Back in 1975, four undergraduates at the University of Wisconsin-Madison had an idea for a new lighting console. Brothers Fred Foster and Bill Foster, with James Bradley and Gary Bewick, created a prototype for the Mega Cue, using solid-state microprocessor controls. This marked the birth of Electronic Theatre Controls or ETC, as the company is known. And the rest, they say, is history.
The company grew over the years under the leadership of Fred Foster, who sadly passed away in 2019. In addition to developing major lighting products over the years, from consoles to fixtures, such as the legendary Source Four, and sliding seamlessly into the LED era, the company has moved to an employee-owned ESOP format, in order to preserve ETC as an independent company for the future and allow employees to have a voice on certain company issues and share in the financial growth.
Do you have a favorite ETC memory that you want to share? Or photos from past events that make you think fondly of ETC? Send us your short story or photos and be entered to win an ETC swag package! (winners selected November 2025). Upload your memory here.
Stay tuned as Live Design congratulates ETC on this milestone with in-depth editorial coverage.