Who am I to thank for being able to run our family-owned debt free, profitable business for the past 30 years?
Is it my wife, Kim? Who has been instrumental in our success and must have been in shock the day I came home to announce we were starting this thing. Our kids were 4 and 6 back then and cashing in all our savings to get Nova Visual Products up and running must have been frightening. Kim’s accounting training and her guidance on all things financial, is a prime reason for our success. Without her, I may have spent all the money!
Is it our first business partner, Dino di Marino? One of the guys who hired me into the industry back in 1983 at United Video. Dino and his business partner, Bob Heffernan, both now long gone, had a tremendous influence on me, (good and bad) during those early years. Bob was an excellent smoozer
which was a fundamental way of doing biz in the 80s. He advised me, “Mikey get a good technician, on your side, and you’ll go far”. It was well-heeded advice, something I embraced immediately and still adhere to today. It’s why we continue to employ our own team of techs.
Was it Joe Parraselli from AMPEX? One of our first suppliers of video and audio tape & accessories.
Was it our very first customer Elias Politis? Long retired from the NRC, who bought those AMPEX reel-to-reel audio tapes from us?
Was it Joesph Ng? Another early supplier of ours, for handheld laser pointers. Selling back then for the first time for less than $100, it was a great deal for sure. Up until then, laser pointers looked more like something out of a Star Wars movie and sold for hundreds of dollars.
Was it Sanyo? Who up until then was an OEM, selling their projectors under the EIKI banner.
Was it Neil Andison? Who visited our tiny office, when he was ARNSCOT and opened us up to sell Middle Atlantic.
Was it Gary Plavin, from ASK Projection devices? Who took a chance on us when he agreed to drive from New Jersey with an XGA data projector to demonstrate to a handful of clients we had lined up.
We had to sign a lien on our house, to gain his trust to leave a demo unit with us. Something I don’t think suppliers would do today.
Was it our second business partner, Ian Smith? Who helped Nova Visual Products for a few years, leading to a 3M dealership, an increase in staff, and projects that up until then were out of our domain.
Was it Dave Galos? Who came up with the brilliant idea for Nova Visual Products to sell SANUS mounts on our AVSO, because the Chief line at that time was not available to us.
Was it when we started selling Maxell video tape to the strip club Pigales, over in Gatineau? They were making porno movies at one of the local motels on the Greber Blvd. and needed VHS bulk tape!
Was it when we landed that first City of Ottawa’s tender for AV services?
Was it because we followed our own path? Not chasing others, not bidding on other’s work, not partaking in a race to be the cheapest reseller in town.
Was it because we focused on a few product lines? This so we could become AV EXPERTS on specific lines and to garner a working relationship with our suppliers.
Was it because we weren’t afraid to fire customers? Walk away from business opportunities that didn’t make sense or dollars?
Was it because we were able to respond in a timely fashion to any & all requests from clients?
What about our long-term employees Christine Charron and Dave Rothwell? 20+ years of service to our customers.
Or the newer employees, Rob Kippers, and Riley Maillet, who left others to come join TEAM NOVA.
Is it the excellent life\work balance we have created here at Nova Visual Products? Families and health first. Early quitting times and additional days off.
Is it the relaxed work environment we’ve created, free of sales reports, quotas & meetings? Where the only expectation is that our TEAM MEMBERS show up, do their best, and sometimes go that extra mile to get it done.
Is it because the future of NVP is secured? Knowing our son Josh intends to continue running the business someday. Now with 17 years under his belt, Josh has established himself as the next generation of commercial AV Professionals in the AV industry.
Is it because we practice principal over profit as our business strategy? Simply put, do unto others.
Is it because we remain grateful each time a customer puts their trust in us?
Well, yes. It’s yes to all the above.
Thanks everyone for your support. We look forward to continuing the journey.
Nova Visual Products, now in our 30th year, is here to assist on any projects in need of our AV EXTPERTISE!
Our success for the past twenty-nine years we have been in business is because of clients who rely on Nova Visual Products to provide accurate, honest information and fair pricing each time we’re asked. And though not always successful, over the twenty-nine years we have been in business, it’s clients who choose Nova Visual Products as their preferred AV partner that we thank the most. Without them, there would be no Nova Visual Products.
Clients who choose Nova Visual Products as their trusted AV provider have access to value added services others charge for.
Whether it be free consultation-design services at the start of the project.
Demonstrations of products & systems while a project is being developed.
Additional courtesy discounts when possible.
Access to free equipment loaners when needed.
