• Posted: March 11, 2022

For some contractors, their team of tradesmen and industry professionals are like family. For others, their colleagues are family. Over the past two decades, family-owned contractor Low Voltage Solutions (LVS) has worked to create a company capable of serving structured cabling, fire alarm, security, video, and data fiber optics needs — and now, their one-stop-shop is expanding to provide audiovisual (AV) programming resources to commercial office complexes and industrial clients in Chicago and beyond.

While the company now holds contracts with national namesakes such as Shedd Aquarium and FedEx, LVS began like many other family-owned small businesses: with two hopeful founders. In 1997, electricians Gary St. Cin and the late John Fassett started what would become LVS in an empty family garage.

“My dad Gary was in the field, and continuously said he would do things differently,” said LVS Marketing & Business Development Manager Shelby St. Cin. “I think he really just saw a gap in the market… he wanted to do business in the way that family-run businesses do. They just took one job at a time, and eventually got their own space.”

That space has since become an interconnected low voltage business that employs between 85 and 100 staff members at any one time. Now, more than 20 years later, St. Cin continues to support her parent’s dream — a dream that she has also made her own. “I like to say that I technically have been around for twenty-four years,” said St. Cin, “but my parents still are very active owners of the company. I got involved in 2018, so the business is very near and dear to my heart.”

St. Cin says LVS’ commitment to providing full-service low voltage solutions is what sets their business apart from other, more specialized contractors. “So this is our favorite, definitely being a one-stop-shop,” said St. Cin. “I don’t think there are many contractors in the area who are a one-stop-shop for structured cabling, security, fire alarm, audiovisual… but being a full-service, one-stop-shop for low voltage and being a family-run business allows us to make big moves very quickly.”

While LVS already provides a wide variety of services to a great roster of clients, the company shows no signs of slowing down. Their next goal? To further expand into AV programming for commercial and industrial clients. Last year, LVS recruited and hired an AV Division Manager to develop and expand their AV system offerings by adding top manufacturers to the business. LVS provides design-build and turnkey installations, along with providing parts and smarts to our industry. “Obviously, in this day and age, the workforce is hybrid, so we wanted to be able to bring in an AV specialist that can pre-configure conference rooms for customers,” said St. Cin.

That specialist will set to work designing installation kits that will bring an integrated suite of tools to conference rooms in the Greater Chicago area and beyond. The result is an office space that mimics in-person conversation through AV technology using cameras, microphones, touch displays, wall-mounted screens, and more.

With the continued uncertainty of post-pandemic office work, expanding into AV technology seems like a smart move — and one that will help LVS maintain its steady year-over-year growth. Still, despite their continued expansion, St. Cin says LVS remains committed to its roots as a family-owned business that puts its customers front and center.

“One project to note, we were involved in the McCormick Place Alternate Care Facility that required over 200 network connections and 2,500 nurse call stations,” said St. Cin. “Within twenty-four hours we had 45 IBEW electricians there and successfully completed the job within two weeks. We had guys there twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. To be trusted with that kind of project just really, really hit home for us.”

As LVS looks to the future, St. Cin believes expanding the company’s team to include additional division leadership will further improve the family’s full-service potential. “We’re hoping to add additional project managers in each division, as well as a couple more project managers as we grow and really just have more, I would say, self-performing and operating divisions.”

That bodes well for LVS customers — some of which have become just as integral to the company’s core mission as the family that founded it.

Interested in finding a reputable contractor who can offer a one-stop-shop experience for your low voltage needs? Contact Low Voltage Solutions to learn more about the company’s advanced suite of services, tools, and resources.