Born with glaucoma, Jacques Côté only had partial sight in his left eye. At the age of 16, he underwent an operation that failed. This caused the optic nerve to degenerate, leaving him completely blind.
1942
1962
Jacques Côté first began his career as a professional pianist. He learned all his musical pieces thanks to braille.
1972
After graduating from university, Jacques Côté went on to teach French and Mathematics at a special school for visually impaired children. Several years later, he became a braille teacher while pursuing graduate studies at the Université de Sherbrook. In 1975, he took on a new challenge by joining the teaching team of a regular school that was preparing to integrate young blind students.
1987
Motivated by the lack of braille teaching materials in the classroom, Jacques Côté founded Braille Jymico, a company that would help visually impaired students integrate into the regular school system. Thanks to Braille Jymico’s services, many young blind students were able to attend a regular school in their own neighborhood, thus contributing to their integration and growth.
Over the years, Braille Jymico gained notoriety by specializing in the braille production of literary, scientific and music documents, and in the conversion of image content into tactile graphics.
Around 2000
Capitalizing on new technology to better serve its clients, Braille Jymico expanded its alternative format product line to include large print, electronic text, and audio.
2003 to present
Due to limited space and rising demand, Jacques Côté expanded Braille Jymico’s operations by purchasing a new three-story, 6500-square-foot building located in Quebec City.
Braille Jymico currently has 16 employees and collaborates with a team of transcribers and proofreaders.
Given that a large majority of the company’s customers are in the United States, Braille Jymico decided to open a service location in Chicago.
Today, Braille Jymico continues to support schools through the production of materials in alternative format for visually impaired students. It also strives to keep pace with the needs of its increasingly diverse clientele by focusing on growth and carrying out new and exciting projects.