As consolidation continues to reshape the commercial AV landscape, one integration firm is doubling down on a different path—one built around local ownership backed by national scale.
CCS Presentation Systems has announced its expansion into the Pacific Northwest, marking its first official presence in the region with the addition of new partners Dan and Gennett Kaplan. Effective May 1, the move brings CCS into both Oregon and Washington, extending the company’s footprint into a market increasingly shaped by large-scale acquisitions.
For integrators and clients alike, the timing is notable. The AV industry has seen a steady wave of consolidation in recent years, with firms looking to create a national footprint by acquiring strong regional players in an effort to scale quickly. While that model offers certain efficiencies, it can also create gaps in local accountability and long-term relationship building—areas CCS is aiming to address through its partner-driven structure.
At the center of the Pacific Northwest expansion is Dan Kaplan, who steps in as principal. His background spans both sides of the industry, from building dealer territories to managing enterprise-scale AV environments. Notably, he has overseen audiovisual systems across more than 300 meeting spaces within a Fortune 500 headquarters, experience that brings a client-side perspective to integration strategy.
“There’s a significant shift happening in the AV industry right now,” Kaplan said in a statement. “Many of the strongest regional integrators are being absorbed into larger organizations. That creates an opportunity to build something that prioritizes local ownership, accountability, and long-term relationships.”
That emphasis aligns closely with CCS’s broader approach. Rather than operating as a centralized, top-down organization, the company positions itself as a platform for entrepreneurs that provides its partners with the infrastructure, resources, and operational support needed to grow their own businesses.
President and owner Ben Pickrel sees the Kaplan partnership as a natural fit for that model.
“Dan brings a rare combination of experience,” Pickrel said in the statement. “He understands how to build and scale a territory, but he’s also worked on the client side managing complex AV environments. That perspective is exactly what we want representing CCS in a new market.”
For the Pacific Northwest, the move signals more than just geographic expansion. It introduces an alternative framework at a time when many integrators are navigating questions around ownership, succession, and long-term independence. CCS’s model, which can be looked at like a business incubator, offers a different path. Partners operate with a high degree of autonomy, while benefiting from shared services including training, marketing, vendor relationships, and operational systems. The goal is to strike a balance between entrepreneurial flexibility and the efficiencies of a national organization.
That approach may also resonate with a new generation of industry professionals. As Kaplan notes, part of the opportunity lies in creating a sustainable path into ownership for emerging leaders—something that can be more difficult in an environment dominated by large corporate structures. Further breaking that mold, CCS leans heavy on the idea that those local relationships, supported by a broad network of national resources, can provide significant value.
With the addition of Oregon and Washington, CCS now operates across 19 states and the District of Columbia, with continued growth planned in additional key markets.
