Salamander Designs had been working with an enterprise level audio/video systems integrator based in Iowa called Mechdyne, collaborating to provide A/V furniture solutions for corporate environments. Through Mechdyne, ExxonMobil Corporation had been utilizing Salamander A/V furniture solutions for boardrooms, conference rooms and collaborative spaces. Salamander would build furniture to spec and Mechdyne would pre-install the latest technology components that could then be shipped as a completed module to facilities around the world. These solutions were problem solvers and time savers for ExxonMobil staff—they could just roll the Salamander units into the desired space and be up and running in minutes.

ExxonMobil was introduced to the Microsoft Surface Hub, a unified communications and collaborationtool in the form of an interactive touchscreen up to 84-inches in size and 300 lbs. in weight. Although ExxonMobil had success using the Microsoft Surface Hub, they felt that they required more flexibility to position the device as needed for different environments, group sizes and to accommodate the height of each presenter. Already impressed by the quality of Salamander’s A/V furniture, ExxonMobil presented their unique challenges regarding the Microsoft Surface Hub to Salamander CEO Salvatore Carrabba—along with an 8-week deadline for executing a strong and durable solution with excellent mobility.

After careful consideration and much research into the Microsoft Surface Hub and related products, Salamander took on the challenge of designing the most versatile, customizable and attractive display stand solution for what is likely to be a growing field of interactive touchscreen products. ExxonMobil took delivery of the four units they had ordered and were thrilled with the build quality, functionality and mobility afforded to them by the FPS Stands. So pleased were they in fact, they picked up the phone and called Microsoft…

Once Microsoft became acquainted with ExxonMobil’s FPS Stand, dialogue between Salamander and Microsoft led to the development of a complete FPS product lineup supporting the entire Surface Hub ecosystem. The marketing team at Microsoft wanted a versatile tool they could use to demonstrate the Surface Hub out in the field, at tradeshows and on the go. They purchased over 100 units from Salamander and created customized road cases to make transport of the FPS Stand/Surface Hub assembly easy and safe.

The Salamander FPS Stand was a successful product before it was ever officially announced, with four units sold to Exxon Mobil and over 150 units sold to Microsoft. ExxonMobil and Microsoft are two impressive organizations that recognized the spirit of design and innovation at Salamander combined with superb manufacturing capability. The Salamander FPS Series Stands for interactive touchscreens will undoubtedly enjoy continued success as the benchmark mobility solution for unified communications and collaboration tools sold worldwide.