When New Wave Industries Inc. launched in 1999 as a technology solution provider, offering all of its services “under one roof” meant something quite simple.
“We built an office space in my parents’ garage,” explains CEO Jon Rondeau. The operation grew quickly into the second and third bays of the garage.
Now, more than a decade later, New Wave Industries owns a 31,000-square-foot building in Newington which it uses for office space, data center and an audio/video studio, said Jamie Welch vice president of operations and marketing,
And the concept of “under one roof” has taken on a whole new meaning.
Welch believes one big reason for New Wave Industries’ success is that the company has become a single point of contact for its clients’ technology needs. It offers all of its services “under one roof,” as Welch says. While its core business focuses on website design and development, website hosting and mobile application development, the company also offers several other services including web and mobile marketing as well as full audio and video services on a 24-foot-wide greed screen stage and audio drop booth.
“Our client list has grown over the years from a handful of local clients to thousands around the globe,” Welch said. “We have worked with a variety of clients including platinum and Grammy award winning recording artists, Fox Television, Foxwoods Casino, Columbia Eyewear, New England Dodge, The Simon Konover Co., Aetna, The Hartford, Farmington Bank, Max Restaurant Group, NBA and TV Stars and more. We started as a one- man shop for the better part of the first year and have since grown to 12 full time employees.”
As a part of the rapidly changing tech world, New Wave Industries has also learned how to adapt its services to meet new needs or growth areas.
“There are major trends within the industry that are all heading to mobile. We have been working on iPhone and Android applications for over a year now and are on the forefront of this in Connecticut. We are seeing more and more customers adapting mobile strategies, whether that be a mobile version of their website, text communications and coupons or full mobile apps for iPhone/Android/Blackberry devices. Statistically, there are more searches being done on mobile devices than traditional desktops and laptops, which is crazy,” Welch noted.
It was this realization that led New Wave Industries to create a custom application for the Boston Freedom Trail, which was released in July for purchase in both the Apple iTunes App Store and the Android Market.
“It was a combination of our love for history and technology that spawned this idea. We thought what better way to experience the Freedom Trail than to have your iPhone or Android and have streaming audio and HD video providing detailed information at the stops along the way,” Welch said.
The new mobile application takes users on an interactive, self-guided tour of the historical sites along Boston’s Freedom Trail. In addition to the 16 official stops, the Boston Freedom Trail App also includes several unofficial stops as points of interest. By incorporating HD video footage, written text, photos and audio, the user can choose how to experience the tour.
“We wanted to give the user as much historical information as possible, while delivering it in a way that keeps them entertained,” said Rondeau, New Wave Industries CEO. “Our goal is to provide users with an interactive experience that allows them to take a completely self guided tour at their own pace, while learning about Boston as the birthplace of our nation.”
Even with new competition and the hurting economy, Welch is pleased with the company’s progress.
“We will always have competitors. As quickly as someone closes shop another opens. The past year or so with the economy has been difficult in many ways. We have had to certainly watch projects more closely, get invoices out quicker and make more collection type phone calls to stay on top of clients’ minds. We lost a few clients who had to close their doors due to their industries being affected, but we are certainly lucky to be in business and have actually added three new employees over this time,” he noted.
Joanna Smiley writes the weekly Local Insight column. Reach her at jsmiley@HartfordBusiness.com.
