Control4 buys Swiss company

Salt Lake City-based Control4 Corp. has acquired a Swiss company known for the creation of a smart home remote that interfaces with thousands of devices right out of the box. Based in Bern, Switzerland, NEEO formerly sold its product online but will discontinue all direct-to-consumer distribution in connection with this transaction, according to a release from Control4.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

NEEO’s product team has been led by the company’s founder, Raphael Oberholzer, and will be working with the Control4 engineering group in Salt Lake City on the development of the next generation of Control4 remote controls, touch panels, keypads and other devices, the company said. Oberholzer will take a leadership role in the development of Control4’s interaction devices.

“Raphael built a world-class customer-centric product team with proven strengths in industrial design, product development and user experience,” said Martin Plaehn, chairman and CEO of Control4. “We’re keen to add NEEO’s unique expertise and award-winning Swiss design ethic to enhance our plans for reimagining the way homeowners interact with their Control4 systems. The NEEO acquisition is a talent and technology investment that will yield beautifully designed and deeply integrated products in the future. We’re excited to welcome the NEEO team to the Control4 family.”

“From the start, it was obvious that both our companies are passionate for customer-centric design,” Oberholzer said. “By joining the Control4 team, we can execute our shared vision to accelerate the creation of beautiful products consumers want in their smart home.”

Control4 was founded in Salt Lake City and employs about 650 people. {/mprestriction}