Kansas Grip Supplies Gear and Crew to Productions Across Kansas, From NFL Films to Local Commercials

Kansas Grip is a full-service grip and lighting rental company just outside Wichita. It rents grip, lighting, camera, and production support equipment and provides crew for commercial, corporate TV, and film productions, and it has become the first call for travel crews shooting in the region.

The company grew out of production itself. Kansas Grip began as a production company that kept needing equipment it didn't own. As it built a grip and electric inventory for its own shoots, other local production companies started calling to rent it. The team decided that a rising tide lifts all ships and went into the rental business for good. Almost 15 years later, it pairs well-maintained, industry-standard equipment with what it calls warm, Midwestern customer service and a farm-kid work ethic.

The equipment inventory is the largest in central Kansas and rents by the day or the week, as packages or individual pieces, with expendables such as tape and gels stocked on site. The website's My Equipment List tool lets a producer build a pull list and request a quote from it, and rental terms and forms are posted online. Kansas Grip shares its Maize facility with its sister company Sperra Studios, whose sound stage is also available to productions.

Crew is the other half of the business. With almost two decades of on-set experience, the company maintains a call list of vetted local freelancers and can either supplement a traveling core crew or staff an entire production day in Kansas.

The client list shows the range. NFL Films producer David Malek needed a grip and electric company in Hays and Wichita for the 2023 Amazon documentary Bye Bye Barry and couldn't scout his locations in advance. Owner Neil Bontrager and his crew traveled to both cities, eased his concerns about equipment depth in a remote part of the country, and stayed patient through production changes. "Kansas Grip will always be our first call if we're in that region again," he wrote. The New York Jets' William Hahn used the company for Breece Hall: The Road Back, shot on location in Wichita. Tom Geagan, video production supervisor at Koch Communications Marketing, has worked with Bontrager for seven years and relies on him for all of his grip and gaffing needs, citing his nuanced lighting and problem-solving in difficult situations. KWCH's Edward Gilmer and Derek Lowrey of Derek Lowrey Video Production, a collaborator for a decade, say much the same. Read the full set on the testimonials page.

Kansas Grip is located at 7956 W 45th St N in Maize, Kansas. To request a quote, call 316.729.GRIP (4747), email [email protected], or visit kansasgrip.com.