The quality, caliber, and quantity of av production equipment NPi AV has in their inventory is quite impressive. In fact they have 600 LED panels — 400 of those are high resolution screens. They also have some pretty impressive mobile stages. It’s what makes them one of the most sought after full-service AV production companies in Cleveland, OH. And when it comes to providing clients with the ultimate experience, they don’t cut any corners.
History behind NPi AV
Joe Thompson founded the company in 1992 after serving for seven years as a forward air controller in the United States Air Force. He went on to work as Banquet Manager and Food and Beverage Director in the Hospitality and Event Industry. He observed the quality and service level of the AV vendors and knew he could do better.
“So he started his own business and built the company to what it is today,” said Alex Kay, Project Manager at NPi. Now the company has grown to 40 full-time employees with an enviable list of reputable repeat clients — like the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Clinic, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The American Heart Association, and more.
They put on some big conferences as well
For the past several years they’ve been involved with technology and media production behind Content Marketing World — the premier conference for digital marketers.
“We’ve been doing it for a while now, we take over the Cleveland Convention Center, there’s a bunch of pull sheets and documents we need to make it happen,” said Kay, “there is a lot of preparation that goes into knowing what the needs for the exhibitors are, knowing who needs what microphone or what piece of gear, and allocating that gear to that space at the right time.”
The show itself goes from September 4th to the 8th.
“It takes a few days to load in and load out,” said Kay. “We also created some in-house content for them, they always have a fun intro video to open the conference.”
Although entertainment is not their bread and butter, they’ll help put on some spectacular shows for the right client said Kay. One of those is EST Fest in August hosted by hip-hop artist Machine Gun Kelly.
The two-day festival attracted 5,000 attendees. NPi AV was responsible for audio, video, and lighting for the three stage locations: the Main Stage, and Acoustic Lounge, and a DJ Stage.
They’re also big supporters of helping nonprofits reach their goals.
“We love working with nonprofits – we’ll either help them out by giving them some extra equipment, a solid discount, or sometimes both depending on the situation,” he said.
They’ve provided AV and production services for organizations like the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, The American Heart Association, Cleveland Browns Foundation, First Energy, and NEOCycle.
They manage all AV production through Flex
NPi AV has been using Flex for over four years now. Kay said the biggest benefit of using Flex is increased productivity and organization.
“Being able to keep everything organized and know exactly what we have on hand is extremely useful,” said Kay who uses features like Alternatives and Substitutions to resolve inventory shortages when they don’t have a certain equipment on hand. Kay said another important feature is Rental POs and Purchase Order to manage the cross rental process.
“Organization is key to keeping the company running smooth,” he said.
