At InfoComm 2009, NEXO marked its 30th Anniversary, and this is also the first full year of NEXO’s transition to becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation Japan, a partnership that provides customers with complete sound system solutions by utilizing products from both lines. Currently, NEXO’s distribution network extends to over 50 countries, with exclusive representation in the North America by Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems. (YCAS).
Since its creation in 1979 by Eric Vincenot and Michael Johnson, NEXO has found great success in both the touring and installation markets. From its prestigious first install at the Maison de la Culture in Grenoble (1984), in southern France, NEXO products have been installed in many performing arts venues and houses of worship including the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in California, First Baptist Church in South Carolina, Liberty Hall in Kansas, The Classic Center in Georgia, and many more.
For the live performance sector, NEXO has been a name on the rider for nearly 20 years, since the debut of the TS system in 1991. Always evolving, the design team produced the Alpha line in 1996 and the GEO Series in 2001, opening the doors for NEXO to become one of the dominant brands in this field, performing at Ozzfest, Glastonbury, Roskilde, Voodoofest, Japan’s Rising Sun Festival, Monsters of Rock, Montreal Jazz Festival, Merle Fest, events surrounding Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Summerfest, to name a few.
“NEXO’s market presence and service levels to North American customers has been significantly improved by the expansion of sales channels in the U.S. and Canada,” states Larry Italia, Vice President and General Manager, Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems. “We are currently in the process of appointing additional manufacturer’s rep firms to take the NEXO brand even further into the marketplace.”
In 2007, after 27 years of strong growth at its original Roissy location, the company moved into new headquarters, a wholly-owned campus capable of housing the entire manufacturing resource, located just 30 minutes north of Paris.
The new site enables Yamaha and NEXO to implement a highly automated production line that reduces overall manufacturing time, providing a definitive advantage in meeting the needs of customers worldwide.
At this year’s InfoComm show, visitors saw the many NEXO lines on display, including the PS Series which has remained a very popular line since the first PS10 cabinet was launched in 1993; the distinctive GEO T and the flagship of the GEO Series, first seen in 2002 and which now encompasses four tangent-array system designs; and the new RAY Sub technology, expanding NEXO’s reputation for sub-bass performance into a new bracket. Launched in 2007, the NXAMP, the first collaboration between Yamaha and NEXO design engineers will also be on display along with the new GEO S12 line array and GEO D system.
Learn more about NEXO milestones here.
