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PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
Quebec company specialized in webcasting
PQM.NET TRANSFERS OWNERSHIP
Rimouski, September 7th, 2022 – After 30 years offering professional webcasting services for businesses, PQM.net, PRODUCTIONS QUÉBEC MULTIMÉDIA INC appoints a new president, as founder Jacques Landry proudly passes the torch to his 4 sons, including Louis-Philippe who will assume leadership of the company.
“Who would have thought that working with my three brothers would be so stimulating," says Louis-Philippe Landry, President & Partner of PQM.net. Together, with complementary expertise, we make a strong and complete team.
Specialized in webcasting since 1996, PQM.net has experienced tremendous growth in recent years.
"In 2005, we set up a NASA-like Mission Control Center for Webcasting. That same year, we launched Webcaster Media, our own secure and customizable webcasting platform. As part of our rebranding, we renamed it StudioCast in 2016, to emphasize the fact that our solutions could interconnect with our network of studios located in several cities," proudly recalls Frédéric Landry, Partner & Vice President, Technologies of PQM.net.
“Since 2015, we have doubled our office and studio space, while also significantly increasing the number of employees," says Nicolas Landry, Partner & Vice President, Webcasting & Broadcasting at PQM.net.
And there’s more to come! PQM.net is currently working on several large-scale projects, reinforcing its corporate positioning by entrusting its website redesign to Montreal agency Tink, working on new hires, and plugging away on other interesting things to come!
If this type of growth stems from the chemistry between the 4 new partners, it’s also supported by long-standing partnerships.
"We are fortunate to count on Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Investissement Québec, accounting firm Mallette and the legal experts at Cain Lamarre, who supported us throughout the acquisition process, and have been with us since the company's inception. Experts in their fields and exceptionally agile, these key partners have provided valuable guidance, especially in the current context," said Jean-François Landry, Vice President, General Manager & Partner of PQM.net.
WE WERE HERE WAY BEFORE PANDEMIC TIMES
PQM.net has been offering webcasting and hybrid event services to its clients since the early 2000s. The company's television background and numerous innovations quickly differentiated it from competitors. Though the pandemic accelerated growth, the company’s services were already in high demand.
“At the beginning of the pandemic, we received hundreds of requests from companies and organizations that needed an urgent, proven solution to communicate with their customers and employees, overnight" recalls Louis-Philippe Landry. Our personalized support, team of experts and StudioCast platform enabled us to manage this intense growth, plus add several new clients, since March 2020."
A PEACEFUL, STRATEGIC TRANSFER
The business transfer process started around 2016 when Jacques Landry’s sons each began finding their own niche within the company. "We have been running PQM.net for 5 years now. The buyout only serves to confirm and formalize the arrangement," explains Jean-François Landry.
Our business transfer won’t result in any job losses, quite the contrary. New positions will arise. The Rimouski-based company plans to stay put, keeping its head office exactly where it is now. Satellite studios and mobile teams already exist in Quebec City and Montreal to ensure PQM.net customers experience premium service levels, and the company is open to the idea of establishing other locations elsewhere down the line.
A LOYAL, PASSIONATE GROUP OF PEOPLE
At PQM.net, everyone loves webcasting, and employees are exceptionally passionate, competent, and loyal.
"Our employees are our greatest strength. Always on board with our ambitious projects, some have been with us for 10 to 15 years, and turnover is extremely low. Our people matter, and besides the modern, stimulating environment and state-of-the-art equipment they work in, we make it a point to make sure they feel heard. Needs and ideas are important, and we operate as a real team," says Jean-François Landry.
INNOVATING AT ALL TIMES
Advising clients, finding solutions, and innovating daily is part of PQM.net’s DNA. " StudioCast is a great example. We were experiencing issues with existing solutions, and so were our customers, so we wanted to address them. The StudioCast platform was created in response to the problems everyone was facing," says Louis-Philippe Landry.
To ensure the success of its clients' webcast and webinar events, PQM.net uses its StudioCast platform. Developed since 2001, with its many customizable features, StudioCast offers the flexibility to meet most clients' needs and technological challenges.
In addition to its numerous production units and mobile control rooms, including a 40-foot Prevost vehicle connecting more than 16 HD cameras, PQM.net also offers permanent and temporary studios in Montreal, Rimouski and several other cities in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia. Designed for webcasting and hybrid events, these spaces are equipped like television studios.
"We jokingly call the concept the 'Gérald Fillion or Anderson Cooper studio'. Depending on the desired configuration, our studios can look like a 24-hour television news station, just like RDI, LCN or CNN," explains Louis-Philippe Landry with a smile.
This television-like approach to webcasting provides higher quality rendering and an enhanced experience for the viewer, outperforming other platforms. "All our studios are connected to our Mission Control Center so clients can offer their audiences an experience as polished as a talk show or newscast," adds Jean-François Landry.
Stay tuned for future announcements, you haven't seen anything yet!
