Press Releases

Here you can find information on what we at Skyhigh FX have been upto recently. As well as Trade Exhibition reports and the likes. Happy reading!

25/02/2002 Article taken from Business 550 North. Feb 2002 issue.

Does your Business go with a Bang?

Mike Sweetland's does. Mike is the owner-manager of Skyhigh Stage FX Ltd, a company which manufactures special effects explosives for a span of customers that range from theatres to the armed forces.

Devising the special effects that made the church at the end of Witches of Eastwick seem to explode ina spectacular conflagration or creating an explosion that simulates a medium battle tank shell hitting a pile of oil drums is all in a weeks work for Skyhigh Stage FX.

This spread of endeavour has proved useful for, while the events of September 11 have decimated the large budget of West End shows, managers of anti-terrorist training units are now urgently reversing previous budget cuts

Mike is Currently a student on the Open University Business School MBA programme. He comments: "My work on the MBA course has been key to developing the company, particularly with regard to the complexities of strategy and marketing. The explosives industry is very traditional and the course has led me to understand the tram lines this industry operates on and how real competitive advantages can be achieved by working contra to the industry-received wisdom."

There's more to starting a conflagration like this than lighting the blue touch paper and retiring...as Mike Sweetland found when he took an Open University training course.

04/02/2002 Article taken from Plasa news

Lancelyn and White Light Appointed Skyhigh Stockists

Lancelyn Theatre Supplies and White Light Electrics have recently been appointed as distributors of the Skyhigh range of pyrotechnics and firing systems. Both companies have taken in a broad range of the pyrotechnic stocks.

Skyhigh's product development manager Tom Owen was pleased with the development. "Our strategy is to develop a worldwide distribution network for our products and two such key companies are a serious boost for us." Lancelyn's David Wilkins added: "Pyrotechnic equipment for general theatrical use is an area where there has been little effective choice in the marketplace. Choice and competition will stimulate development and this, alongside increasing demands for safety, will drive the market forward."

07/09/2001 Skyhigh in Explosive Form. Article taken from Lighting & Sound International Magazine. Sept 2001 issue

Skyhigh Stage FX has recently purchased the licensed explosives site it has been leasing for the past four years.

The site couldn't be more suited to it's purpose since it was originally a World War II gun site and features five gun emplacements each surrounded by it's own blast walls. Each emplacement also has it's own sub magazine, with the main magazine where the Ack Ack shells were stored some 75m away. The arrangement is ideal for Skyhigh's purposes. Each emplacement now houses process buildings which are licensed for up to 12 people to work on explosives. Outside these are processing buildings for non-explosive work, plus the licensed packing shed. As a result, the company is now setting about doubling its production capacity, largely to accomodate increasing sales of its new range of PDS firing systems.

06/07/2001 Skyhigh Stage FX Buy Licensed Explosives Factory

Having recently purchased the licensed explosives site they have been leasing for the past four years, Skyhigh Stage FX is now setting about doubling its production capacity. "Sales are going through the roof," Skyhigh’s product manager Tom Owen explained. "Our success is down to our new range of PDS firing systems; we have discovered there is a real need for a firing system that is safer than has been previously available on the market. This in turn is leading to greater demand for our pyro products."
The Skyhigh site was originally a World War II gun site. There are five old gun emplacements each surrounded by its own blast walls. Seventy five metres away from the emplacements is the main magazine where the Ack Ack shells were stored. Each emplacement has its own sub magazine, which supplied each individual gun. The arrangement is ideal for Skyhigh’s purposes. Each emplacement now houses process buildings which are licensed for up to 12 people to work on explosives. Outside the emplacements are process buildings for non-explosive work plus the licensed packing shed.

29/03/2000 Skyhigh at Rimini

Dealing with the crowds on their stand, and making a first appearance outside the UK were Skyhigh Stage FX Ltd. Skyhigh were launching two new pyro-firing systems. The £100.00 PDS-2, two-channel system, and the flight cased PDS-4, four-channel system. Both systems operate from either 12 volt battery or mains and both arrive with stainless steel pods. Skyhigh claim their new systems are probably the safest in the world.

Tom Owen, product manager for Skyhigh explained.

"Anyone who has had to carry out a risk assessment for the use of pyro will appreciate the problems there are with the systems that are currently available. While safety in the rest of the entertainment industry has moved on a million miles, safety in pyrotechnics has not progressed for over twenty years. We believe our solutions will become standard practise. Common sense tells you it is important to have a warning light on the pod to not only warn the performers that a pyro is about to fire, but also to protect technicians loading a cartridge, when someone else may have used their "spare" key. Equally it has to be crystal clear when a system is armed, current warning methods are simply inadequate."

Formed in 1997, Skyhigh is the amalgamation of three existing companies: JEM Pyrotechnics, Skyhigh Pyrotechnics and Blake’s Fireworks. The company operates, its’ own licensed manufacturing site in Kent, with the sales and administration teams based in Lancaster.

Skyhigh have every reason to be pleased with themselves, after having their pyrotechnics selected for use in the two most recent products of Phantom of the Opera. The Cameron Macintosh production team first used the Stage FX cartridges for the current "Phantom" tour that started last year in Plymouth. When it came time to make the decision which pyrotechnic system to use for the new production opening in Antwerp at Christmas, the producers had no hesitation in awarding the contract to Skyhigh.

Skyhigh FX, Butler Works, Wyresdale Road, Lancaster, Lancashire. LA1 3JJ United Kingdom.
TEL +44(0)1524 844099 FAX +44(0)1524 841808. Email info@skyhighfx.com
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