Company 411

If you want a peek into the corporate culture of any company, get to know its CEO. For Electronic Theatre Controls, better known as ETC, the CEO is the guy in the Birkenstocks who was once described by a family friend as “the one who talks.” (His brother and co-founder of the company was described by the same friend as “the one who thinks.”) The telling part is that the CEO, Fred Foster, is the one who tells the story. It’s a testimony to the kind of humor and humility you’ll find in this seriously successful man and the company he leads.

The case brought back into A&S Case Company the other day was old — 22 years old. But it was hardly the historic artifact you might think.

The band that had been using it all that time had no interest in letting it go, rather, they just wanted some of the interior foam replaced. That’s not exceptional in the experience of A&S Case, but rather typical. “There are cases being actively used out there that were made when the company was first formed in 1976,” says Bill Waskey. “They may have had a caster replaced, and of course they look a bit worn, but they are still very serviceable.”