PQM.NET MILESTONES OVER THE LAST 31 YEARS
1991 : PQM.net is founded by Jacques Landry, under the name "Les Productions vidéo PDG")
1998 : 1st live webcast with RealNetwork technology (Real Player)
2000 : New offices at the Carrefour de la nouvelle économie (CNE) in Rimouski, QC
2001 : The first webcasting studio is set-up
2005 : Webcast Mission Control Center Inauguration
2005 : Implementation of a webcasting studio for Branchez-vous.TV, Montreal, QC
2007 : Reached (and surpassed!) 1,000 webcasts per year
2007 : Started webcasting LHJMQ hockey games (+700 webcasts/year)
2008 : Launched live television and webcasting on TelusTV (30 events/year)
2008 : Webcast: the IIHF U18 Women's Hockey Championship, Calgary, AB
2008 : Webcast: Telus Cup (Hockey Canada) - Arnprior, ON
2008 : Webcast: CCAA MEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP - Montreal, QC
2008 : Webcast: World Sledge Hockey Challenge (Hockey Canada) - Charlottetown, PEI
2008 : Webcast : Festival International de Jazz de Montréal on MSN.ca
2009 : Webcast: CCAA Men's National Volleyball Championship, Fort McMurray, AB
2009 : Webcast: the 1st hybrid congress of the Chambre des notaires du Québec - QC
2009 : International conference on education for cooperation and mutuality broadcast in 3 languages - Lévis, QC
2010 : Broadcast and webcast: Commission Bastarache (+250 broadcasts) - Quebec, QC
2010 : Webcast: FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships, Roberval, QC
2012 : Webcast: World French Language Forum - Quebec City, QC
2012 : Deployment of the linear television solution for the Telus OPTIK TV channel MaCommunauté
2015 : Passed the 20-employee mark
2015 : Expanded offices and studios
2016 : Official launch (rebranding) of webcasting platform StudioCast, created and developed exclusively by PQM.net
2017 : International Webcast for Cirque du Soleil - Las Vegas, USA
2020 : Office expansion
2021 : Office expansion
2022 : Reached (and surpassed!) +50,000 hours of live webcasting
2022 : PQM.net changes hands (4 new shareholders)
ABOUT THE NEW SHAREHOLDERS
Louis-Philippe Landry, ing., President & Partner
Louis-Philippe has been creating, producing, and managing several dozen large-scale television and webcasting projects for PQM.net since 1998. He works with numerous national and international clients who trust him with their broadcasting projects, which sometimes take place simultaneously on several continents, in many languages, and are intended for audiences around the world. An avid cyclist, he has been participating in the Défi Vélo Plein Air for the past 20 years, raising more than $30,000 for the Association du cancer de l'Est du Québec, an organization that fights cancer and its devastating effects.
Jean-François Landry, Vice President, General Manager & Partner
Jean-François has been working at PQM.net since the early 2000s. Every day, he helps clients choose and use the best technological solutions to better communicate their messages. A strong believer in "the impossible is always possible", he’s always in solution and listening mode. A father of two, he enjoys family time and running, his secret weapon for energizing and channeling new ideas.
Frédéric Landry, Vice-President, Technologies & Partner
Part of the PQM.net team since 2001, Frédéric specializes in information technology, DevOps, and programming. His Microsoft certifications have led him to design numerous processes and systems that allow different teams to deploy, manage, configure, and monitor applications in data centers. An avid aviation enthusiast, Frédéric uses the same rigor he learned from flying to provide customers with secure, cutting-edge solutions in the streaming video space.
Nicolas Landry, Vice-President, Webcasting & Broadcasting & Partner
Nicolas has been responsible for the quality of web and television video productions at PQM.net since 2000. With a background in film, he approaches each project like it deserves the limelight. Always on the lookout for new technologies in video, he’s committed to creating exceptional customer experiences. Working with cameras in studios and the television world, his surroundings impress his 4 kids who often visit him at the office.
ABOUT PQM.NET
Founded in 1991, PQM.net is a Quebec-based company offering professional webcasting services. With a team of specialized consultants and webcasting solutions, PQM.net helps its clients carry out digital and hybrid communications projects.
Whether it's for one simple webinar or webcasting an international conference in several languages, clients can count on a range of production, capturing, recording and content distribution services. Additionally, PQM.net specialists ensure that each event runs smoothly, supporting clients every step of the way (before, during and after the event).
With its state-of-the-art Webcast Control Center, mobile webcasting units, permanent studios in Montreal and Rimouski, teams permanently based in Montreal, Quebec City and Rimouski, a network of worldwide partners and its StudioCast platform, PQM.net has established a perfect ecosystem to meet the needs of its current and future customers.
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For further information, high resolution photos and interview requests, kindly contact
Stéphanie Aubin
Advisor, Communications & Media Relations
stephanie.aubin@pqm.net
(514) 882-1003