Pyrotecnico is a professional

fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

company based in

New Castle, Pennsylvania New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Shenango River at the mouth of Neshannock Creek, it is northwest of Pittsburgh near the Pennsylvania–Ohio border, approximately so ...

. The company was founded in 1889 by Constantino Vitale. They currently operate nationwide with over 1,000 technicians throughout the U.S. with six primary offices located in New Castle, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Montgomery, New Orleans, and Tampa. Pyrotecnico has worked with over 10,000 different organizations in the past 10 years including the fireworks and

special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the fictional events in a story or virtual world. ...

for

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's halftime show for

Super Bowl XXXVIII Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2003 Carolina Panthers season, Carolina Panthers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2003 New England Patriots season, New E ...

in Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas and the 2004

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

. Pyrotecnico was awarded with the 2008 Gold Jupiter Award representing the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the L'International des Feux Loto-Québec.

Early days

In 1889 Constantino Vitale started this fireworks company in Pietramelara, Italy. In 1920 he immigrated to the United States through Ellis Island making a home for his family and company in

— a small town between Pittsburgh and Cleveland that would become known as "The Fireworks Capital of America."

Twentieth century

Constantino brought with him centuries of fireworks expertise which he taught to his apprentices his children and grandchildren. The Vitale family developed a reputation for grand and dramatic fireworks displays and the business grew rapidly in the United States. At the turn of the century, the company was one of the largest fireworks companies in the country. By 1940 the company was headed by Constantino's son, Rocco Vitale Sr., who led the expansion of the facilities in New Castle which were also briefly used to manufacture explosives for the U.S. Navy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Many of these buildings still stand today, across the street from the corporate headquarters. Five different generations of the Vitale family have grown Constantino's company. In the 1990s the company took on the name "Pyrotecnico" to reflect the variety of products that it used to complement explosives, like

confetti Confetti are small pieces or streamers of paper, mylar or metallic material, usually thrown at celebrations, especially parades and weddings. The origins are from the Latin ''confectum'', with ''confetti'' the plural of Italian ''confetto'', ...

, streamer cannons, lighting, fog, smoke, air dancers, close proximity effects and synchronized pyrotechnics to pre-recorded audio or live performance.

Today

Pyrotecnico is still headquartered in New Castle, PA and in 2007, completed a {{convert, 20000, sqft, m2, adj=on facility for its headquarters. The company has offices in New Castle, PA; Atlanta, GA; Auburn, NY; Dallas, TX; New Orleans, LA; Las Vegas, NV; Montgomery, AL; Philadelphia, PA / Vineland, NJ; Jaffrey, NH; Columbia, SC; Tampa, FL and Fort Lauderdale, FL.

References

Pyrotecnico's Official Web Page
Fireworks companies New Castle, Pennsylvania Companies based in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania Manufacturing companies based in Pennsylvania Manufacturing companies established in 1889 1889 establishments in Italy