Philips adds training centers in the west, central part of the country

LANCASTER, Pa.-Philips CSI is set to open a new training facility in Detroit this month, one of three such facilities this year for the manufacturer of camera and camera related products. The training center in Detroit hosted an open house in June with classes set to begin this month. It was preceded by a center in Sunnyvale, Calif. and will be followed with a location in Denver later this year. "The demand for training is out there," said Mike Bard, manager of customer projects and training at the company's headquarters here. Up until now, Philips only had onsite training at its corporate office in Lancaster, Pa. That would mean that West Coast integrators had to travel east to tap into classes offered in-house. "We had people flying from the West Coast to our facility and that really wasn't practical for them to do that, especially for one day," said Bard. To open the Sunny-vale, Calif., facility earlier this year, Philips leased space in a building used by Philips' consumer electronics division. The training center features a classroom that seats 30 people and an auditorium that fits 150 people. "In the past we had training at a hotel or local integrator office," said Mark Kline, a regional sales corporate trainer in Reno, Nev. who covers the west and trains integrators in the Sunnyvale, Calif., facility. "Here we just have the people come in, stay for a couple of days and we try to create a great environment for them to learn in and show them everything we have to offer." Philips holds monthly training sessions at its Sunnyvale, Calif. location, rotating between a basic CCTV course to a class that focuses on the company's high-end Allegiant Series Switcher System which can accommodate 4,000 cameras. A grand opening for this location is scheduled for August. In Detroit, the training center also acts as a demonstration area staffed by sales personnel that service that region. The same is planned for the Denver facility, which should open by the fall, said Bard. Though Philips now has multiple training centers open, the company still maintains its Roadshow program, an educational program that travels from city to city.