Milestones

New 4Wall PA Division Builds on Solid Partnership with Leading Lighting Designers

When gaffers Brad Hafer and Brett Puwalski formed Atomic Lighting in 2008, they brought a unique perspective to the business of supplying lighting, rigging and production support to leading lighting designers nationwide.

Few were surprised with ETC’s March 31 announcement that it would be acquiring High End Systems (HES) from Netherlands-based Barco, which had owned the Austin-based manufacturer of innovative moving lights and control systems since 2008. ETC had taken the rare step of announcing its hopes for acquiring HES with a press release on March 1, while the deal with Barco was still very much in the discussion stages.

[caption id="attachment_276676" align="alignnone" width="800"]Creative Stage Lighting Celebrates 40 Years[/caption]

Family Business Survives and Thrives “Making Magic Every Day”

“I liked making magic happen every day,” says George Studnicky. And because of his business savvy, the ability to navigate an ever-changing market and the backing and support of his family and team of associations, there’s been many days of magic making as Studnicky’s Creative Stage Lighting (CSL, creativestagelighting.com) celebrates its 40th year in business this year.

When partners Chris Kennedy and George McDuff were thinking about what to call their new lighting control company in the early 2000s, they settled on ChamSys, standing for “Chameleon Systems.”

Pyro Pioneer is More than a Flash in the Pan

Along with the opening of its new production facility in rural Missouri, its first manufacturing hub outside of the U.K., Le Maitre is celebrating a milestone this year — the 40th year since its humble beginnings in 1977.

Now Entering their Fifth Decade, This Family Business is Still Setting Standards

“It all started with a trap case,” recalls Joe Calzone, as he reflects on the case making company he founded in 1975. The legendary company, now known as Calzone and Anvil Case, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Recognized as the largest fabricated case manufacturer in the world, the name is synonymous with protective cases across a broad spectrum of industries other than rock-n-roll.

Orlando, FL-based lighting manufacturer and distribution company Techni-Lux held a pretty sweet open house in January that brought a whole slew of industry professionals together from all over the country. On hand were more than 30 representatives showing various lighting products and expendables that just happen to be among the 25,000+ products in the Techni-Lux catalog.

To download a PDF that includes a photo-heavy recap of Techni-Lux’s 2016 Open House event, CLICK HERE.

As a young man, Chuck Davies turned his back on those rude, Chicago winters for the exultant warmth of Southern California. Back then, he couldn’t have known that he would build an international live event manufacturing company that would be one of the dominant brands in the industry 30 years later. But that’s what he did, and now, as he enjoys semi-retirement, his team, including Toby Velazquez, president; Eric Loader, director of sales; and others including Alfred Gonzales, national sales manager for ADJ USA; and Brian Dowdle, marketing director; continue to build on what he started with the founding of American D.J. back in 1985.