Sun
|
Company energizes film industry with portable power Trinity Power takes electricity from local utility and adopts it to the user’s needs Marke Andrews Vancouver Sun Monday, July 11, 2005
In his 18 years working in the film industry, Dan Janelle saw a growing need for portable electrical power that would be cheaper, cleaner and quieter than diesel-powered generators. So the former Bridge Studios employee, along with business partner Todd Johnston, formed Trinity Power Corporation in 1999, offering portable substations that can take electricity directly from the local utility and adapt it to the voltage needs of the user. The sci-fi feature film Mission to Mars was the company’s first contract. What began as a two-man operation six years ago now has six full-time employees plus more when things get busy (the company currently has 11 people working out of its Coquitlam headquarters). Its 2005 production credits include feature films X-Men 3, Underworld II, Fire Wall, The Fog, Antarctica, Mem(o)re, Pacific Air 121, Final Destination III, Deviant Behavior, Zixx: Level II and the television series Stargate Atlantis. “We saw the movie industry going in a direction that required greater and greater applications of power, and requiring mobile power,” says Janelle, technical operations manager at Trinity Power. “It was a good pooling of our resources and our talents to formulate a company that could offer a range of quality service and viability.” From two productions in 1999 (the feature Double Jeopardy was its second production), the company jumped to 13 films and TV shows the next year. Halfway through 2005, it has 11 productions either finished or in the works. If a production only needs a unit for less than a day, it is cheaper to use a diesel-powered generator. However, the costs balance out after 24 hours, and the longer the production runs on BC Hydro power, the cheaper it is. According to Trinity’s figures, a production requiring 1,200 kilowatts of portable power for 10 days (240 hours) will spend $16,260 for a Trinity unit, and $72,000 on diesel generators. “It doesn’t take very many days of running a large diesel generator to burn up a significant amount of cost,” says Johnston, Trinity business operations and development manager. The largest production they were involved with was the 2003 feature Chronicles of Riddick, for which Trinity replaced 96 generators worth of power with 96 400-amp switches — a total of 8.5 million watts. Chronicles of Riddick gave the company 11 months of work. Trinity, which designs and manufactures all its own equipment, will never say no to a small job, knowing that it may lead to bigger things down the road. “We have never turned away business, no matter how small, because some days those people will become the big guys in town,” says Janelle. In addition to being cheaper, Trinity’s stackable units take up less space than generators, do not pollute and do not make any noise, always a consideration on a film shoot. Stewart Bethune, production manager for X-Men 3 and last year’s Fantastic Four, which also used Trinity, says the cost savings are good, but he uses Trinity because of what it can do. “They have a lot of experience doing these large movies, and they’re the prime game in town,” says Bethune. “We need such a tremendous amount of power, and they can supply that power. They’re a great company.” The movie business accounts for only one-third of the company’s business. Trinity also supplies portable power for construction sites and for entertainment and sporting events, among them the Vancouver Folk Festival, Golden Spike Days, the B.C. Summer Games and the Molson Indy race. Trinity has supplied power for Sonic Environmental Solutions Inc., which has been cleaning PCB-contaminated soil on Annacis Island, and has jobs in Edmonton, Calgary, Colorado and Wyoming. Trinity is also looking at industrial applications of their systems in China. “When we started Trinity, it was two guys with all our equipment in our basements and job sites,” says Johnston. “Now we’ve got a 5,000-square-foot warehouse, a half-acre yard and a 2,000-square-foot office. We’re busting at the seams and we don’t know where we’re going to put it all.” They won’t disclose their financial figures, but Janelle says the company has doubled its gross revenue every year since 1999. “I guess if we were a public company, our shareholders would be happy,” says Janelle. © The Vancouver Sun 2005 |
