George Dodworth's lasers put logos on the Manhattan Bridge and have been featured in the rock tours of Madonna, Korn, Ghostland Observatory and Pink Floyd founding member Roger Waters.
His company, Lightwave International in Bridgeville, has worked on every continent except Antarctica.
But Lightwave is probably one of Pittsburgh's best-kept secrets.
"I used to get frustrated, horribly, horribly frustrated, that we couldn't get work in Pittsburgh. But we realized (the market) is really international," said Dodworth, 34, of North Strabane, who became interested in lasers at an early age. At 11, he volunteered at the Carnegie Science Center.
From humble beginnings — he was born in Washington, Pa., and qualified for the free and reduced lunch program — Dodworth built a high-end special effects company whose work is recognized internationally.
He won't talk specifics, but said Lightwave can command five figures a week for rock tours.
Lightwave lasers were used during Boston's First Night millennium celebration in 2000 when 1 million people took to city streets, he said.
It was a taste of what was to come. As the displays grew larger and more intricate, the company grew.
For the Boston show, Dodworth and his two employees loaded a box truck full of equipment and needed three days to set up the display. Today, Lightwave ships equipment in smaller containers, and its six employees usually fly to destinations.
Because of advances in technology, that three-day set up probably can be done in 15 minutes, he said.
Lightwave used the world's largest full-color lasers to recreate the iconic Pink Floyd prism in laser light during Roger Waters' Dark Side of the Moon Tour in 2007 and 2008. It used 100 lasers for the Pittsburgh 250 July Fourth celebration and put the Penguins logo on the side of Mellon Arena during this year's Stanley Cup playoffs.
Dodworth is donating the company's older equipment to schools and universities. He donates a laser light show to his church every Christmas, blending laser lights with traditional holiday music.
"We did four shows over the weekend. They were packed, every one of them," said Stephanie Zents, communication coordinator at the Canonsburg United Presbyterian Church. "It is amazing what they can do with lasers."
A 1999 graduate of Penn State University who majored in physics and electrical engineering, Dodworth concedes he was more into the technical side of the business when he first got started 15 years ago.
"I thought gross and net were the same thing," he said with a laugh.
His on-the-job training has been intense. Many countries have different rules for the use of lasers. Some have none.
He's had to learn all the rules and regulations.
The United States has the most restrictive requirements, which can be enforced by the Food and Drug Administration, individual states or local agencies depending on the state.
Dodworth is adamant about remaining the area.
"I absolutely love Pittsburgh. I wanted to be here. It is the most underutilized city in the country. It's ready to explode," he said.
His company is an eclectic assemblage of people and talent. Alan Fuehrer used to practice family law at a Downtown law firm.
"I didn't even know what a laser was when I first heard about George," said Fuehrer, the company's general counsel and production manager.
Martin Potoczny, 26, director of touring and lightning designer at Lightwave, has done lighting design work for Disney, Bose Audio and Microsoft.
Potoczny and Dave Fonner, 35, will leave June 15 for Madonna's European tour. They'll oversee the use of five Lightwave lasers throughout Europe.
After two weeks of rehearsals in London, 60 trucks and four airplanes will haul the production, cast and crew around Europe for 10 weeks, said Potoczny said.
