Pyro Spectaculars

Pyro Spectaculars, Inc.
Private
Founded 1906 in San Francisco, California
Founder Manuel de Sousa
Headquarters Rialto, California, United States
Key people
 Jim Souza
Products Fireworks Entertainment Show Production, Souza Brand Fireworks
Number of employees
 75
Website https://www.pyrospec.com/

Pyro Spectaculars is headquartered in Rialto, California, USA, and occupies a portion of a former World War II military munitions facility. The company is one of the largest designers and producers of fireworks displays in the United States. The President and CEO is James Souza.

The site was operated by defense contractors and fireworks companies, prior to Pyro Spectaculars taking over a portion of the larger 160-acre (0.65 km2) site in 1979. The site was convenient to nearby explosives bunkers built by the military. Only one of those bunkers remains as of 2007, and it is no longer in use for the storage of fireworks.

Pyro Spectaculars conducts a series of pyrotechnics classes and seminars at this site, which are known as Pyro University.

Pyro Spectaculars formally partnered with Pyrotechnic Innovations, a leading fireworks training and recruitment company, in 2013 to form a cutting edge operator recruitment, training, and retention program.[1]

Beginnings

Manuel de Sousa.
Manuel de Sousa

The company was founded in 1979 by Robert Souza, the son of Portuguese immigrant Manuel "The Parrot" Souza, who was a well-known pyrotechnician in San Francisco during the 1900s. It was Manuel's brilliantly-colored fireworks that earned him his nickname.

Specialty

The company's fireworks displays are characterized by tight musical choreography with an emphasis on medium and low-level effects such as: cakes, fountains and Roman candles, and a particular fondness for "set pieces".

Notable events

Pyro Spectaculars is responsible for the annual Macy's 4th of July spectacular fireworks display in New York City, shows at stadiums, and has been contracted by film crews to design shows for movies. The company's largest film contract was for the 1998 film Meet Joe Black, which made such an impression on star Brad Pitt that he later hired Pyro Spectaculars to produce a fireworks display for his wedding to Jennifer Aniston.[2] Other shows include:

Related links

References

  1. ↑ Pyro Spectaculars partners with Pyrotechnic Innovations
  2. ↑ "Computer glitch put hitch in fireworks". Seattle Post Intelligencer. 2008-01-01. Retrieved 2008-01-04. Technicians set off commands by hand for Space Needle event
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