to the space. The company works with high-end homeowners as well as business owners for retail, restaurants and office spaces.

Based in Bellevue, Wash., Wipliance recently opened a second location in Scottsdale, Arizona. The company is highly engaged in the industry as a member of the CE Pro 100, as well as the Control4 Circle of Excellence for 2018.

Recognizing the finest achievements in custom installation and the best new custom-installation-targeted products and installations the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) in conjunction with CE Pro magazine announced the winners of the 2019 TechHome Mark of Excellence Awards at CES 2019, Las Vegas.

Presented in an evening ceremony at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, the Mark of Excellence Awards recognize groundbreaking residential custom installation projects performed by professional integrators, as well as consumer technology products and services that are primarily targeted at the custom installation channel.

The 168 entries were judged by an independent panel of industry experts. Winners of these prestigious awards receive exposure via the websites and print publications from the Consumer Technology Association and CE Pro.

Check out all of the entries here! 

Manufacturer Awards:

Audio Product of the Year: Amplification:
AudioControl CM4-750, AudioControl

The next generation of interior design will move you.

BY: MARC ROUSSO, CEO, JAYMARC HOMES, FUTURECAST FORUM MEMBER | Updated: November 27, 2018
Originally Appeared in Seattle Mag

How modern home design is taking the fiction out of sci-fi.

BY: CAMERON ALAVI, WIPLIANCE  | Updated: November 27, 2018

The concept of the smart home is no longer reserved for sci-fi flicks and Jetson-esque cartoons, which just a few short years ago may have seemed lifetimes away. Increasingly more homes are becoming connected, intelligent, and changing the way we live our daily lives, moving us closer to the once fictionalized idea of a technologically advanced home. As demand for smarter homes increases, these ten trends are quickly weaving their way into home design across the Puget Sound and beyond:

1. Advanced Home Networking

It seems difficult to imagine living our lives without access to the internet. Much in the same way that people depend on the internet, so do smart homes and the devices in them. Many experts refer to this as the “Internet of Things”, or the network of devices, appliances, and features that we operate with wireless, mobile and voice controls to create a smart home. The most basic prerequisite for a smart home is a solid internet connection and very good in-home Wi-Fi. Sticking a router in your laundry room and hoping for the best simply doesn’t cut it anymore because every device, from surveillance cameras to thermostats, needs to live on the network if it is going to be integrated into the home. The network structure in today’s smart homes typically consists of enterprise class networking equipment including several strategically placed Wireless Access Points (WAPs) to ensure that the whole home is blanketed in solid Wi-Fi coverage.

Image courtesy of Wipliance

Unparalleled amenities and resident services to be revealed for Downtown Seattle’s 41-story luxury tower

BY YASAMIN BEITOLLAHI on October 24, 2018 at 1:51 pm
Originally in Geekwire 

Individual presales have begun at SPIRE, a 347-unit, 41-story condominium high-rise under construction at 600 Wall St. in the Belltown neighborhood. A new, 5000-sq. ft. sales center has opened at 2218 5^th Avenue. Sales representatives will host public tours beginning at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 27 for this much-anticipated presale opportunity. Prospective buyers will experience a full-scale model home, a design center, a 9-foot scale model of the tower, a context model of the neighborhood and immersive virtual-reality tours on a life-sized display screen to help convey the final product offering.

Leading into the weekend, the SPIRE sales team accepted more than 100 first-position reservations along with several second- and third-position commitments on popular floor plans. Reservation activity recorded more than $125 million in potential presales ahead of SPIRE’s official launch this weekend. These reservations are now being converted into sales along with new transactions for prospective homebuyers that visit the sales center.

“We are pleased to witness such vigorous interest in SPIRE ahead of our formal sales debut,” says Paul Menzies, CEO of Laconia Development and representative of Seattle Realty One, LLC, the developer of SPIRE. “Clearly, SPIRE is Seattle’s next landmark in the making,” he adds.

In a tribute to its famous neighbor, the Space Needle, SPIRE is a landmark in the making. Tall, slender and extraordinary on every level, the 41-story condominium will boast dramatic views and standout architecture befitting of its front and center perch in the downtown Seattle skyline. With progressive design and technology, SPIRE welcomes prospective homebuyers to secure their new residence today – nearly two years before it’s slated for move-ins.