A chance meeting at an entertainment trade show brought Vince Carabello and his company into the light. Several years ago, Carabello realized that demand for the editing, colorizing and film duplication equipment made by his Hollywood Film Co. in Sun Valley had dwindled away. To keep the doors open, Carabello set about to find new products to manufacture. Last year he met LED lighting company BriteShot at a trade show and saw the opportunity. Hollywood Film is now the exclusive manufacturer for BriteShot’s Luminator series lighting systems, which are used on AMC series “Mad Men” and the upcoming feature film sequels in the “Spiderman” and “Captain America” franchises. “It has been one heck of a shot in the arm,” Carabello said. Taking on the BriteShot work was an easy transition for Hollywood Film as it could use the existing equipment in the machine and metal shops. The only new equipment needed was for the electronics department, Carabello said. The light-emitting diodes are energy efficient, can plug into a wall socket and do not need generators to power them. Also, the lights do not throw off any heat, Carabello said. “The actors are not perspiring and there is not anyone running in with makeup to fix them up,” he explained. Another advantage the lights have is special features that can imitate flashes of lightning, camera bulbs going off and emergency vehicle lights. Supplying BriteShot does not mean that Hollywood Film has moved away from the post-production equipment it has made for decades. While domestic sales have significantly decreased as digital equipment moved into the market, the company still receives orders for color analyzers, film splicers, printers and projectors. Recent orders have come from an East Coast university for an editing room and from a company in Japan, Carabello said. “It is a limited need, but we fulfill it,” Carabello said. BriteShot, headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Fla., was founded in 2009 and has sales offices in Studio City, New York and Toronto. Credit to Come? California is one of five states that does not offer a tax credit to manufacturers. To correct that, the Valley Industry & Commerce Association has come out in favor of a five-year sales tax credit program for manufacturers. Senate Bill 376 exempts individuals or companies from paying state sales tax on machinery and equipment used for manufacturing. The bill was introduced by State Sen. Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) in February and is scheduled for a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 23. If made into law, an exemption from the 6.25 percent sales tax would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2017. VICA, however, conditioned it support on lawmakers moving up the date when manufacturers would receive the exemption. By making the exemption more immediately available to manufacturers, the playing field would be level with states competing for manufacturing jobs, the organization said. According to a report for the Appropriations Committee, the state Board of Equalization estimated a loss of $1.3 billion in revenue annually if the exemption goes into effect. The senate committee staff, however, commented in the report that the estimate was overstated because the figure from the Equalization Board did not reflect tax exclusions for manufacturing equipment purchases approved by the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority. The revenue loss would also be lower if manufacturing-related purchases trailed the rest of the nation or if growth exceeded what would happen naturally, the report noted. Drone Growth Another pending bill aimed at manufacturers passed the California Assembly’s Revenue and Taxation Committee in May. Assembly Bill 1326 will make manufacturers of unmanned aircraft, or drones, exempt from paying sales tax on equipment purchases. The exemption would also apply to the construction of new manufacturing facilities. The bill now goes to the Assembly’s Appropriations Committee. The exemption is one way for California to maintain its lead in the aerospace industry, said Assembly member Jeff Gorell (R-Camarillo), co-sponsor of the bill. Drones have become one of the fastest-growing segments of the aerospace industry following their use in warzones in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. That growth is expected to continue once approval is given by the Federal Aviation Administration for their widespread use domestically. The agency has a September 2015 deadline to fully integrate drones of all sizes into the national airspace and establish six test sites for the aircraft. The FAA forecasts that by 2020 there could be as many as 30,000 aircraft in the sky without a pilot. The San Fernando Valley and Ventura County region has been a hotbed of activity for businesses that make the aircraft and supply parts. AeroVironment Inc., of Monrovia, for instance, manufacturers and tests its drones in Simi Valley. Staff Reporter Mark R. Madler can be reached at (818) 316-3126 or [email protected].
Fortune Shines Brightly on Sun Valley Company
