Ross Video is investing $122.5 million to expand its manufacturing and R&D facilities in eastern Ontario. “Even as we’ve grown globally, Ontario has remained central to who we are,” said majority owner and CEO David Ross at an event Thursday at the company’s office on Auriga Drive. “This is where we build.” Now at more […]
Already a Subscriber? Log in
Get Instant Access to This Article
Become an Ottawa Business Journal Insider and get immediate access to all of our Insider-only content and much more.
Ross Video is investing $122.5 million to expand its manufacturing and R&D facilities in eastern Ontario.
“Even as we’ve grown globally, Ontario has remained central to who we are,” said majority owner and CEO David Ross at an event Thursday at the company’s office on Auriga Drive. “This is where we build.”
Now at more than 1,300 employees globally, the Ottawa-based manufacturer of video production equipment and software is a force in its industry. Founded by Ross’s father John more than 50 years ago, the firm is on pace to hit $1 billion in annual revenue by 2030.
While based in Ottawa, Ross does business in more than 150 countries and counts some of the world’s biggest television networks and best-known stadiums among its customers. Ninety-three per cent of its sales come from foreign markets.
While many companies on such a trajectory might be tempted to downplay their connection to a relatively small city like Ottawa, David Ross sees his role as not just chief executive, but as a chief evangelist for the local tech community.
Speaking with reporters, Ross described his company as “very unusual” among multinational technology suppliers, noting that few firms of Ross’s scale do all of their product research, development and manufacturing in Ontario.
Also at Thursday’s news conference, the provincial government announced it’s contributing $6-million to Ross’s expansion drive, money that will be spread out over the next six years to help the company develop the next generation of Ultrix, its flagship media processing platform.
Ultrix is used by broadcasters and live production teams to consolidate multiple traditionally separate media processing functions into a single software-defined system. Ross Video plans to keep refining the product in the coming years – for example, by adding capabilities powered by artificial intelligence.
The stepped-up R&D effort will help Ross Video take one of its cornerstone products “to another level,” Ross said – work that will happen in Ottawa and later at the firm’s main manufacturing plant in Iroquois, he added.
As part of the expansion, the firm plans to hire at least 125 workers in eastern Ontario over the next several years in areas such as engineering, manufacturing and R&D. Asked to explain why he’s adding those employees here, Ross cited Ontario’s “stability and predictability” as a place to do business, as well as the National Capital Region’s post-secondary institutions.
He said Canada has a distinct advantage over the U.S. when it comes to doing business with other geographic markets.
“I actually believe that, right now, Canada in general and Ontario specifically is one of the very best places for a company to build technology products to sell around the world,” Ross said.
While the U.S. is “putting up more barriers to trade,” Canada is opening its borders to goods and services from other countries, he added.
“We’re going in the opposite direction here in Canada, and I think that's fabulous for a tech company.”
Many components of Ross Video’s products come from Asia and other parts of the world that don’t face tariffs in this country, he noted, giving his company an edge over American competitors that do face such levies.
As a result, Ross said, “Canada wins.”
Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s minister of economic development, job creation and trade, noted Canada now has free trade agreements with 51 countries.
Acknowledging his company has had its share of ups and downs over the years, including layoffs in 2023, Ross said “a tech business is never a straight line.” But he said Ross Video continues to pursue a 35th consecutive year of revenue growth.
The firm is looking at opportunities in customer segments such as high-end corporate video, Ross said, noting that the New York Stock Exchange recently purchased Ross Video products to use at events. And when the Washington Monument was lit up with the number “250” earlier this year to celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday, Ross Video projection equipment powered the display, he added.
“That was not technology that we had even two years ago,” he said. “All of these things are driving our growth, not just one thing.”