Warranty, repair, and after-sales support services.
Training, or just a simple confirmation on any type of inquiry.
TEAM NOVA delivers service and support that is simply unparalleled by any other AV reseller in the National Capital Region.
Another way we achieved success is by limiting the number of product lines we represent at any one time and being able to give up a line when the level of support from our supplier does not meet Nova Visual Products’ standards. This has allowed us to forge strong business relations with reliable suppliers and become astute with the products we sell, so that we can speak with confidence when asked for our AV EXPERTISE!
And we have achieved success by having one of the longest assembled teams of AV Professionals working in Ottawa today. Our group has been working together on a full-time basis for the majority, of the time Nova Visual Products has been in business. Professionals like:
Kim St Louis 29 years. Since 1996 Kim has taken care of all things administrative / financial here at Nova Visual Products.
Christine Charron 23 years. Since 2002 Christine, our Administrative Assistant, has been taking care of clients’ service requests and booking install-repair appointments.
Dave Rothwell 23 years. Since 2002 Dave, hired for his repair experience, has fixed countless components, and has saved our clients’ money either fixing or recommending you don’t.
Joshua St. Louis 17 years. Since 2008 Josh has established himself as the next generation of commercial AV Professionals in the AV industry. His understanding of today’s technology brings confidence to our client’s others can’t match.
Rob Kippers, with 14 years of installation experience, is now in his second year at NVP.
Riley Maillet, our new Technical Director, joined us in March 2023, and has five years’ experience in AV installation & technical design. Riley is a graduate of Algonquin College Computer Engineering Technology Computer Science program, making him proficient in programming equipment we sell and support in the AV, conferencing, and presentation systems we design & install.
Patrick McManus, our newest AV installer, with two years’ experience, brings enthusiasm and a willingness to learn and hone his skills from the rest of our experienced technical team.
Mike St Louis 42 years. As an active owner of Nova Visual Products, Mike has been selling audio visual, presentation, and audio-video conference systems in Ottawa since 1983.
Additional services we offer include technical repairs to any make & model of equipment you have. Having an experienced factory trained repair technician on staff has saved our clients time, money, and frustration – not having to send equipment out-of-town for repairs. With over forty years’ experience, if it’s worth fixing, our repair technician Dave Rothwell can assist, or save you money by advising not to.
We’re also a great source for parts, accessories, and consumable items, (ie: spare lamps, extension cables of all types), and installation materials. And we offer rentals and staging too for any size of event.
The audio-visual landscape has certainly changed since we first opened our doors in 1995 and does not even resemble what the industry looked like when I first got into the business in 1983. Back then we didn’t have to contend with other industries, (ie: telephone companies), large US firms opening in Canada, big box stores, or others coming from the west to setup shop in Ottawa.
Back then the majority of, AV companies were small-scale, family run businesses focused on customer service and support, providing accurate, honest information and fair pricing. That’s still our business model today at Nova Visual Products. Thanks to all who trust us to deliver that promise.
We’re here to assist with any projects in need of our AV EXPERTISE!
Sincerely,
Mike St. Louis
President
CONGRATULATIONS
23 YEARS IN THE BOOKS!
On a cold January morning in 2002 Christine Charron and Dave Rothwell began their commercial AV careers, here at Nova Visual Products.
Certainly, an achievement in any industry these days, particularly in the commercial AV industry, that sees people jump from one company to the next in search for…I don’t know what?
Maybe it’s what we have achieved here at Nova Visual Products?
A life work balance that is second to none.
Christine easily navigates client’s requests, installers scheduling, shipping & receiving, and so much more, making Nova Visual Products, attention to customer service simply unparalleled by any other AV reseller in Ottawa. And for that we say thanks Christine!
Dave, originally hired as a repair technician and still capable of fixing-maintaining any make-model of AV gear out there, has save our clients tons of $$ over the past 23 years – whether it be a quick fix, or sage-guidance not to. Over the years Dave has become astute at custom fabricating solutions for install purposes, and Nova Visual Products has benefited from this unmatched asset.
Christine and Dave bring a positive and friendly approach when dealing with clients, who have come to trust and rely on them over the past 23 years. Reliable, respectful, responsible, reasonable, real.
Thanks, you two, for your commitment and dedication. We truly appreciate you and your efforts.
Join me in congratulating Christine and Dave on their 23rd Anniversary at Nova Visual Products, (January 21, 2002 – January 21, 2025).
Christine can be reached at c.charron@novavisual.ca and Dave at d.rothwell@novavisual.ca