Based in nearby Brighton for most of its 60 years, TLSP offers consultation and all the necessities to design, draft, rig and light productions of any size, from entire halls to individual trade show booths. They’ve provided custom production lighting and rigging for the major U.S. exhibit companies at shows in Detroit, Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Miami and D.C. You’ll find their permanent installations at museums, universities, high schools and casinos. In addition, TLSP is a dealership and factory-authorized service center for ETC. It is also a Columbus McKinnon Hoist Service & Certification Provider for chain motors, as well as a dealership for Apollo Design, Rosco Laboratories, Martin Professional, Leprecon and Creative Stage Lighting, just to name a few. Its services are complemented by equipment rentals of most international gear brands, in-house mechanical and electrical repairs and even theatrical draperies.
New Owners, New Location
These are, as they say, exciting times. Following an employee buyout of the company, Brad Hayes and Bill Ross are the firm’s new co-presidents. Having designed the new ownership structure, the two enjoy a good relationship. “Bill and I have worked together for 15 years,” explains Hayes, “and have been friends for probably 25, including a time as friendly competitors before I came to work here in 1997. We decided to divide it between odd and even years, so I’m your odd-year president,” he laughs.
“Planning and preparing for our move has been the proverbial roller coaster,” says Hayes, “searching to find a space that would accommodate our growth and added services. We found a building that started life as a machine-building factory in Ann Arbor and most recently had been a soundstage for movie productions” — remember Flipped and Five Year Engagement? “It fit perfectly with our plans.” Although the ownership change and location search took place during TLSP’s busiest season, the winter months, Hayes notes that the company managed to continue serving customers without interruption.
The new location in Ann Arbor is also close enough to Brighton so that the company’s dozen-and-a-half full-time employees, would not have to relocate. Many of them are shareholders, with an ownership stake that gives them a further incentive to ensure that every project is the best it can be. “Our people are what make the difference,” says Ross. “We have some of the best people in the industry who, day-in and day-out, make projects happen for our clients.”
Along with its full-time staff, TLSP works with cadre of experienced “perma-lance” contractors such as designer and master electrician Michael Keller, who has supported shows featuring John Mayer, Paul McCartney, Lionel Richie, Santana and others. PLSN caught up with him in the middle of a Black Sabbath tour. “I’ve done work for TLSP over the past 15 years,” he explains. “They are one of the best companies out there. The staff is very meticulous and their clients are extremely happy with them. Though they’re not as big as some of the mega-companies in the industry, the quality of their workmanship really sets the bar that the others aspire to.”
LD Arnold Serame, who has worked with TLSP on major automotive events, concurs. “Over the past decade, they’ve become especially adept at dealing with the needs of auto shows. First, they really take care of the people who work for them. And those people are particularly proactive when it comes to finding the best way to do things. When you’re talking about car shows, there’s a lot of future forecasting that their production managers and riggers have to do. They’ve developed a true knack for anticipating where changes may be needed. Changes are costly, so by predicting them, they can save the client some expense. That’s an invaluable asset.”
Past and Future
TLS Productions, Inc. began in 1954 as Tobins Lake Studios, but like 3M and AT&T, the initials have come to stand on their own. “We actually thought about running a contest among our employees to explain what TLS stands for now, but decided to let it stand as three letters since it’s so well known,” Hayes explains. “Because of our location in the heart of the domestic automobile industry, TLSP has concentrated on auto-related business, which has made us experts at the industrial trade show in general. We recently have been able to carry that over to shows in the health care and video gaming industries. With the arrival of 2013, we’ve been all about expanding our services, capabilities and markets.”
Ross and Hayes are planning to launch an audio division with products from Meyer Sound Laboratories so they can offer turnkey solutions that relieve trade show and convention clients from having to deal with several vendors. It also will bring about efficiencies with hall services and hall labor by allowing them to operate everything centrally.
