ASHLAND - Business has been booming this summer for Bixler Pyrotechnics in Ashland.
The family-owned professional fireworks display company lit up the night sky over Ashland on Thursday and will be part of Pottsville's celebration of the red, white and blue on Saturday.
"We are excited to put on more shows each year because more people get to see our work," Mike Bixler, company owner, said Tuesday.
By the end of summer, Bixler Pyrotechnics will have put on 15 fireworks displays in the area this year with each one different than the last.
Being different is one of the reasons Bixler said he acquired his state license in 2006 and formed his own company based out of his home.
"I always liked fireworks, but I was seeing too much of the same thing and wanted to make a change," Bixler said.
While taking a pyrotechnics class at Penn State University, Bixler said he met several people working for companies that handle some of the largest fireworks displays around the world. Many of them use a computerized system for their displays.
"Everything we do is computerized," Bixler said.
Bixler purchased his system from Fire One Pyrotechnics Management Inc. in State College. The equipment is the same used at Disney World and can shoot multiple shells off at once instead of having to hand light each shell. The system can also coordinate the display with music.
"I can do many more things," Bixler said. "It's very precise and we can have a constant flow."
Through specialized computer software, Bixler is able to choreograph the display however he wants without having to set off a single firework.
"You just have to picture in your mind what you want it to look like," Bixler said.
After designing the display, it is then downloaded into a digital firing panel that sends a signal to the firing modules. The modules are connected to rails with individual cue terminals for the electric matches that ignite the fireworks. The system display is accurate to 0.001 of a second.
Bixler said he has put about $50,000 into his display system.
"There's nobody on the field, so it is a lot safer," Bixler said. "I have family and friends that work for me, so to me it was worth it."
The system can also use wireless signals that reach up to about three miles and can set off two shows at once, Bixler said.
The company uses high-quality shells imported from all around the world, including China, Japan, Italy and Spain. Bixler has a trailer full of shells sorted by type, size and color.
"There's willows, double palm trees, a lot of fancy stuff," Bixler said while walking through the trailer.
Even though the computerized-system helps reduce the staff, Bixler said setting up displays can be twice as labor intensive. For the Thunder Over Ashland show on Thursday, Bixler said they planned to start setting up about noon.
Last year, Bixler Pyrotechnics put on a fireworks display choreographed to music at the Pyrotechnic Guild International annual convention in Slippery Rock. Bixler was one of only a few Pennsylvanian companies chosen to put on a display at the multi-day event.
"We're a very small company hanging with the big guys," Bixler said.
But for the Schuylkill County-based fireworks display company, it is not about the competition. It's about the show.
Bixler, who operates a landscaping business with his father, said all the profits he earns from shows throughout the summer go right back into getting more fireworks.
"I put much more product into the shows because I don't do it for money," he said. "We do it because we like it."
For more information about Bixler Pyrotechnics or videos showing off some of his work, visit www.bixlerpyro.com.