The Company
THE BEGINNING
Pro-Ject was founded in 1991, during the onslaught of the compact disc and CD players, with the mission to offer the best analogue experience for reasonable prices. In a time where the digital audio media had been on the rise, and vinyl was declared as outdated and dead, Heinz Lichtenegger kept his belief in the simple but best way to enjoy music – turntables.
GOALS
Our aim is to get as many people as possible into the wonderful hobby that is HiFi audio and to deliver a real stereo experience for the lowest cost possible. The best way to start there is with a proper turntable. We want to give the customers back the right to choose what they need, without overblowing our products with unnecessary features. Here at Pro-Ject we strive to create astonishing products with impeccable value. We only use the best components for the price and manufacture our handmade goods solely in Europe. With an eye for future trends we are always trying to fit the needs of the market.
THE FIRST SUCCESS
With an unexpected hit-review of the Pro-Ject 1, the success-story began its first major chapter. With the gaining popularity and interest, more and more international distributors began to make Pro-Ject turntables available in their countries. Today we ship into more than 80 countries world-wide and are happy to share some of our passion with every customer.
PRODUCTION
With cutting edge technologies and machines, we are able to create visually pleasing products without losing the eye for the finest details. In Czech Republic, we produce all our turntables from scratch, by hand and in house. From the tiniest screw to the chassis, everything is done by our technicians. A strict four step quality control ensures that everything works as intended.
In Slovakia we manufacture micro sized high end audio components. By shrinking the cabinets to a miniature size, we were able to save costs and offer our customers a true price to performance relation. We pride ourselves with products that have a long-lasting value and give our customers satisfaction in all their audio needs.
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
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We are closely working with partners of the music industry, such as Universal Music Group (The Beatles), Third Man Records (Jack White), The Rolling Stones, Parov Stelar or the world famous Hard Rock Café. Many industry leaders also cooperate with us, like the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra or Ortofon for their jubilees. With these partners, we create special limited edition products to give our customers even more choices.
THE PRO-JECT HEADQUARTER
Our headquarter is located 35 kilometers North of Vienna in the beautiful Weinviertel region, after a year of planning and 14 months of build-time, it has been opened end of August 2017. On a total area of 12,200 m² there can be found three different parts with different functions and purposes. In the 1,200 m² office area there is an elegant customer area with inviting foyer and our flagship store. The heart of our headquarter is a 300 m² Atrium.
For the overall visual impression in the building as well as the exterior design, DI Andreas Burghardt is responsible. A design that dispenses with flourishes altogether. It makes the Pro-Ject products radiate even more, thus meeting the highest standards of efficiency and aesthetics. Used as example were box-design electronics - a black sharp-edged cube. The use of glass surfaces creates transparent and modern office space. The outer facade of the office area reflects the grooves of a record.
PRO-JECT LANKA​
We are closely working with partners of the music industry, such as Universal Music Group (The Beatles), Third Man Records (Jack White), The Rolling Stones, Parov Stelar or the world famous Hard Rock Café. Many industry leaders also cooperate with us, like the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra or Ortofon for their jubilees. With these partners, we create special limited edition products to give our customers even more choices.
WAREHOUSE
Extensive is the storage area with more than 3,000 m²: In addition to 6 truck docking stations and a 450 m² order picking area, it includes a small parts warehouse with a height of more than eight meters. Every year more than 4,000 pallets are shipped to 80 countries worldwide. Whether by parcel, pallet goods or whole containers.
ENERGY SELF-SUFFICIENT
The energy concept of the headquarters is unique in Austria on this scale. The heating system works self-sufficient. With the energy of the sun, the air and the crystallization energy of the water, the building is heated or cooled. A photovoltaic system on the roof supplies the energy needed to power the heat pump throughout the year. In the summer months, excess energy is fed into the grid, in winter this amount is then withdrawn.
ICE STORAGE
Two "energy sources" are used to supply the heat pumps: First, there are 37 solar air absorbers on the roof of the warehouse. Here, the ambient air heat is extracted, which is used via the heat pump to heat the building. The second "energy source" is the ice storage. A water tank 25 meters long and 15 meters wide, which contains 910,000 liters of water. On cold winter days, the heat energy of the water is used by the heat pump for heating. The temperature goes down until water freezes to ice. This concentrated cold energy is used for cooling in the summer and for heating the building in winter.
