What SW Event Technology does

SW Event Technology, operating legally as Soundwaves Entertainment Network Ltd., is a Canadian privately held audio visual event services company founded in 1989 by Cal McCarthy and Grant Mackney in Kelowna, British Columbia. The company delivers full-service event production spanning corporate conferences, galas, concerts and music festivals, sporting events, press conferences, virtual and hybrid events, and tradeshows/exhibits. Its technology stack centers on professional AV hardware including L'Acoustics line array sound systems, JBL systems, Stageline mobile stages, hydraulic mobile LED video screen trailers (7m x 4m, 4.81mm/5.9mm pixel pitch), ultra-thin flexible arena rinkboard LED ribbon screens manufactured in Germany, and multi-camera broadcast production equipment. Virtual event capability is delivered through an integration with the InEvent SaaS platform, providing registration, ticketing, analytics, polling, and live streaming.

The business operates on three revenue streams: equipment rentals (usage-based, including mics, speakers, projectors, LED walls, staging, and rigging), event production services (professional services including design, technical support, project management, and live broadcast), and custom exhibit/tradeshow services delivered through the acquired Showtime Event & Display subsidiary. Pricing is quote-based and project-specific with no public tiers; customers acquire via direct sales through 10+ Canadian offices in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario, plus a 1-800 sales line and website contact form. The go-to-market is B2B enterprise field sales targeting corporate clients, government organizations, sports leagues (Skate Canada, HSBC Sevens), event planners, and touring productions (Styx, Blue Rodeo). SW produces 4,000+ events annually and has held multi-year engagements with marquee clients including Skate Canada, NAV Canada, the Council of the Federation, and Canada's Farm Show.

Name

SW Event Technology

Legal name

Soundwaves Entertainment Network Ltd.

Website

https://sw-online.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

SW Event Technology is a Canadian privately held audio visual event services company that delivers equipment rental, event production, and virtual streaming for concerts, corporate conferences, sports events, and tradeshows across 10+ Canadian offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Audio Visual Event Production Services

NAICS

Performing Arts Companies (7111), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (71132)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Event Production & AV Services (HSACADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Event Production & Technical Services (Staging, Lighting, Sound, Video) (MPAGAAAG), Audio-Visual Equipment Rentals (Sound, Projection, Screens) (HSACAFAF), Backline & Musical Instrument Rental (MPAGAKAJ)

Keywords

• Audio visual services
• Event equipment rental
• Concert production
• Live event technology
• Tradeshow services

Headquarters

HQ city

Delta

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices12 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Equipment Rentals: Rental of audio visual equipment including microphones, projectors, speakers, LED walls, sound systems, lighting, staging, rigging gear, and mobile stages. Equipment delivered, set up, and operated by SW technicians.
2. Event Services: Full-service event production including technical support, project management, design consultation, on-site technicians, live streaming, broadcast production, and event planning services.
3. Custom Exhibit and Tradeshow Services: Custom booth design, sponsor activations, tradeshow planning and mapping, carpet and drape services, modular hardwall booths, and event power services through partnership with Showtime Event & Display.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SW Event Technology provides audio visual equipment rental and full-service event production for corporate conferences, galas, concerts, festivals, sporting events, press conferences, virtual events, and tradeshows across Canada. The company supplies, delivers, sets up, and operates professional AV equipment including sound systems, LED walls, lighting, staging, and broadcast cameras with its own in-house team of project managers, technicians, and designers. It also offers specialized equipment such as mobile LED screen trailers, arena rinkboard LED ribbon screens, and SW Backline musical instrument rentals for touring artists.

Product overview

SW Event Technology operates as a single unified audio visual event services company offering comprehensive event technology solutions across Canada. The portfolio centers on event production services spanning corporate conferences, galas, concerts, press conferences, virtual events, sporting events, and tradeshows. Supporting these services is a rental division providing AV equipment (microphones, speakers, projectors, LED walls), specialized mobile LED video screen trailers, arena rinkboard LED ribbon screens, and SW Backline for musical instrument and amplifier rentals. The company powers virtual events through the InEvent platform integration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Showtime Event & Display: Partnership brand providing exhibits and tradeshow services, custom booth and sponsor activation design, and tradeshow-specific equipment rentals.

