In 1945, at the close of World War II, Roberto Coppini and Fernando Borrani founded what was then called BBC, developing a reputation for producing loudspeaker drivers of exceptional quality.

Fast forward to the early '70s - with the emergence of rock 'n roll and especially, big concerts, the company's products became more sought-after by loudspeaker suppliers looking to "fill the pipe" of growing demand. First, BBC worked primarily with larger loudspeaker companies in Italy, like Montarbo FBT Generalmusic, and later, European and U.S.-based companies began seeking these drivers as well.

The company's name was simplified to B & C Speakers in 1989, and about this time,they began development of a full line of compression drivers that went a long way to increasing the company's international presence as a supplier to virtually all of the leading loudspeaker "titans."

To further support their growing business, in 1997 B&C Speakers opened a U.S. sales office in Ramsey, NJ, under the direction of Alfonso Carrino. This facility, complete with warehouse, has provided an advantage in minimizing lead times for North American orders. Most recently, Ralph Nichols joined B & C as national sales manager, based at the N.J. office.

It's interesting to think about how many B & C compression drivers and cone woofers we've all heard, without actually realizing it. We see a logo on a box and assume the owner of that logo is solely responsible for the sound we're hearing - when nothing could be further from the truth.

Bearing this in mind, it's safe to say that while many don't know about B & C, they've had a major role in forming modern sound reinforcement. This "behind the scenes" company still benefits from an active role played by Roberto Coppini, while his son Lorenzo, and talented team members like Simone Pratesi, both vice presidents, continue to lead B & C forward.

Lorenzo Coppini flanked by Ralph Nichols (left) and Simone Pratesi.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Lorenzo and Simone, and they graciously shared a good deal of time, as well as their insight, into the workings and success of B & C Speakers. I'm pleased to share our conversation here. Keith Clark: Can you tell me a bit more about how B & C came to be such a dominant supplier of driver technology?

Lorenzo Coppini: Fortunately, our heritage of quality served us well as the worldwide professional audio market began its rapid growth, and when loudspeaker companies began looking for alternative sources for drivers, we were there to meet the demand.

The model 75 and model 24 (no longer made) compression drivers, developed by Fernando Borrani, who's now retired, and Alessandro Pancani (then vice president of engineering), were the key products in getting us into the bigger market. Some companies were a bit reluctant to try B & C at first, being quite used to drivers from the big guys like JBL and Electro-Voice.

Fortunately we were ready with high-performance, high-quality products, with the expected reliability, at a lower cost. So over the course of about five years, we were able to get about 50 percent of the market.

EAW was the big one - it opened door to many new possibilities. With their aggressive marketing, we got thousands of dollars of free advertising, everywhere, and we didn't have to spend any of our own money on it. They were our biggest customer for a time in the '90's, and we still enjoy a great relationship with them.