Display Group partners with Fairway Productions to form AVL Creative! AVL CREATIVE FORMED BY DISPLAY GROUP AND FAIRWAY PRODUCTIONS
DETROIT. April 10, 2018—Audio Visual Lighting (AVL) Creative has been formed by Rick Portwood and Michael McConnell to fill a void in the meeting industry for all-inclusive event support. Portwood is president of Detroit’s Display Group and McConnell is owner of Fairway Productions of St. Clair Shores.
With the joint venture, Fairway Productions will close and all the staff will now be part of the new AVL Creative. The new company will be housed with Display Group in Detroit’s historic Packard Building #22.
Display Group will continue as an event and display company but now it can also offer the audiovisual production services of AVL Creative to its clients looking for audio, video and lighting support as part of their meeting mix.
Fairway Productions was founded in 2005 and employs five people that will now be part of AVL Creative. Display Group has 50 staff members.
“Display Group has relied on Fairway Productions to execute all of our client’s audio, video and lighting needs for many years,” said Portwood. “Forming AVL Creative allows us to offer a seamless event experience to our clients. Having that expertise in house allows our sales team even more flexibility to produce great events.”
“AVL’s specialty is quality audio, video and lighting services,” said McConnell. “In recent years, our team has been called upon to do more complex shows and events. The marriage of our creative skills with Display Group’s vast rental inventory and custom capabilities is a very rewarding prospect for all of our clients.”
“We’re also excited to use our DG-3D foam milling technology, which will allow us to create any type of shape or surface, and then utilize AVL’s projection mapping to make it come alive,” added Portwood.
As part of the growth plan, Display Group recently bought all of the wedding décor and lighting inventory from Colonial Party and Event Rental of Troy, which closed in 2017. This acquisition will be a key component of AVL’s growth moving forward.
About AVL Creative
AVL Creative can customize, design, and transform a space with audio, visual and lighting effects that provide leading edge technology for the event industry. With a service based approach AVL works diligently to provide a turn key approach for live events and promotions. The experienced event production staff, and top of the line rental equipment ensures that your event will be truly one of a kind. The new firm’s website is avl-c.com.
About Display Group
Established in 1991 by Rick Portwood, Display Group has become a valuable and reliable resource to the special events industry as well as marketing and communication companies. With a heritage stretching back to the 1920’s with his family’s company, Display Creations, Rick put his own vision to work by assembling a select team of professionals capable of providing innovative yet practical solutions to design and display challenges.
Now, as an industry leader in the event and display industry, Display Group offers an array of rental inventory, plus in-house graphic design and production, custom display and fixtures, 3-D design and production, portable and modular trade show properties and kiosks. The company’s website is displaygroup.com.
