CEDIA has named the first two recipients of the prestigious CEDIA Member of Excellence designation. U.K.-based integrators ConnectedWorks and Homeplay have proven their exemplary commitment to craftsmanship, customer service, certification and community outreach in achieving the status.

“ConnectedWorks and Homeplay are highly respected among custom integrators,” said Senior Vice President of Industry Engagement Giles Sutton. “Their recognition as the first-ever CEDIA Member of Excellence recipients raises the bar for the rest of the industry and gives ConnectedWorks and Homeplay an honor that demonstrates to customers and peers that they are, indeed, elite CEDIA member companies.”

The CEDIA Member of Excellence selection process includes rigorous verification of member companies’ qualifications in areas including:

• The company ensures continued customer service by providing three client or customer references from three projects within the last 12 months and two references from CEDIA Trade Supplier Members.
• The company must demonstrate philanthropy by having either one CEDIA volunteer or at least one CEDIA Outreach Instructor (COI) on staff.
• A percentage (based on size) of each company’s full-time technical staff must hold at least one CEDIA advanced certification — ESC-T, ESC-D or ESC-N Certification (does not include ESC).
• The company has demonstrated exceptional quality by being a finalist/shortlisted or a CEDIA Award winner within the last three years. CEDIA is currently accepting awards applications.
  Once a company has been confirmed as a CEDIA Advanced Member or Member of Excellence, they carry that designation through two renewal periods.

ConnectedWorks designs, installs, and looks after cinema, lighting, wi-fi, media, and smart home technology projects. The company was honored in 2018 with a CEDIA Award in the EMEA region and was a CEDIA Award finalist in 2016. “I wanted to highlight our abilities and quality compared to other firms in my region. Once you meet the Member of Excellence criteria, the application process is very straightforward,” said ConnectedWorks owner Owen Maddock. “The designation lets us show off our achievements in a simple and easy to digest format. It’s also great to have impartial, independent confirmation that we really are as good as we like to think.”

Homeplay describes itself as “experts in beautiful home technology,” creating transformational home cinema and lighting experiences. Homeplay is a 2018 CEDIA Award Finalist in the EMEA Region. “The temptation [for customers] to go with the lowest bidder can be strong,” said Homeplay owner James Ratcliffe. “We do our best to educate clients as to what makes for a good installation (proper design, planning, execution, aftercare, etc.) and being a Member of Excellence company will be another thing that helps demonstrate that we care about doing things properly.”

You can connect to more about the Member of Excellence program by clicking here.