Success Story - SPL AUDIO, LIGHTING & STAGING

SPL Audio, Lighting and Staging started operations in January, 2000, as a home based business in Dunnville, Ontario.  Beginning as a one person operation, SPL offered sound systems for special events – both equipment and operator.

Since then SPL has grown to the point where it can offer full services to special events – sound, lights and staging.  With a crew complement of 20 people, SPL can now handle larger shows or multiple shows at once.

The corporate facilities, located in the Dixon Rd. / Hwy 27 area of Toronto, has 3,400 sq. feet of space and holds approximately $3 million in equipment.

The type of services offered varies greatly.

SPL provides sound, lighting, and staging for Festivals.  The owner, Rick Doupe, has worked the Mudcat Festival in Dunnville as well as the Dunnville Fair and Sarnia Bay Fest.  For the past three years SPL has been responsible for the sound set up at the Havelock Country Music Festival.

SPL has provided services for 6 different musical tours through the United States and Canada.  They have provided support for artists from Janet Jackson to Alan Jackson.

One facet of the business is providing sound equipment for corporate events – conferences, training sessions, open houses, and social events.

One of the highlights of the business was working World Youth Day in Toronto and being involved in setting up and operating the sound system used by the Pope.  That set up used 1,000 speakers and more than 10 miles of sound cable while involving more than 200 audio techs.

While providing systems for special events, festivals and groups like The Guess Who and The Tragically Hip are exciting, a larger part of the business involves corporate work.

Systems used at national or regional conferences for clients such as Loblaws, Shell Oil and Rostrum International may be smaller, but they are often more intricate and require greater skills on the control board.

Rick gives credit to the Self Employment Benefit Program for the start of his business.

“The program was a huge help in getting me launched.  It created the mind set to allow me to operate a business.”

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