UK - Orange announced the winners of their Business Awards earlier this week in a ceremony that paid tribute to the entrepreneurial passion and dedication that goes into making a business truly successful. The 'Excellence in Exporting' category was specifically dedicated to those companies that have "excelled in the international market place and that have understood the importance of overseas growth as a way of expanding their business."

The short listed companies for this category included Stage Technologies, Reynolds Geo-Sciences Ltd, Blue Chip Feed Ltd and Nucoda. Despite this stiff competition, the judges - including Trade Partners UK and Emma Crosby from CNBC - voted Stage Technologies the clear winner, with their international approach and implementation of tradin

UK - Martin Capp has joined the board of Chameleon Audio as sales director, with a brief to raise the profile of the company's products globally. Capp brings with him a wealth of experience, gleaned from more than 20 years in the pro audio sector. Previous positions include sales and marketing manager for DDA, international sales manager for Audio Kinetics, UK sales manager for Tascam TEAC's professional division and, more recently, managing director of Expotus.

Chameleon Audio MD, Paul Houlden, comments: "I am delighted Martin is joining us. He has an excellent track record in the pro audio field and had already made inroads into the Asian market on our behalf while at Expotus."

Says Capp: "I'm looking forward to working with Paul to ensure these British-made amplifiers become established as a major name worldwide. My first priority is to increase awareness of

UK - DHA Lighting's David Hersey has been nominated for Best Lighting Award in the 2003 Laurence Olivier Awards for his design for Tom Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia. "It is an honour to be nominated for this award," said Hersey, whose design for the National Theatre production was unique. William Dudley's set, also nominated for Best Set Design, demanded moving lights to enhance the cinematic effect created by video images, without interfering with the video projection.

The Stoppard trilogy also featured large-format projection, using slides custom-predistorted by Wyatt Enever and Steve Larkins of DHA. After such close collaboration on the plays, DHA is delighted that the production has been nominated for a clutch of awards - also Best New Play and Best Costume Design. The company's products and services also feature in other nominated shows. Trevor Nunn's prod

UK - Slough-based lighting and sound sales specialist Stagetec has two new team members onboard - Rob Whitaker as project manager and Ken Poole as sales and marketing manager. The new appointments come in response to a dramatic increase in already-confirmed sales and installation projects for the company.

Whitaker, an experienced project manager in the pro sound and lighting industry, has recently been co-ordinating the installation of a wide range of systems into theatres and pubs for the Bourne Leisure Group. He also has extensive hands-on experience as a sound and lighting technician in venues nationwide. He'll be working within Stagetec's existing projects team, where he will also be assisting in the production of designs and proposals for new ventures.

Poole has a wealth of over 20 years' experience in sales, marketing and customer care. This will be invaluable for the pr

USA - The Fog & Smoke Working Group, part of ESTA's Technical Standards Program, is starting work on a new standards project, BSR E1.23, Entertainment Technology -- Design and Execution of Theatrical Fog Effects. The standard is intended to offer guidance on the creation of atmospheric effects using glycol, glycerin, or white mineral oil fogs or mists in theatres, arenas, and other places of entertainment or public assembly. The standard will address the planning and execution of theatrical fog effects to avoid problems from excessive exposure to the fog materials or from the obscuration of hazards or safe paths of egress. In addition, the standard is intended to help avoid nuisance triggering of fire detection systems.

People and organizations that might be affected by the development of the standard are invited to become involved in the project by joining the Fog & Smoke Worki

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ETC Halcyon Silent

High End Systems Halcyon Silent builds on ETC’s legacy of fanless automated fixtures by incorporating features from the highly sought-after Halcyon family. Halcyon Silent perfectly balances silent operation with brilliant output of 18,400 lumens and high-impact features. 

For more information visit us at www.etcconnect.com

UK - Autograph Sound Recording, the theatrical sound design and rental specialist, is well known for its work on musical productions, both in the West End and around the world. However, the company is also at the forefront of sound design for a range of straight plays and dramatic productions.

