AVT was launched by current President and majority owner Phil Joseph in February of 1984 as The Consultants. The idea based upon recommendations by clients Phil maintained while employed by Pacific Stereo, a Bay Area audio/video retailer. In the early 80’s, home entertainment was transforming from owning a TV hooked to a rooftop antenna and a “Hi-Fi” with integral speakers to multi-interconnected audio and video components. Due to the new complexity brought by these technological advances, many of Phil’s customers at Pacific needed help setting up their newly purchased systems and instruction on their use.

Having a latent entrepreneurial spirit that these comments called forth, Phil began an Audio Video consulting service that would provide products from various retailers, set up the components, and provide training on their operation.

By 1987, flush mounted speakers were becoming common, and clients were asking for things more in terms of running wires to other rooms and outside for TV’s, speakers, and telephones. The business was no longer just sales and set-up, but rather installation and cabling as well. Phil obtained a California state low voltage license and the required insurance and bonding that accompanied it. AVT, as it was now called, continued to grow, fueled by a contract with The Good Guys (another Bay Area retailer) for installation services. Although Phil would employ helpers to aid in the wire running, he was sales, design, installation and customer service; really no more than a self employed person limited by what he could physically “do”. 

By 1993, Phil realized his little enterprise would have to grow or die. At just 30 years old, the physical work was taking it’s toll on his body. Wearing so many hats was also limiting his capacity. Armed with a fair amount of cash from a lucrative retail contract, Phil moved the business from his garage to a commercial building and hired over the next three years a field manager, sales manager, and office manager. Now AVT , wasn’t just self employed Phil, but rather a real business with employees, vehicles, and a commercial address.

By the late 1990’s, fueled by frustration in the lack of quality electrical contractors, and our excitement in the lighting design and controls category, AVT evolved once again adding whole house electrical and lighting. Driven by builder requests for a “one stop shop,” AVT also added security and central vacuum to it’s product mix which now also included data cabling and satellite TV. Although AVT had grown tremendously in volume and was now a “business” with seven employees, it was still entirely dependent on Phil and limited by what he could personally oversee.

By 2005, it was becoming apparent that the old adage of business growth being not a ramp but rather a series of steps was proving true. We had gone absolutely as far as we could with our current model and had been bumping our heads (hard) against the face of the next step for a couple of years. We now realized that it was time to change from a small business that was "Phil driven” to a company that was systems driven.

Having a long history of relationships and stability, AVT survived the economic downturn of 2008-2012 and came out much stronger. We used the downtime to build a new showroom, refine our systems, and chart a new course we continue to follow to this day. By abandoning whole house electrical projects and returning to our roots of core business operations and systems integration, AVT double-downed on networking and systems interoperability. In 2016, AVT (a sole proprietorship since it's inception) became AVT Integration Inc., a move to help take the company to a higher level. We are currently looking at the final frontier of managed services, whereby we provide on-going support for the home's entire electronic landscape.

With the custom installation market showing double digit growth with no sign of slowing down, the future looks very bright indeed.