Overcoming Friction Points
The company’s successful record and expertise have enabled it to mitigate the challenges of trade show installations. “In trade shows,” says Ross, “you have limited control, so we’ve learned to predict where the friction points will be and to prepare for or prevent them, be they with the docks, labor, working with and around other companies, or satisfying the general contractor of the show. Each show has its own rules, its own feel, its own way of doing things. From our years of experience and attention to detail, we can prep and pre-rig the components according to the demands of each situation for the smoothest possible installation. You can get gear anywhere, but it’s our process that makes the difference.”
Typically, that process begins at a sit-down with the client’s own event and design staff to get an idea of the look and feel they’re trying to achieve. They may have their own renderings already. TLSP’s design, production and engineering people then hunker down to make the client’s dreams and visions a reality, on time, on message and on budget. “A missed deadline is not part of our vocabulary,” says Ross.
“For us, there’s no such thing as a small event,” adds Hayes. “Each client’s job is the most important thing we’re doing at the time.” A show like Detroit’s North American International Auto Show takes four months of preproduction followed by three months on site. But the company also turned around an enormous party event in Manhattan in less than three weeks.
Constantly working directly with the major exhibit and display houses and venue management giants, TLSP has earned its bright reputation in the industry. “We’ve always strived to treat the people we work with the same way we like to be treated,” says Ross. “There’s a lot going on at a show, so our ability to go in and get done what needs to get done when it needs to get done by working well with local unions, other vendors and so forth is something we pride ourselves on. And it’s proven by the fact that our clients keep coming back.” Offices in the Twin Cities, San Diego, Dallas and Milwaukee enable TLSP to respond quickly to client needs anywhere in the country.
Safety Precautions
Safety and the environment are front and center in the company’s methodologies. “We’ve never had a serious incident, knock on wood,” Hayes reports. “We take safety very, very, very seriously. It’s something you have to train and drill and think about from start to finish. Trade show venues are very dangerous environments, essentially construction sites with heavy loads, high voltage, moving trucks, roaming forklifts, personnel lifts and everything else. From a standpoint of rigging and weight loading, we do a lot of consulting with outside engineering firms, because we have clients who come to us with projects that push the envelope. They want to do something spectacular or large or heavy. We work within the rules of each venue and work with engineering firms to make sure what we’re planning is completely safe.”
Innovations
TLSP has been on the leading edge of many of the industry’s innovations, including being among the earliest to hang trusses at an auto show in Detroit in the 1980s and to use HID (high-intensity discharge) lighting on auto show properties. In the past ten years, the two executives have seen great strides made in more efficient, more reliable high-color-temperature fixtures. They applaud the gradual greening of the industry, as lights have gotten less watt-hungry while producing better outputs. They look forward to the time in the near future when LEDs are developed in the range closer to a high-intensity discharge instrument in both output and color rendering. A.C. Lighting and Chroma-Q have really helped drive the exhibit-lighting side of things. Automated fixtures are becoming more reliable and consume less power. The electronic ballast has really helped, as have the auto-switching power supplies that can go from 90 to 260 volts.
With the economic downturn at the end of the last decade, the industry saw many clients pull back on the scope and frequency of their show presence. They continued to do shows, but at half the budgets. Concludes Ross, “That has started to turn around, with companies beginning to spend more on their marketing, shows and events. We’re feeling very energized, with a renewed sense of purpose. This industry in general and TLSP in particular are exciting places to be right now.”
TLSP at a Glance
HISTORY:
Incorporated as Tobins Lake Studios in Brighton, MI in 1954, then expanded with corporate representation in California, Wisconsin, Florida, Texas, Nevada and Minnesota. Ownership change through management-led buyout in Dec. 2012. Headquarters move from Brighton, MI to Ann Arbor, MI in 2013.
PRIMARY FOCUS:
Automotive press and trade show events, with an emphasis on turnkey production — TLSP is ready to design, draft, light and rig productions for clients.
OTHER STRENGTHS:
Theatrical and concert events; permanent installations. TLSP rents and sells equipment and drapery, and can handle electronic and mechanical repairs in house.
WEBSITE: www.tlsproductionsinc.com