The Duchess of Malfi, which opened at the National Theatre in late January, is just one of many current West End plays which Autograph is working on. Sound for the production was designed by one of Autograph's team of experienced designers Simon Baker, a former National Theatre sound supervisor who was specifically requested to work on the production by director Phyllida Lloyd. This was the first production Baker had designed at the National since joining Autograph in 1999.

The modern dress version of the play features a host of sound effects and subtle uses of music and sound, dr

Italy - Two new loudspeakers from leading Italian manufacturer B&C promise to set new performance standards in bass performance, according to UK distributor Proel (International) Ltd. The 15 TBX 40-8 and the 18 TBX 46 subwoofer offer extreme high power bass handling coupled with exceptional sound quality and reliability. Both feature 4" copper-wound voice coils with inside/outside winding on fibreglass formers, delivering very high thermal capability, which is further assisted by the use of ventilated magnetic assemblies.

Additional features include the use of dual demodulation rings for lower distortion and the employment of aramid fibre-loaded cores to improve acoustic damping and mechanical reliability. Polycotton triple roll surrounds are featured, giving high peak-to-peak excursion, the speakers feature double silicon spider designs and, finally, waterproof coatings ar

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Create new traditions – Cameo P6 - High Output Full-Spectrum Ellipsoidal

Cameo's P6 is a future-proof LED profiler with a powerful 600 W RGBACL engine and 16,000 lumens. It’s an energy-efficient replacement for 2.5 kW halogen profile lights in theatres and venues. With excellent light quality and natural colour rendering, it fits perfectly in theatres, musicals, TV studios, congresses, and live events.

With an LED life of 50,000 hours and low power use, the P6 cuts energy costs and supports the EU’s ‘Green Deal’ goals for climate neutrality by 2050. It also meets updated eco-design rules for lighting.

www.cameolight.com/p6profile

Denmark - The Martin 'egolution' continues with the Ego 03, a one-of-a-kind 250-watt deco effect featuring colorful, ever-changing kaleidoscopic patterns. Similar to a kaleidoscope, you remember, those tube-shaped optical toys that rotate to produce symmetrical designs by means of mirrors and bits of colored glass, the Ego 03 is a visual treat, projecting a varying barrage of psychedelic gobo designs.

The Ego 03 features high precision optics, a specially designed color/gobo wheel, and sharp and detailed kaleidoscopic gobo designs, all in a great looking composite shell. Other features include variable behavior options, selectable auto or music trig, remote operation, switch mode power supply and much more. The Philips ELC/5H, 24V/250W source gives up to 500 hours of operation. A continuous duty cycle and fan cooling means the effect can run continuously with no cool-down time n

UK - As the sun set over Waterloo Bridge on Wednesday evening, the stars came out in force at the Old Vic and the BA London Eye glowed a glorious orange. Two separate events linked by one lighting supplier: The Moving Light Company. At the Old Vic theatre, Elton John played a concert to raise funds to repair the theatre's leaking roof - and also to welcome the theatre's new artistic director, Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey. As well as Elton John, the concert included appearances from Sting, Sinead O'Connor, Lulu, Elvis Costello and Courtney Love.

The lighting designer for the event was Nick Richings. Basing his design around the rig for The Tempest, currently playing at the Old Vic and also using equipment from The Moving Light Company (including DHA Digital Light Curtains and Digital Beamlights, Strand Pirouettes and High End Studio Colors), Richings also brought in ex

USA - Switchcraft Inc, the US manufacturer of connectors, audio and video patchbays and cable assemblies, has strengthened its international distribution by appointing Orbitec to distribute its products to the French broadcast and pro audio markets.

Stephen Waldron, Switchcraft's director of international sales, said: "Orbitec is an established stocking distributor of our products and we are very pleased to enter this enhanced relationship that will provide our audio and broadcast customers with improved product availability, service and support."