Products and services

• Corporate Conferences & Meetings Audio Visual Services Full-service audio visual solutions for corporate events including initial consultation, pre-event planning, equipment delivery and setup, onsite technical support, and equipment pickup for meetings and conferences of any size.
• Galas & Social Events Audio Visual Services Professional AV services for galas and social events including microphones, projectors, cameras, video screens, elegant lighting systems, LED walls, and audio systems for fundraising galas and corporate celebrations.
• Concerts & Festivals Audio Visual Services Complete audio visual supplier services for concerts and music festivals including full sound systems, mobile staging, lighting, LED walls, and broadcast cameras for touring artists and festivals.
• Press Conferences & Media Services Audio visual services for press conferences including professional microphones, sound systems, television lighting, LCD/LED screens, teleprompters, and live streaming for media events.
• Virtual Events & Live Streaming Virtual and hybrid event solutions powered by the InEvent platform featuring user registration, ticketing, analytics, live chat, polls, virtual sponsor booths, and multi-camera broadcast production.
• Sporting & Community Events Audio Visual Services AV services for sporting events including massive video screens, perimeter LED advertising boards, arena lighting, fan zone concerts, and sports broadcast services with multi-camera live coverage.
• Exhibits & Tradeshows Services Comprehensive tradeshow services including custom booth design, LED screens, sound systems, truss structures, carpet, drape, modular hardwall booths, and logistics for trade shows and consumer shows.
• Audio Visual Equipment Rentals Rental equipment including wireless and wired microphones, PA speakers, sound systems, audio mixers, DJ equipment, projectors, screens, TV screens, LED screen trailers, truss, lighting, staging, and décor.
• SW Backline Services Professional backline equipment rentals for musicians including instruments (Yamaha, Pearl, Korg, Nord, Roland), amplifiers (Fender, Marshall, Ampeg, Peavey, VOX), and full-service delivery, setup, and strike.
• Mobile LED Video Screen Trailer Hydraulic LED screen trailer with 7m x 4m size (28 square meter surface area), 4.81mm or 5.9mm pixel pitch options, capable of setup in 15 minutes after parking.
• Arena Rinkboard LED Ribbon Screen Ultra-thin, flexible LED foil display designed to attach to arena boards, IP66 weatherproof rated, lightweight (10 times lighter than conventional LED), eco-friendly with low power consumption, manufactured in Germany.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,000+ events delivered per year across Canada
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Showtime Event & DisplaycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1991Acquired in 1991, Showtime Event & Display is now part of the SW Event Technology group, providing comprehensive exhibit and tradeshow services. Together they form a one-stop shop for outstanding and cutting-edge event technology services.
• CAVPA (Canadian Audio Visual Providers Association)coreOthersSW Event Technology is a member of CAVPA, the Canadian Audio Visual Providers Association. Membership indicates industry standards compliance and professional certification in the AV industry.
• AVIXAcoreOthersSW belongs to AVIXA, an association leading the world with all the necessary resources: AV standards, certification, training, market intelligence, and thought leadership.
• InEvent (Virtual Event Platform)coreTechnology or IntegrationSW's virtual event platform is powered by InEvent, offering advanced features including user registration, ticketing, analytics, user engagement, polls, and scalability for massive online audiences.
• Showtime Event & DisplaycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSW Event Technology together with Showtime Event & Display provides a wide range of trade show specific services and equipment rentals, from large industry trade shows to smaller consumer shows.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Production Resource Group (PRG): PRG is one of the world's largest entertainment production and AV technology companies providing lighting, audio, video, and rigging for concerts, tours, live events, and broadcasts. It directly competes with SW for concert tour work (e.g., Styx, Blue Rodeo-class productions) and shares the equipment-rental-plus-services business model.
• Solotech: Solotech is a Montreal-headquartered Canadian AV equipment rental and event production company offering audio, lighting, video, and rigging for concerts, corporate events, and broadcast, with a very similar full-service model and Canadian footprint to SW Event Technology. It is the most direct head-to-head peer in the Canadian market.
• AVW-TELAV: AVW-TELAV is a Canadian audio-visual and event technology provider offering equipment rental, staging, and production services across meetings, conferences, and live events. As a Canadian peer with overlapping corporate and live-event focus, it competes with SW for the same enterprise customers in overlapping geographies.

Broad incumbents

• Encore Global: Encore Global (formerly PSAV) is the largest provider of audio-visual event technology and production services in North America, serving hotels, conferences, and corporate events with a model and customer base closely overlapping SW's corporate events segment. As a much larger incumbent, it competes for the same enterprise accounts but at greater scale and broader geographic reach.
• Freeman: Freeman is a leading North American brand experience and event production company delivering AV, exhibits, and event technology for trade shows, corporate events, and conferences. It competes directly with SW's exhibits/tradeshows and corporate events business but operates at materially larger scale with a U.S.-anchored footprint.
• Diversified: Diversified is a large global AV integration and event technology solutions provider serving corporate, broadcast, and live event customers with audio, video, lighting, and unified communications. While primarily an integration firm, its live event and broadcast capabilities overlap with SW's broader event production services.

Regional players

• Hotopp Direct: Hotopp is a Calgary-based audio-visual production and event services company serving corporate, association, and government events across Western Canada. It is comparable to SW as a regional Canadian AV production peer with overlapping customer segments in Alberta and Western Canada.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/sweventtechnology
• Xx.com/sweventtech
• Facebookfacebook.com/sweventtechnology
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sw-event-technology

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SW Event Technology