In 1979, Walter Loehr and Stacey Foster incorporated Panavid.  When Stacey left the company for NBC doing full-time broadcast a few years later, Walter became Panavid’s sole president and owner.  Many great companies have their roots in someone’s garage, and Panavid is no exception.  In those early years, Panavid handled mostly audio production and was headquartered in Walter’s garage.  After a few years, the company outgrew its garage footprint and moved to a Quonset hut in Middlesex, NJ.  Later, after further growing pains, the company relocated to its current facility in Pompton Plains, NJ.

Panavid began as a small boutique operation providing services to AT&T exclusively for their studio which was the only studio on the east coast.  Later, as miniaturization paved the way to portability, Panavid provided sound services to AT&T on location.  Soon, our reputation allowed us to expand beyond the boundaries of AT&Ts walls and we provided audio solutions to other large companies.  Corporate budgets were limited and it wasn’t cost effective for our clients to hire us on-location for small events.  Rather than set up a temporary “studio” in their auditoriums or cafeterias, they requested a more permanent facility on their premises where we could host upper management and conduct special events.  This request led to the integration side of Panavid’s business.

After graduating college, Rob Loehr, joined the Panavid team full time.  While working closely on several projects with various clients, Rob realized most clients were seeking a full-service solution.  In response, Panavid expanded its offerings to include professional video, lighting and staging.  These service additions proved to be instrumental in Panavid’s success.

In 2015, Panavid merged with Giant AV in an effort to provide even further services designed around a larger and broadly talented staff who can easily support larger and more complicated events and installations to suit client demand.

Recently, in 2016, Walter Loehr retired as president of Panavid paving the way for his son, Rob Loehr, to take the helm.  Walter continues to be active, however, and provides mentoring and consulting to both Rob and Panavid where his years of experience in the industry allow Panavid to continue providing unique and excellent services.