NEP Opens Up Shop in Canada

NEP Looks North to Canada with Help of Ivar Boriss and Mobilimage

NEP is continuing to expand its presence outside of the U.S., with the latest efforts taking the company north of the border to Canada via partnerships with French-Canadian production company Mobilimage (based in Montreal) and Ivar Boriss (Words or Pictures), who was director of remote operations sales/technical producer for Dome Productions for 17 years. Dale Johannesen , who came to NEP via the Mira Mobile acquisition, will oversee NEP Canada, which already has a location in Vancouver, but will support all of Canada with mobile units located throughout the United States. The U.S. fleet includes 59 mobile production trucks, studio facilities and thousands of video display technologies.

With the launch of NEP Canada, the company will tap the expertise of Ivar Boriss, a mobile TV production veteran who is president of Pictures or Words, Inc., a OB firm in Ontario It will also partner with Mobilimage, a remote production company based in Montreal that lists a 37.5- an a 33-foot mobile unit on its website.

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In recent years, NEP has grown through acquisition, but this move is a partnership: Mobilimage will provide engineering and field-shop support and also broaden facility options with its 33- and 37-ft.-long HD production units.

“Their smaller HD trucks are primarily focused on entertainment,” says Mike Werteen, co-president of NEP’s U.S. Mobile Units group., “while our larger HD trucks are focused on sports and, with Denali, high-end entertainment, so the partnership is a good fit.”NEP Canada will be supported by the company’s extensive resources in North America, which include trucks, studio facilities, and more.

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Werteen says that NEP will evaluate new opportunities and additional partnerships as they become available but the company feels good about having enough 53-ft. trucks scattered across the U.S.

According to NEP CEO Kevin Rabbitt, the move will also help foster long-standing relationships with Canadian clients and partners: “Both Ivar and Mobilimage have exceptional reputations, and we are excited to work with them to form lasting relationships with new clients across Canada.”

Says Werteen, “One of the things we’re working on right now is the true globalization of our company, and we have components of each division working together on certain initiatives. Quality jobs are being done in each of those regions, but we pride ourselves on being more global and having more global coordination.”

NEP, based in Pittsburgh, also has operations in the United Kingdom, Sweden, The Netherlands, Ireland, Brazil and Australia.

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