Loader Takes Part in an Explosive Multi-Media Show

S300 with auger

Using a skid-steer loader to save time and labor is a real blast for Fred Hay. When his Bobcat® 773 skid-steer loader isn’t making his work easier as a custom homebuilder, it’s helping him pursue his real passion—staging spectacular displays of fireworks.

“I love the thrill of thousands of pounds of explosives going off in time with a musical score,” says the veteran construction contractor, who owns
Newport Builders, Romulus, Mich.

As a federally-licensed explosives manufacturer, he makes rockets, shells and other fireworks that brighten the night sky with a dazzling array of colors, ranging from sparkling whites and shimmering greens to brilliant blues and blazing reds. Hay belongs to the Michigan Pyrotechnic Arts Guild. It’s one of about two dozen similar clubs around the country that produce fireworks shows for the sheer fun of it.

“Most pyrotechnic enthusiasts view fireworks shows as a form of art which allows them to create something beautiful from raw chemicals,” Hay says.

Last summer, his club exhibited its skills by producing the finale in a week-long series of fireworks shows during the annual convention of the Pyrotechnic Guild International, held in West Fargo, N.D. Two years in the making, the 33-minute show featured musically-coordinated, computer-controlled fireworks that exploded at the rate of nearly 80 a minute. Hay normally uses his own 773 loader to help set up fireworks shows. However, this time, because the show was held far from his base in Michigan and near Bobcat Company’s world headquarters, he used an S300 skid-steer loader provided by the manufacturer.

Fred Hay used a Bobcat S300 loader to drill holes for huge fireworks program.

Equipped with an auger and various size bits, the S300 made quick work of drilling about 70 holes for placing 8-, 9- and 12-in. diameter mortars around the 1,000-sq.-ft. field of fireworks. Depending on mortar size, these holes were as deep as 4 ft. The S300 was also used with pallet forks to transport and place several hundred wooden racks, each containing six to ten smaller mortars, which were installed above ground.

While the quantity of explosives in the show—20,000 lb.—may not have rivaled major commercial productions, the effort invested in producing the show was every bit a world class achievement, says Hay.

“No fireworks show was produced with more love and care than this one,” he says. “A commercial production couldn’t afford the thousands of hours we put into it.”

However, thanks to the Bobcat S300, that total investment in time and labor wasn’t as high as it could have been.