(Lee Baldock)

The Netherlands - Prolyte Products, in conjunction with the Stageco Group, have developed a range of stage decks, called Stage DEX, which they claim are among the strongest and most versatile demountable staging systems on the market. The Stage DEX is an efficient and lightweight stage system with high loading capacity. The decks can be assembled quickly and easily and are available in several standard sizes and different heights.

The Stage DEX consists of an aluminium frame with a plywood top bolted and glued to it to reduce noise and vibration. The legs can be fitted to the frame and fixed with one simple handle, without the need for tools. Rails and other accessories can easily be attached to the by inserting a spigot in a pre-bolted hole on each corner of the deck, allowing the rails to be assembled after the decks are built.

Apart from the standard sizes 2 x 1 m and 1 x 1

UK - Event services supplier ARB and international temporary utility supplier Aggreko announced a strategic alliance at the 2003 Event Show in London. Since being acquired by the CSS Stellar Group Plc, ARB has implemented significant restructuring and expansion plans, focusing its various services into specialist divisions to offer clients improved service in all areas.

Aggreko is a world leader in the supply of temporary power, temperature control and oil-free compressed air services and has a track-record of successfully supporting events such as the FIFA 2002 World cup, numerous winter and summer Olympic Games and the 2003 Ski Championship in St Moritz.

This exclusive partnership will see the complementary strengths of both combined to deliver total power, cooling and technical solutions to events of all sizes and type throughout Europe. "The opportunity this link pres

USA - The Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA) has appointed David Taylor, director of project management at Theatre Projects Consultants, to its Board of Directors. A recent vacancy in the position of Affiliate Director allowed ESTA President Mike Wood to appoint David to the Board to fill the remaining two years of the vacated term.

Commenting on his appointment Taylor told us: "Theatre Projects are privileged to specify a huge amount of performance equipment for the US and world markets and we value our close relationships with manufacturers, suppliers and contractors - I look forward to contributing to the ESTA Board and supporting the mission of the diverse ESTA members to create a better, safer and more efficient entertainment market."

Taylor joined Theatre Projects in the UK in 1985, became a project leader in 1989, and a senior consultant

UK - To mark the start of the New Year, Navigator Systems has released a free upgrade to its best-selling rental management software HireTrack Eclipse.

The upgrade - which consists of more than 70 new features - comes in response to customer feedback, and demand for the new version has already been high, with the system now a regular feature of many company's business plans. One such client, Saville Audio Visual, winners of the AV Rental Company of the Year at the AV Awards 2002, has grown its rental turnover by 26% - an achievement "based around the use of HireTrack Eclipse", which is now installed in all 14 outlets. Navigator will be showing the new release at this year's Frankfurt Pro Light+Sound/MusikMesse in March.

(Ruth Rossington)

Spain - Barco last week hosted what has become an annual networking event to the events and Rental & Staging industries - its annual Rental Partner Meeting - in Marbella, Spain. Held at the Meridien Los Monteros Hotel in Marbella from 26-29 January, the three-day event was attended by 120 key commercial and technical representatives from 50 rental and staging companies from across Europe.

Due to the overwhelming response, attendance was strictly by invitation only for Barco's key European Rental Partners, who in line with Barco's Golden Account Strategy, were treated to a carefully-constructed agenda which included hands-on workshops with Barco's proprietary Events Controller and ViewScape, as well as demonstrations of the brand-new SLite 10 and SLite14 LED displays and workshops on the SLM R10 Performer and RLM G5 Performer projectors. As a finale to the three-day event, the Ba

UK - EAW has appointed Sean Martin as European technical sales manger. Martin, one of the UK's most experienced international sales people, claims that the reason he's been in the business for 23 years is because "I just can't seem to get out of it". During that time, he has worked for a number of loudspeaker companies including JBL, Turbosound, Tannoy, Canon and Court Acoustics where he started out as a projects engineer.

