I met with Jaroslaw Suzdalewicz, son of the founders of Surex Family Fireworks, and co-designer with cousin Sebastian Cwajna. Founded in 1989, Surex first competed in Montreal in 2010 and have won prizes at several competitions since then. This year they competed in Madeira and, together with Montreal, will be appearing in the renowned Hanover competition in September.
1 of 5 Ramp 1 positions with 125mm and 150mm shells shown
Jaroslaw said the design of the show is quite different from their previous appearance in Montreal and is different to their usual style of shows which tend to feature epic music. For this year’s display, they spent around three weeks on the conception and picked a multi-faceted soundtrack with 29 pieces of music ranging through such classics as Highway To Hell by AC/DC, Chandelier by Sia to a finale set to Bon Jovi’s It’s My Life – all three of which Jaroslaw said he is looking forward to see. The soundtrack also features pieces by Warsaw-based TV and film composer Krzysztof Pszona who was responsible for editing and mixing the entire work.
Setting up one of five ramp 2 positions
On the pyrotechnic side, Jaroslaw said they wanted to shoot in a style that shows off the high quality products which come from their own-label Chinese manufacturer as well as a wide range of European manufacturers including Pirico (Italy), Europla, Igual, Zaragozona, Ricasa (Spain), Privatex Pyro (Slovakia) and a Polish company, Basile, that manufactures for Martarello under licence in Poland. Quite the range of products! There will be around 30 large calibre shells (200, 250 and 300mm) as well as many one-shots and row cakes, together with some special effects (which include 13 special towers) and many nautical products.
Adjustable One-shot Racks
The display will be fired from 24 positions – five each on ramps one and two with thirteen across ramp three and one position on ramp four. The display features around 2500 cues, a lot more than their previous display and Jaroslaw noted their method of firing shells this time will be different than their first appearance with no more than double cues (presumable two shells on one cue rather than a longer chain as they used in the past). They are using a FireOne firing system rented from local company GFA to simplify their logistics as they have some large shows coming up on their return to Poland. Their one-shot racks are also rented from GFA.
Jaroslaw Suzdalewicz
Jaroslaw was very enthusiastic about the display and theme and said that it should be especially appealing to Montrealers and invited everyone to come and attend and join in the party!
