18
TECH FOCUS
FIREWORKS BY GRUCCI’S DOUBLE WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT THE 2018 NEW YEAR’S EVE FIREWORK DISPLAY AT RAS AL KHAIMAH, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, WAS BOOSTED BY AMERICAN SPECIAL EFFECTS COMPANY, FIREWORKS BY GRUCCI, BREAKING NOT ONLY ONE, BUT TWO GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS FOR THE ‘LONGEST CHAIN OF FIREWORKS’ AND THE ‘LONGEST STRAIGHT LINE OF FIREWORKS’.
Still riding high on post-project adrenaline, TPMEA spoke to CEO Phil Grucci about the company’s latest world record attempt and to learn a little more about what it takes to achieve such a feat. Taking place on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, and produced by property management firm, Marjan, Fireworks by Grucci’s special effects team captivated the thousands of visitors with a display that lasted over 13 minutes and featured both the longest chain and the
ME
longest straight line of fireworks ever attempted. But breaking world records has become somewhat of a family tradition for Fireworks by Grucci. This six-generation family business based in the United States has broken nine records over the years including its latest double triumph, achieved in the closing minutes of 2018. “The first ever record that Grucci broke was by my father in 1979 for ‘the largest shell to ever be shot into the air,’” he began. “Since then, we have had to defend our titles numerous times
and win back the records from other companies.” It was actually in Ras Al Khaimah, the previous New Year, when the CEO had won back his father’s record which had been broken in Japan in 1988. “I wanted to get that one back in his honour which saw us create a shell that was 5ft in diameter and 2,200lbs. This would have only been possible in the location provided to us by Marjan.” For the most recent project, the display covered an impressive 13km with the longest
