Industry giant William F. White International (WFW), the premier supplier of film equipment and studio space in Canada, has received a unique 60th birthday gift: it’s being renamed Sunbelt Rentals Film and Television.

While that’s hardly a surprise, given that U.K., U.S., and Canadian-based equipment supplier Sunbelt Rentals has owned WFW since 2019, what’s interesting is how sanguine the principals at WFW are at the prospect.

Chief operating officer and EVP of WFW Garin Josey (pictured right) says there has been “a really elegant, well thought out transition, where our clients and team will understand the greater strength of what Sunbelt as a film and TV global brand brings, while at the same time embracing our history.”

Having been at WFW for 23 years, Josey is very protective of the company and its image. But he’s just as bullish about the future of Sunbelt – which includes being a major supplier of state-of-the-art film and VR equipment in the U.K., U.S. and Canada.

Josey’s reasoning is based on experience: he says WFW and its employees have been treated brilliantly since Sunbelt’s takeover in December 2019… which was possibly the worst time to buy a business anywhere in the world.

Despite the devastating rise of COVID mere months later, he says Sunbelt was endlessly supportive of WFW’s staff and crew with no permanent employee being laid off during the pandemic.

Josey and Paul Bronfman (pictured left), who recently stepped down as senior advisor and co-chairman after his 34-year tenure at the company, know that Sunbelt’s patience is being tested again as another crisis – labour stoppages – has hit hard, with WFW and every company in the film and television business being badly affected. Bronfman is characteristically forthright: “It’s the perfect storm. There hasn’t been an actors and writers strike simultaneously since 1960. We are, along with other businesses, collateral damage.”

The impact at WFW, which controls over 1.55 million square feet of studio space and rents a significant volume of film and television production equipment in Canada, has been devastating, according to Josey.

“Productions that were underway have paused and so have those that were being planned,” he explains. “Many have extended their start dates, if they even have one, to the tail end of this calendar year or early into next. There is so much uncertainty right now. In North America, I think everyone in our business, whether you’re on set, supplying equipment like we do, or supplying studios like we do, is being dramatically impacted. That includes postproduction visual effects. It is literally COVID all over again for us.”

Despite all that, he remains upbeat, thanks to new opportunities the company is creating in the U.K., with its “significant” local client base largely protecting Sunbelt U.K. Film and TV Group from the impact of the dual U.S. strikes, according to Josey.

Sunbelt, listed publicly as Ashtead Group PLC, boasts itself online as the U.K.’s largest equipment rental provider. The company generated US$9.7 billion in global revenue in fiscal 2022/23, and employed more than 25,000, according to its annual report. And its remit goes far beyond film. According to its website, it offers a “range of products and services, such as general tools, air compressors and accessories, compaction and earth moving, climate control services, power and HVAC, pump solutions, remediation and restoration and flooring solutions.”

Plus, WFW got a boost in the region thanks to Sunbelt Rental U.K.’s recent purchase of four companies: PKE Lighting, which provides television and photographic lighting and equipment; Movietech Camera Rentals, a camera rental specialist; the succinctly described Alpha Grip; and Media Access Solutions, which provides heavy machinery and work platforms.

“We’ve now got a strategy similar to what we’ve got in WFW, which is multiple lines of business providing turn-key service,” says Josey.

Continuing traditions and new priorities

One of the areas Josey is especially keen to have Sunbelt tackle are “green” issues. “Everyone’s talking about sustainability,” he says. “With Sunbelt, we are going to take a huge leap forward in that area, both on alternative power with regards to battery systems [as well as emerging technologies in the clean energy space]. We are in the clear position to be a leader in that space, both for film and TV.”

WFW is already an industry leader in Canada when it comes to helping develop crews that thrive technically and, especially in recent years, are notably more diverse in background. Expect that involvement to continue. For example, the company is a supporter of POV Film, which trains members of the BIPOC, 2SLGBTQIA+, newcomer and refugee communities to become media workers.

“They offer studio space. They also offer us equipment. They offer some training sessions,” says Hamza Bangash, POV’s program director. “Recently, we were shooting a documentary thesis project on an Amira camera. They allowed us to go over hours. They offer a huge level of care and professionalism and support during all steps of production. It’s really a game changer for the new kind of diverse future of the film industry.”

WFW also plans to continue its commitment to the Canadian Society of Cinematographers (CSC) and the cinematography community; one that goes back to Bronfman’s partnership with Oscar-winning cameraman Vilmos Zsigmond (Close Encounters of the Third Kind) and his Hungarian company, Sparks, back in 1991.

Executive director Susan Saranchuk says, “CSC Toronto is physically in William F. White’s building. We have our own large room with a big logo on the door that is a gift from them to us, which is fantastic. We hold most of our workshops there. They have supported us through equipment for all our educational programming, and they’ve heavily supported our awards over the years as well.”

One area that WFW plans on continuing to expand is in the area of virtual production. WFW has become a leader in the field and there are no plans to take the foot off the gas. Says Josey, “We think technology is going to continue to improve to make it even more cost effective for our clients to utilize.”

WFW’s key partnership with Pixomondo, a leader in the VR field that has already garnered Academy and Emmy awards, has led to the creation of the immense Stage Six studio for VR at WFW, which is shaped like a horseshoe (72 feet across) with a ceiling height of 24 feet. The effect is awesome with its stage being 22,500 square feet with an LED volume of 5,500 square feet.

“We recently had a massive virtual production workshop at WFW’s stage and on their virtual wall. And it was huge,” says CSC’s Saranchuk “If it wasn’t for WFW, there’s no way we could have done it – and it was spectacular.”

Bangash’s experience with having POV work at the new facility was similarly uplifting. “We do some of our workshops at WFW. We have a workshop where we give locations PA training. It was incredible for the students to be in a space where they’ve got equipment from Titanic and all these huge productions. I see their eyes open and it really gives them a scope of what it means to be a part of this industry.”

Filmmakers can expect WFW’s commitment to a virtual future to continue. “We are looking at opportunities to expand beyond Canada in the virtual production space,” says Josey. “We’re excited to be on the cutting edge of technology in the film and TV space.”

So, all things considered, maybe it’s not all that surprising that Josey finds himself feeling pretty optimistic on this the 60th anniversary of the company.

“The future looks amazing,” he says. “We’re moving forward with global film and television branding throughout the remainder of this year.”

This story originally appeared in Playback‘s Fall 2023 issue

Images courtesy of WFW