A Major Force

Novatoo helps turn a lobby atrium into a powerful venue for large events at Navistar

When Navistar International moved into its new headquarters in Lisle in 2011, one of the most interesting spaces was its lobby atrium. At 7,500 square feet and five stories tall, the atrium  would be perfect for large-scale meetings, banquets and other special events.

To make those events happen, Navitar management had another valuable asset, a decades-long relationship with the people at Novatoo, whom they knew could tailor the space for any event with projection, sound and lighting rentals and professional staging services.

A major force in manufacturing

Navistar International has been a major Chicago area manufacturer for almost 170 years. Founded by Cyrus McCormick in 1831 and relocated to Chicago in 1851, it has been called McCormick Reaper, International Harvester and, most recently, Navistar International. Always innovative, it was the first company to offer mechanized harvesting machines, one of the first to mass-produce commercial tractors and trucks, the first to organize a franchise dealer network, and the first to offer diesel/electric hybrid vehicles.

Today the $11-billion Navistar specializes in the manufacture of commercial trucks, buses and engines. It has 16,500 employees, roughly 3,000 of whom work at the Lisle headquarters.

Novatoo’s founder, Tim Novak, has an almost 30-year relationship with Navistar, having served the company at a previous employer since the early 90’s. Today Novatoo stages full productions in the Navistar lobby about once a quarter, including all-hands employee meetings which fill the atrium’s main floor and each of the balconies which overlook it.

The event pictured was a dealer awards banquet for 144 guests. We provided two 7.5 x 10’ rear projection screens, each served by an 8,000 lumen projector, a portable sound system with a 16-channel mixer, four loudspeakers, a riser, lectern, 45” confidence monitor and wireless microphones.

Mike Erickson, Novatoo’s Director of Operations, set the mood with 16 LED uplights he and his team placed to highlight the acrylic dealer awards, a central ice sculpture of the Navitar logo, Navitar trucks on display adjoining the banquet space, and architectural elements in the room. (Mike stayed through the evening and is shown at the sound board.)

The evening was a great success.