Martin commented on his appointment: "Although my recent roles have been in international sales, I look at each system from a technical perspective. Being a member of the Institute of Sound and Communications Engineers certainly helps that aim. I am absolutely delighted to be joining EAW, as it enables me to return to the touring sound market with one of the major loudspeaker brands. It also allows me to continue the relationship I have made wit

UK - Liverpool-based Adlib Audio has taken delivery of the first of Soundcraft's new MH3 consoles. The mixing desk has gone straight out with FOH engineer Steve Cole on a two-month nationwide tour with tribute band 'Rumours of Fleetwood Mac'. The tour is playing a wide variety of town hall and theatre-sized venues, and they had been looking for a versatile and outstanding sounding console for some time, when the MH3 came on stream.

Adlib's Andy Dockerty ordered the 24-channel desk immediately. He knew its high spec and expedient sized footprint were ideal for medium-sized tours such as this one. The console is very dynamic, serving equally well for mixing monitors as FOH, in addition to being keenly priced. The MH3 has many neat features you would expect to find on a more expensive piece of kit, including an extra 4 stereo channels, which can be utilized for stereo keyboards, mi

UK - Skan PA Hire has invested in a DiGiCo D5 Live digital console, adding rock and pop concerts and touring to the brand's fast-growing applications. Skan chose the D5 Live 56E after trying out competitive brands. The console, which can be upgraded from 56 to 96 microphone inputs in the future should the need arise, comes complete with a channel control surface. It includes local and remote DiGi racks which contain the A/D and D/A converters and are connected to the console via optical fibre.

"We chose the D5 Live for its intuitive and simple operation and good features," says Skan PA Hire director Chris Fitch. "We also liked the fact that it was a British product, and had confidence in the DiGiCo sales and support team."

According to Fitch, the decision to invest in a digital console was informed by its customers while reflecting the company's desire to s

France - Le Petit Prince has come back to life in the Casino de Paris Théâtre. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's grand novel is now a journey through worlds of enchantment and colourful characters, a metaphor for man's vices and virtues. The show began on 1 October, 2002 and will run through the end of June 2003. Produced by Victor Bosch/NODO Productions, the show features music by Riccardo Cocciante, with lyrics by Elisabeth Anais, and is directed by Jean-Louis Martinoty.

Jean Kalman served as lighting designer, a lighting artist whose work has appeared onstage at the National Opera of Paris, the Musical Theatre, the Royal National Theatre of London and numerous other theatres, festivals, and concerts the world over for internationally acclaimed artists.

In Le Petit Prince, Kalman demonstrates how recently the possibilities of theatre lighting have expan

Austria - Five giant Lighthouse LED video screens are greeting visitors to the Austrian Tyrol this winter in a networked advertising project by Munich-based advertising specialists City Channel. City Channel run LED advertising billboard sites in a number of European cities, and for this year's ski season decided on five prime locations at leading ski resorts for semi-permanent screen installations, showing a mixture of advertising and TV and satellite broadcasts.

The locations are in the Tyrol region, in the Kitzbuhel area at the Fleckalmbahn ski-lift (800 metres), the top of the Pengelstein ski-lift (1939 metres), by a popular bar in Mayerhofen at the foot of the Penkenbahn ski-lift, nearby at the bottom of the Horbergbahn ski-lift, and at Haus near Schladming at the foot of the Hauser Kaibling ski-lift.

The screens were installed between 11-13 December and will be used thro

UK / France - Anytronics took advantage of the SIEL show in Paris from 2nd - 5th February to launch their new Anycolour stacking light box system on the Areco stand. Their demonstration was based on 12 of the new Anycolour Lightboxes arranged 3 high and 4 wide to give a seamless 2m x 2.6m wall of colour. The light boxes were controlled by the DMX output of an Anycolour ColourDesk controller via a DMX interface to give a wall of attractive and easily-controlled moving colours.

"The entire installation took me less than 20 minutes to unpack and construct from time of arrival on site, thanks to the simple interlocking Lightbox design and the 'plug and play' interconnection system," said Bob Hall, managing director of Anytronics, who was reportedly delighted with the attention that the new product attracted to the stand throughout the show. The Anycolour Lightbox is an ext

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