Mid-River Terminal Operates Smoothly With or Without the Owner’s Presence, Thanks to ELAN

Mid-River Terminal owner Rick Ellis turns to long-time technology integration partner Sound Concepts and ELAN to help his business operate at a higher level of efficiency, even when he’s on the road.

Managing a successful business is hard enough for an owner who is on site every day of the week, but it becomes a nearly impossible task when the owner’s business often takes him off site and on the road. That was the case with the Osceola, Arkansas-based Mid-River Terminal, a fast-paced shipping and receiving facility that operates around the clock to meet the needs of a near-by steel corporation. Owner Rick Ellis, who has long enjoyed the benefits of the ELAN Entertainment and Control System at home, realized that the same solution might be the answer to his dreams at work. Longtime technology partner Sound Concepts showed him that ELAN was the perfect control platform for his rapidly growing and expanding business.

“Rick Ellis has been a client of ours for many years,” Sound Concepts owner, Ryan Heringer, recently explained. “We previously installed ELAN systems in his townhouse in Memphis, Tennessee, his condo in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and a third home that was recently sold.” With the new update to the ELAN App, Ellis can now manage both of his homes and his business through a single login credential, making the control of multiple systems more convenient than ever.

The ELAN gSC10 system controller in Mid-River Terminal is mainly used to control the two conference rooms and the upstairs offices, allowing just about anyone who uses the facility access to the system. In order to provide Ellis with personal privacy, Sound Concepts was able to create multiple login credentials to provide general users with limited system access. “When someone logs into the system with the general login information, they are only granted access to a predetermined subset of conference room features,” Heringer stated. “This creates a sense of privacy for Ellis, knowing that only he can access his office and specific security features, but he doesn’t have to be on site 24/7 to help operate the conference room systems.”

When Ellis is travelling, the ELAN system is the easiest way for him to access the system remotely. “He can go into the ELAN App and make sure the doors are closed via the FLIR cameras and everything is locked up, even when he’s not there,” Heringer added. To do this, Ellis uses his iPad, iPhone or Microsoft Surface Pro tablet. When Ellis is on the premises, he is able to operate the extensive system through three ELAN gHR200 remotes or two ELAN gTP7 in-wall touch panels installed in the Terminal.

In addition to the main operational floor of Mid-River Terminal, there is also a second floor of office space. For business and entertainment purposes, Sound Concepts installed various displays into the upstairs space, including a Samsung 48-inch Smart TV, an 84-inch 4K Cinema 3D Smart TV, and a Dragonfly 110-inch film screen with EPSON PowerLite Pro projector. For entertainment, the displays are all connected to an Apple TV to give Ellis and his team endless television and movie options. For audio, an ELAN S86A multi-room audio system was installed, providing an eight-source, six-zone system that spans the property and provides superior audio through a variety of speakers and subwoofers.

For climate control, Sound Concepts installed six Lutron thermostats that can be operated remotely through the ELAN system. With one touch, Ellis can set the temperature throughout the Terminal and ensure that no energy is wasted. 

“Rick was already familiar with the ELAN system, so there was no learning curve with this new project,” Heringer concluded. “We like providing our clients with ELAN because once you’ve used the system for the first time it’s completely intuitive and identical across additional systems.”