Q&A with RUSHWORKS’ Rush Beesley

We sit down with RUSHWORKS Founder Rush Beesley to chat about the recent acquisition of RUSHWORKS by ENCO.

Earlier this year, we announced the acquisition of RUSHWORKS—supplier of professional productions, playback, streaming, and robotics for the broadcast and pro AV markets. The acquisition of RUSHWORKS adds proven technology and talent that opens the door for ENCO to innovate and develop cohesive, integrated broadcast and AV solutions for years to come, while adding strong expertise in video applications, diversifying ENCO’s software portfolio to serve a much broader array of business verticals and applications. Customers will also benefit from having a single source for technical support across all products and integrated ENCO and RUSHWORKS solutions moving forward.

We caught up with Rush after this year’s ISE show in Barcelona to get his thoughts on the big news. 

What makes RUSHWORKS and ENCO complementary to each other? How do ENCO products and RUSHWORKS products fit in together, product-wise?

The addition of RUSHWORKS brand products and services complements ENCO’s offerings by introducing powerful AV system design, integration, production systems, and robotics to ENCO’s rich folio of radio automation, TV automation and closed-captioning solutions. Both offer levels of TV automation that differ in design, user interface, and price, which expands the prospective customer base significantly.

Tell us more about the purpose behind this acquisition.

From RUSHWORKS’ perspective, the acquisition accomplishes the goal of continued employment of our excellent technical design and support team, as well as assuring ‘business as usual’ with our loyal global customer base. This also provides an expanding arsenal of technology products and solutions that will certainly contribute to the growth of ENCO.

When was the seed of the idea first planted and how did it develop into the acquisition?

Ken Frommert (president of ENCO) and I met at NAB several years ago, then again a couple of years later when ENCO and RUSHWORKS were both exhibiting across the aisle from each other at a Government Video Expo Convention in Washington, DC. 

Since I’ve been in ‘the business’ for many decades, I was looking for a natural and appropriate exit strategy with an arbitrary window of 2022. About two years ago RUSHWORKS had initiated some development activity with ENCO to examine the viability of combining their enCaption and enTranslation engine into our core automation and production products, and I mentioned to Ken that I was starting to put out some preliminary ‘feelers’ for a good acquisition partner. He suggested I was “too young to retire,” and the rest, as they say, is history.

What you are most excited about with this acquisition?

It’s the perfect timing for transferring years of hard work and product development into an entity with huge business potential. Ken and I share a keen interest in the many ways we can make this happen. I love his energy, ambition, and admirable goals. I’m delighted to be able to provide the benefit of many years of experience in helping the company achieve many great things.

How did the first tradeshow together—ISE 2023—go?

It was the first ISE show for ENCO and was also the first show where RUSHWORKS, an ENCO brand, was presented to the public. It was an excellent venue that established many meaningful relationships with both vendors and prospects. So I believe the show was an unqualified success that appropriately launched our collective plan for introducing additional new products and services to our combined customer base and those we’ll culture with our larger, more diverse but complementary product lines.

Congratulations are in order. Tell us about the RUSHWORKS Award won at ISE.

Garnering a Best of Show Award in our category for the RUSHWORKS PTX Model 3 PRO pan/tilt head was exceedingly gratifying, ratifying its viability across several market sectors. It was showcased perfectly in the Skaarhoj booth, with Kasper Skaarhoj demonstrating its unique design and benefits when integrating larger form-factor cameras and lenses. We’re looking forward to marketing this product aggressively through expanding relationships with Skaarhoj and Blackmagic Design, and to expanding our robotics development and implementation in the months and years ahead. Big congrats are also in order for ENCO enCaption5 for its Best of Show win from Sound & Video Contractor.

What do we have to look forward to in the future from RUSHWORKS as an ENCO brand?

From both my and Ken’s perspectives, the sky is the limit for the things we want to accomplish as a result of the acquisition. We’re strategizing daily the most effective way forward, so you can expect a lot of innovation and the resulting significant impact in many market sectors.

From an operational perspective, how will things change?

ENCO will retain the entire RUSHWORKS staff and has opened a new office in a brand-new facility in Highland Village, Texas. I will continue to lead sales and marketing for the RUSHWORKS product line, and the two engineering teams will join forces to develop new products and innovations moving forward. That includes the integration of ENCO’s automated captioning and translation services into existing RUSHWORKS products.

Can you speak to any trends in the industry that made the timing right for this?

The keywords associated with business growth in these challenging times are streaming, automation, robotics, and AI. Our combined solutions embrace, embody, and advance all these notions, which means the doors and windows of opportunity are open wide for our planned endeavors.