Víctor Galdames Beckdorf is the director and founder of the company Novotic, which has 20 years of experience in the Chilean audiovisual market.
Richard Santa
When he left school, Víctor Galdames Beckdorf was clear that his professional life wanted to dedicate it to technology and that is why, in 1977, he enrolled in Electronic Execution Engineering. His professional practice was done in a telecommunications company where they calibrated communication equipment, which at that time was configured manually. The systems were completely analogous.
His start in the audiovisual industry was from his first job at BTE Ingeniería. There he participated in the creation of a call audio system in the Sears store, in the first Mall in Chile. In this company he also made the recording studios, for the FM radio stations.
He recalled that "After 3 years, I decided to create my own company, Electrycom, in which I had my first experience as an entrepreneur. After that we took control of a company that was called "CAV" -Comercial Auco Audio and Video-, representing and marketing equipment of the brands Sansui, Polkaudio, Sherwood and Marantz, among others, mainly for residential audio. It was the time of laser Disc, Dolby digital. We brought the first Marantz DVDs made by Phillips in 1994. In 2000 we added Crestron. With the turn of the millennium, there was also the name change to Novotic."
He currently leads the company's board of directors, along with two other directors. Weekly participates in meetings with the general manager, operations manager, technical manager and commercial manager. And depending on the difficulty or characteristic of the projects, it participates more. "In those meetings I contribute with my point of view. But it is the areas that make the decisions and support each other as a whole. The idea is that the company is synchronized in all its aspects."
Memories and teachings
In his years of work, Victor Galdames Beckdorf has had many teachings, from who to do business with and relate to, to safety issues at work. He remembers that in his first job that RF equipment was calibrated to make UFH links. He was on top of an antenna 7 meters high and there was a short circuit that made him fall to the ground standing.
"I was immediately taken to the hospital to find out how I was doing. On the X-ray it was seen that his entire back was broken into many small pieces, really pulverized. They didn't explain how he was alive. The incredible thing was that the poleron I had on, when I fell to the ground standing and stretched back, all the remains of tin welding stuck to it and those were the "bones" that were reflected in the x-ray. Anyway, the fall meant a month immobile in bed."
He added that more than the anecdote, which resulted without serious injuries, that fall taught him the importance of having and using the necessary safety implements for each task, which today characterize them as a service company.
"Another memory that accompanies me was the time I was able to sell my first Crestron system. In the meeting I told the client all the qualities and functions that would allow him to very easily control his audio and video room with a single control. The customer seriously told me that he would buy the system from me, but that he didn't think it would work. Today this client has in all his homes the system worked and renews it from time to time, "he said.
Challenges of an AV manager
The founder of Novotic pointed out that the main challenges that a company has in the audiovisual industry are in the technological, by the constant integration of new processes, keeping up to date and trying to anticipate what is coming, which is an axiom in Novotic, to meet the main objective of proposing solutions. In addition, the presence at world industry fairs is very stimulating for them, so they participate accompanied by team members, although now the trips are paused by the pandemic.
"The biggest challenge is running a successful company with successful workers. Aligning the company in the same style of work has been a hit for years. We talk about the Novotic way of doing things. And that means, in terms of work, simplifying for the client what seems complicated. We do this with dedication, professionalism and efficiency because we understand the systems and listen carefully to the needs of our customers. We are creative in solutions. It hasn't been easy, but all the people who make up Novotic believe in what they do. In the Novotic style of working. When someone new comes into our company, they become part of this great family that we are. We motivate leadership and growth within the company. I am very grateful to everyone who has worked with us in the past and to those who make up Novotic today. It is the best human and professional team I have had in all the years of the company," he said.
He also pointed out that like everyone, they passed great tests during the pandemic and the way they solved it was with professionalism and commitment to the team and customers. They never stopped complying. And it helped them to develop bonds of belonging and Novotic identification.
"We must provide simple solutions to problems that challenge us in order to amplify the well-being of our customers. We are interested in increasing the capabilities of our team and the experience of our customers through interaction with technology, different platforms and processes that tend to improve the need raised. The objective will always be to generate added value to the challenge posed, while building trust with suppliers and customers," he said.
Aviation, a family hobby
Victor Galdames Beckdorf stressed that his passion is electronics and his hobby is aviation. From the age of eight he accompanied his father on flights on Cessna planes. He was related to civil aviation as a hobby and means of transportation of his own. As soon as he was of the required age, he took the glider course -flight without an engine-, which he considers to be the purest sensation of flying. Over time he continued to fly nanomotor aircraft, an activity he practices regularly.
"Together with my wife we enjoyed the company of our two children, daughters-in-law and granddaughters. With my children I share the taste for flying. Currently the three of us fly gliders and it is very nice that we accompany each other in that activity, and in many others. My taste for circuits and electronics comes from school. He had a notebook where he drew electrical circuits, radio, logic gates, programming and others. I still have that notebook," he said.
Lately he has been interested in manual labor. He is motivated by the realization of utilitarian furniture; benches, arrimos, tables, functional but simple things. "Make these objects with my hands, give them the time to glue, dry, respect the grain of the wood. I really like valuing and appreciating this craftsmanship, especially in times when everything is in a hurry. It is an interesting complement to my professional activity. And something that served me a lot in the days of quarantine," he concluded.
