BACK WITH A BANG !
After weathering pandemic, family-owned Pyro Spectaculars is fired up for 400 fireworks shows
From its humble beginnings at street festivals a century ago, the Souza family has built one of the largest and most respected fireworks display companies in the world.
This weekend, CEO Jim Souza of family-owned Pyro Spectaculars, based in Rialto in San Bernardino County, will be overseeing more than 400 extravaganzas, from smaller shows in Fresno and Madera to San Francisco's official waterfront display and the giant Rose Bowl celebration in Pasadena.
The company was conceived by greatgrandfather Manuel de Sousa, who emigrated to the San Francisco Bay Area from Portugal in the early 1900s and quickly made a reputation for his colorful showmanship, cooked up on the family stove, at community Saint's Day and “Holy Ghosts Festival” celebrations. Soon, his entire family helped construct fireworks on the family farm.
Over the years, it has embraced a more complex high-tech world with sophisticated choreographies and precision firing techniques. Souza's sons Paul and Christopher are helping create ever more elaborate shows through their use of computerized systems that precisely launch shells that are timed to music.
The COVID-19 pandemic nearly ended five generations of business. In 2020, only 20 of 300 scheduled July 4 events were
held and Souza was forced to furlough 38 of 50 full-time employees. The Payroll Protection Program helped keep it afloat.
Now, on the eve of the nation's birthday, business has rebounded and Souza is rushing to coordinate logistics at many far-flung events. His schedule is back to pre-pandemic levels, he said.
“This is when it all comes together, after a year of preparation,” he said.
“The sky is our canvas — and fireworks are our paint.”
Q
While we're relaxing with beer and barbecue, what are you doing?
AWe've got 400 shows this weekend. That represents 400 permits, 400 insurance certificates and 400 crews of pyrotechnicians that are getting ready. Trucks are being loaded to be distributed to the various shows.
The Fourth of July represents about 60% of our revenue stream.
Q
In the winter, can you relax? This must be a very seasonal business.
A
We're busy 12 months out of the year. We're already preparing now for the next year's Fourth of July. It takes a year in preparation to do these events. It's a nonstop process.
Q
How has the business evolved in recent years?
AWe're doing a lot more “close proximity pyrotechnics” — everything from weddings and graduations to concerts and sporting events, such as baseball, soccer and lacrosse. There are indoor pyrotechnics for stage productions. Theme parks love fireworks. Cruise lines love fireworks. So it's growing in all different sectors.
On the other side, coming out of the pandemic, we have a lot of price increases. Insurance has gone up 20% to 30%. Manufacturing costs in China and in Europe have increased significantly. Chemical costs, for raw materials, are skyrocketing. Shipping costs have gone up from $10,000 to $30,000 a container. There's the constant struggle with the supply chain, causing delays of shipments and cargo.
Q What's your biggest challenge?
A
Labor shortages. This not a robotic process. That would be nice. But it's not. It's still an ancient art. Long Beach has about eight staff working this weekend. New York has 16. San Francisco has a large team of
over 24 technicians out there, setting up at the pier.
Q
Have your techniques changed?
AEverything that my father and grandfather used to do is called “manual firing,” where you run around with a highway flare and light a fuse by hand, then launch it in the air. It's really exciting. But it was also very dangerous.
Shows can now be fired electronically. Every one of these devices that we use comes connected with what's called an “e match,” or electronic matchhead, made of a zirconium compound that ignites when lit by a spark. At the bottom of this aerial shell is about 12 ounces of black powder. The shell is placed in a mortar and this will fire off into the sky.
It's triggered remotely at a control panel. The technicians push the buttons on cue, and it all works just wonderfully.
Q
How do you design the most elaborate shows?
A
About 20% of the shows have moved to a computer-generated firing system. Those are your “large spectaculars” that are synchronized to music and may be broadcast over radio or television stations. That's going to be your shows in the cities of San Francisco and San Diego, for instance. And also the big annual Macy's show in New York City.
We're even at a point now where we can have a pre-visualization of the display. We input all of our data into a great customized computer program that can actually play it, so there's a preview of what it's going to look like in the sky.
Q
That sounds much safer.
A
My father was injured in 1969. He lost mobility in one of his hands, and one of his partners lost a hand. He proclaimed that we were going to move everything into electronics. And we have done that.
But we're still dealing with explosives. They are dangerous goods, and we must constantly
be aware of that.
For generations, we've taught: “Respect the product.” With all the training and practice that we go through, we feel very confident.
Q
Tell us a trade secret: How do you create those crackling stars, with so much glitter?
A
It's magnalium — a combination of magnesium and aluminum. When these metallics burn, they create sparkle.
Strontium will give you some red colors. Barium is going to give you green. Copper is blue.
There are two basic shapes. One, mostly from Asia, creates a floral shape that can change color. The other, a European style, is cylinder. It whistles, like a rocket.
Q
What's your favorite part of the night?
A
Just observing and listening to the crowd — hearing the “oohs” and “aahs,” and feeling the emotion that we've created in the sky for them.