1. COMPANY REPORT Headend Manufacturer Wadt, Brazil
Distribution
■ The dish antennas on the roof provide a
clue to what goes on inside this building;
it caught the interest of the TELE-satellite
editorial staff: the company Eletronica
Wadt, which has been involved with
reception technology since 1945, resides
here.
Technology
from Wadt
• Involved in HF for more than 60
years
• New allocation of cable
licenses in Brazil opens up huge
opportunities for the company
• Specialized products for cable
headends
• Only ships domestically
164 TELE-satellite International — The World‘s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine — 04-05/2012 — www.TELE-satellite.com www.TELE-satellite.com — 04-05/2012 — TELE-satellite International — The World‘s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine 165

2. COMPANY REPORT Headend Manufacturer Wadt, Brazil
A Family Company
in the Cable Distribution Field
The company Wadt has been in ex- cessful for so many years, is all by it- would take - namely further in the
istence for three generations. It was self interesting because of its success, direction of reception. When the first
founded by Nelson Wadt back in 1945. but since they manufacture cable dis- cable TV systems were being installed,
It’s a story of emigration in that Nel- tribution equipment, it’s the perfect Wadt was right in the middle of things
son Wadt is originally from Germany. reason for us to pay them a visit. offering the first cable headends.
The company, that has been suc- The company founder’s grandson, “Wadt’s best times were before
Joao Alfredo Wadt Miranda, who today 1994”, remembers the company
is the company’s Technical Director, founder’s Grandson, “Back then we
thinks back to the products that had 200 employees.” Those days are
started it all: “It was car radi- over; in 1994 the Brazilian govern-
os for Ford vehicles that my ment lifted the high import duties af-
Grandfather manufactured ter which HF products came into the
first.” It was already ob- country at low prices.
vious back then what
path the company Wadt had to specialize and focused
ë São Paulo
■ Neide is the daughter of the
company’s founder and takes care of
Wadt’s finances. Joao, Neide’s son and
the company founder’s grandson is
headend manufacturer Wadt’s Technical
Director in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
166 TELE-satellite International — The World‘s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine — 04-05/2012 — www.TELE-satellite.com

3. on cable distribution technology. “Chi- er’s daughter, Neide, who still actively TV modulators available”, says Joao.
na supplied us the components and we takes care of the company’s finances, Any new cable systems will no longer
assembled modulators and amplifiers tells us more about these sales fig- employ analog technology.
as well as other components that are ures: “Our sales equate to about 2 mil-
used for TV signal distribution“, ex- lion Brazilian Real each year.” Wadt even has satellite receivers
plains Joao regarding the company’s and digital terrestrial TV receivers to
strategy today. “We employ 25 peo- But things will be changing here as offer but Joao doesn’t see much of
ple of which 15 are in manufacturing, Joao tells us: “For years now the Bra- a future for this segment because of
three are in engineering with the re- zilian government hasn’t issued any low product prices. “We’re concentrat-
maining in administration and sales”, new cable licenses but that’s in the ing completely on cable distribution
he lists for us. process of changing.” With the new technology”, confirms Joao. He is con-
cable systems and new cable compa- vinced that this decision will keep the
Roughly 10,000 units are shipped by nies he foresees a big new market for old company Wadt alive and well for
Wadt every year. The company found- Wadt. “We already have the new digital decades to come.
■ This is what a headend
rack with modulators
from Wadt looks like.
All slots are assembled
by Wadt from imported ■ One of Wadt’s
components. technicians at work.
168 TELE-satellite International — The World‘s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine — 04-05/2012 — www.TELE-satellite.com www.TELE-satellite.com — 04-05/2012 — TELE-satellite International — The World‘s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine 169

4. ■ The dish antennas on Wadt’s roof
caught our eye: one of them is fitted with
a triple combination - a C-band LNB for
linear signals, a C-band LNB for circular
signals as well as a Ku-band LNB. A
3.2-meter antenna, a 1.8-meter dish as
well as a 1.5-meter dish can be found on
the roof.
170 TELE-satellite International — The World‘s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine — 04-05/2012 — www.TELE-satellite.com www.TELE-satellite.com — 04-05/2012 — TELE-satellite International — The World‘s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine 171