Absen has been a leader in the LED displays industry for over 20 years. Founded in 2001 by three friends, the company has had one unwavering focus since day one: LED displays.
Today, Absen’s reach spans 140 countries and includes more than 6,000 expert engineers. What happens when you focus on one thing for over two decades? You get really, really good at it!
“We don’t do washing machines, dryers, phones and everything else. This is all we do. It’s all we’ve ever done,” Trent Slyter, Absen U.S. national sales director, says. Slyter has served in that role since January 2024, bringing his decades of experience working hands-on in the AV sphere. So, what drew him to Absen? It comes down to one word: quality. “I came to Absen because I used their product against everybody else’s,” he explains. “And frankly, it was the only stuff that worked for my customers in my environment.”
Absen LED Displays Deliver Less Heat, Less Power, Better Quality
Absen prioritizes performance and efficiency, providing high-quality displays with minimal power consumption. And each year, the displays keep becoming more efficient and more energy conscious. “We’re using half of the power of what we were using just a year ago in our flagship products,” Slyter says, “which is important because, instead of 20 outlets, a project may only need 10.” Minimizing power usage is game-changing for clients because they receive the same quality even while using less energy.
This lower power usage and lower heat output allow Absen to reach clients who previously had been unattainable. “It’s a big, big deal,” Slyter declares. “We’re doing work in historic locations where they absolutely, positively will not allow you to bring any more power. You’ve got to live with what is there. And we keep winning those projects because we can live on the power that is already there, and nobody else can.”
It’s Time for Chip on Board
This year, according to Slyter, Absen is bringing groundbreaking technology to its displays — namely, IMD (Integrated Matrix Device) COB (Chip on Board), which enhances reliability and protection. COB is a breakthrough packing technology in which chips are mounted directly onto the circuit board instead of being individually housed. This leads to smoother wiring and better AV processing. The product lines incorporating COB include KLCOB and NX Series.
Not only is this technology reliable, but Absen engineers have also ensured its durability. These new COB panels are built to withstand extreme weather, and Absen engineers perform quality testing to ensure the harshest weather will pose no challenge. “If you stop by our factory, you will see our engineers putting these panels in ovens and baking them, putting them in iceboxes and freezing them and spraying them down with pressure washers,” Slyter says.
What’s more, if panels break, they can be fixed without being torn down completely. “Therefore, if there’s an accident, such as a bird flying into a display, our engineers go out and fix every single pixel, every single diode, every single chip and nobody has to take it down or ship it anywhere,” Slyter says.
Even spare parts are becoming less necessary. Slyter explains that these panels are engineered so well that spare parts are typically only used in extreme cases. “We send spares with every project, but people don’t need them now,” he remarks. “Before we had Chip on Board, we were sending up to 10% spares, and we expected people to use them or at least some of them on every job. That is no longer the case.”
Absen LED Displays Expand in the U.S. Market
Absen has always been a major player in the global AV industry, with specialized engineers working to be at the forefront of AV technology. Over the past few years, the company has been focused on bringing that expertise further in the U.S. AV market. As Slyter explains, Absen is a global leader in AV technology, and the goal is to ensure that U.S. clients know they are working with a U.S.-based team.
Though manufacturing is overseas, the company has dramatically expanded its domestic workforce, adding channel managers, salespeople, engineers, onsite technical support and headquarters technical support. The company’s U.S. headquarters is in Orlando, Fla., and Absen has also launched a West Coast operation and opened showrooms across the country, including the newest Absen Experience Center near Times Square. Slyter emphasizes the importance of having operations on both coasts to ensure quick, efficient operations.
With a growing national footprint and a proven commitment to rapid, localized support, Absen is solidifying its position of leadership in the commercial AV market. And with specialized high-quality products, Absen continues to shape the future of LED displays.
