MEET MARCOS NIEVES, General Manager of Bexel DC and Bexel ASG East. Before we can really say much more about Marcos, we should probably clear up that "SWL Style" comment in the title of this article"¦

SWL stands for Systems Wireless Limited, the one time leader of all of the United States RF, professional audio and communications solutions companies. SWL was a true sales, rental and service organization, founded in 1973 by an RF technologist named Theodore "Ted" Bennett.

At first, the company excelled at packaging complicated RF systems for sale to the major networks and television producers. Building on a fast-track stellar reputation for ultimate customer service, SWL quickly became the #1 Pro Audio Dealership in the USA. It was only a matter of time before management realized that the brand should open a full-on "service" department - a group of hard core industry pros, completely factory trained and certified to fix and maintain all of the brands carried. SWL Service became the first "Factory Authorized" Service Center for all of the top audio brands - Clear-Com, HME, Lectrosonics, RTS, Sennheiser, Telex, and many more"¦

Next step? It was a natural"¦if you already sell all of the best audio products on the market and if you have a room full of engineers building packages and providing warranty service on all sales, then why not offer all of your products for rent, too? The day that SWL "Rentals" was launched changed the RF industry. Now you could rent a product for a day or a week or a month and, if you really liked it, you could buy it for your own facility. What a great formula for success. SWL became the strongest, most diverse full service professional audio resource in the country. And that is where they stayed "¦until

SURPRISE!

"¦the day that SWL's owner decided to sell the business to none other than Bexel Broadcast Services - in May of 1998. Big deal, right? Companies sell "“ they do it every day. So much for "SWL-style""¦But, what about Marcos Nieves, (who joined the SWL team in March of 1991) "¦isn't this article supposed to be about him? What did this huge 1998 move mean for him?

Well, at the time, not much - just another new opportunity. And what an opportunity it turned out to be. Under the Bexel platform, his 1998 job of being in charge of what they called "shipping" elevated to the Bexel-driven term "Operations" and Marcos was appointed Operations Manager - a very important piece of the 24/7/365 equation. Everything passes through Operations and it is this well oiled team that really gets the job done - in this case all outgoing "˜sales' and "˜sales support' packaging, all rentals and all incoming and outgoing orders for the famous SWL (now Bexel ASG) Service Department. Marcos became the master of getting it done and getting it done right. He put his own, personalized stamp of excellence on every outgoing shipment and really raised the standard in the Bexel Operations world. But that's not all"¦

As time went on, it was noticed that Marcos was a star performer in any field that he chose to work in - his foundational changes in Operations made the organization move at the speed of sound and, naturally, Marcos was offered greater responsibility which always means greater challenge. His technical approach and sincere care for the customer drove him to the top position in the Sales department - an effort that he ended up running after a few short years.

His depth of knowledge about each and every operating department in the company landed him the appointment of General Manager in 2006 and he remains the most connected member of the staff - that is, he is connected to the customer 24/7"¦ when his desk phone rings, it triggers his mobile phone and after a certain hour, it triggers his home phone - and when you send him an email, it pops up on his Blackberry - you will ALWAYS get an answer fast, every time. That is the 24/7/365 promise. That is the Bexel ASG way. And that, quite simply, is Marcos Nieves.

mnieves@bexel.com