Apple iOS-based control company Savant Systems acquired lighting control...

Apple iOS-based control company Savant Systems acquired lighting control company LiteTouch, the companies said Tuesday. The purchase gives Savant a lighting control platform and “best-in class” keypad for residential and commercial control applications, Savant said. The LiteTouch keypads support a “wide array of controlled devices, including other lighting systems, but Savant will continue to work with approved third-party lighting companies, according to Executive Vice President Jim Carroll. Dealers have been asking for lighting control and integrated keypad products that work with Apple iOS devices “to manage and control a vast array of connected home and commercial technologies,” he said. Despite the trend in the custom electronics field away from dedicated controllers, Carroll told us Savant also sees the trend of dedicated touchpanels “as a dying business, but keypad interface is critical” for simple, familiar one-button interaction. “It is quick, easy access,” he said. “The tablet/control market is still growing,” he said, but Savant will “push the envelope by developing new and innovative apps for portable devices.” The LiteTouch brand will bring Savant “more visibility” in the electrical designer/builder community, and the company is looking at additional areas for expansion including smart energy and audio/video, Carroll told us. No jobs are slated to be eliminated as a result of the purchase, Carroll said, and LiteTouch operations will continue at the company’s location outside of Salt Lake City. Both dealer bases will receive product training on each product line, Carroll said, and LiteTouch dealers will be given the option to become Savant dealers. “Eventually, training will become seamless for both brands under the Savant umbrella,” he said. No product redesign is required since LiteTouch was already an approved vendor, Carroll said, adding, “Savant will continue to innovate around the LiteTouch brand.”