Tech kingmaker Liam Casey’s PCH inks global consumer tech deal with Contour Inc

18 Sep 2012

Pictured: Liam Casey, founder and CEO of PCH

Corkman Liam Casey’s PCH International has formed a partnership with US Contour Inc, a maker of hands-free video cameras, apps and accessories, that will see the two companies make it easier to buy Contour’s products anywhere in the world.

The partnership is part of the PCH Accelerator program, which offers Contour the same supply chain management services that PCH provides to the world’s top brands.

As well as logistics PCH is working with Contour to accelerate development of innovative, new products for the red-hot action video market. 

“Contour is a perfect example of why we created our Accelerator program,” said PCH Founder and CEO Liam Casey. 

“An incredibly entrepreneurial company, Contour makes a highly-disruptive product, and has reached a point where it needs PCH to scale to meet market demand and bring new products to market, faster – without sacrificing any of the product quality they’re known for in the industry.”

PCH expects its recent acquisition of Lime Lab be a key part of the relationship, helping to ensure Contour stays in front of the market.

PCH, which employs 80 people in Cork, revealed earlier this year plans to employ an extra 1,500 people at a facility in Shenzhen near Hong Kong in a move that will grow employment to 3,000 worldwide.

A global tech empire overnight

“The PCH platform gives us a serious competitive advantage, while dramatically improving our customer and retail experience,” Contour CEO Marc Barros said. “Overnight we can compete with some of the best brands in the world.”

PCH has revenues of US$400m a year and masterminds the design, manufacture and distribution of hardware. In February last year it raised US$26m from Triangle Peak Partners and Cross Creek Capital. That followed a previous funding round of US$21m in 2008 from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and Focus Ventures.

In June last year, it emerged that two new investors, Temasek subsidiary Northbrook Investments and J Christopher Burch, joined existing investors in raising a further US$30m.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com