Atomic Lighting in Lititz, PA, opened at the beginning of 2008. The corporation creates lighting schemes for some of the most major staged events in the country, including last year’s Latin Grammy Awards. One of the company’s creators and its current vice president, Brad Hafer, spent most of the years of his life building his network and working a variety of jobs within the professional lighting business, moving and traveling all around the United States. Now, in Atomic’s sizeable warehouse on Front Street, Hafer seems not only content with where his career has finally landed, but also very proud of the professional success he has achieved.

Hafer found himself wrapped up in the lighting business from a very young age. He often tagged along with his uncle, Larry Fecho, owner of Entourage Productions. From there, Hafer moved on to work in a number of facets, including working summer concerts and, soon after, taking a “real job” with the electricians union, IBEW. The latter didn’t last long. “After having snow on my back and in ditches, I decided, this really isn’t for me,” says Hafer. “And I went back to the rock and roll world.” By steadily networking within the world of professional lighting, Hafer has finally arrived in his current status as Vice President and Partner of Atomic Lighting.

Atomic Design, Atomic Lighting’s sister production and design company – also located in Lititz – has a well-established place in the entertainment industry. Two years ago, Hafer approached Atomic Design’s owner, Soren West, with whom he worked previously, and presented his idea for the startup of a lighting company.
 
[“West] wanted to expand and get bigger. We wanted lighting,” says Hafer. And with Atomic’s prominence in the entertainment community, Hafer and his business partners had a perk. He says, “Atomic opening a lighting division made everything transition [more easily].” Atomic Lighting officially opened for business in January 2008, moving to its own building during March of that same year.

Atomic Design and Atomic Lighting aren’t the only two companies working the entertainment industry from within the small town of Lititz. “Lititz is a mecca for the touring world,” Hafer says enthusiastically. “You have Tait Towers. … They’re the ones building the infrastructure for U2, Rolling Stones, Britney – every major tour has some Tait equipment on it. … Atomic Design then makes a lot of that stuff pretty. … You have Clair Brothers Audio, which is the biggest audio company in the world of touring. Mojo Barriers is here, which is the company that makes all the crowd control. Most of the places, it’s on the spec. It says Mojo Barrier.” Hafer says the companies are able to work together and save on trucking costs, adding, “There’s a truck leaving here going to every major show.” Lititz is also central to many of the cities Atomic Lighting works with, including Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C. and New York, and cost of living in the area is low. Hafer adds yet another reason for operating in Lititz – family. “I lived in New York. I lived in L.A. I’ve done all that. Raising kids, I’d rather be here.”

Hafer himself has worked lighting for some of the largest events in the country, including several Super Bowl halftime shows and 13 years of MTV Video Music Awards. He also worked with the Latin Grammy Awards several times before Atomic Lighting existed, and again under Atomic’s name in 2008. While larger events are the primary focus of Atomic Lighting, Hafer and the rest of his team also help out smaller causes and events. “It’s not our core focus,” he says. “But, at the same time, it’s where we started.” Hafer says that while Atomic Lighting won’t sacrifice the quality of its work at a bigger show to work smaller events, the company does offer items to smaller companies at a discount, provided those items aren’t being used. “We try and facilitate their needs and help them get stuff they couldn’t generally afford in their budgets,” he says. Atomic Lighting works with several dance companies and community theaters, many in the Reading area, as well as schools such as Messiah College.

For the most part, Hafer handles the sales aspect of Atomic Lighting. Once the job is secured, Hafer’s partner, Director of Operations Brett Puwalski, “does all the nuts and bolts to make sure every piece of cable is there, the right guys are there,” he says. Many of Atomic Lighting’s clients contact Hafer when they have an event coming up. “We’ve had a huge network coming into [this company], plus we have the Atomic name and we have capital behind us.” He says that without the networks he and his partners have built over the years and the backing of Atomic Design, it isn’t likely that Atomic Lighting would have gotten to where it is now.

“You’re never gonna get out of the little clubs and stuff without all three of those things in place – capitol, network and namesake,” he says confidently. “You’re not even gonna get someone to answer the phone at the level of what we’re doing.”

Not only did Hafer and his team make the bold move of starting a company in the midst of an economic crisis, but they also managed to project the company into success fairly quickly. While Hafer notes that he wouldn’t dub the entertainment industry recession proof, there is a pattern that seems to keep corporations like Atomic Lighting up and running. “When the economy is really good and strong, there are a million producers that are trying to do live events. … In the business world, all the corporate meetings are going on … so the corporate world is really strong. When the economy is bad and they pull back, people still need to do something. So what do they do? They watch television, so television then becomes stronger [and] we do more television events. Then all the companies need to report and make changes, so [the corporate operations] change, but it’s still going.” He also makes the point that there is always a need for businesses like Atomic Lighting, even if it’s not blatantly obvious to those outside the industry.

“Even in the act of tragedy – 9/11 happened,” Hafer starts. “When that happened, I did seven shows in New York the following week, because then you need to do tributes,” he says. “There’s always something showing.”