UK - Richard Martin Lighting (RML) has announced the addition of the Philips Vari-Lite VL6000 Beam to its hire stock, the first rental house in the UK to do so. The VL6000 Beam has been designed as a mid-air effects fixture, setting a new standard in its class. With a large 14” front aperture, which uses an exclusive Philips ellipsoid reflector array system, the unit products a retro style searchlight effect with a tight collimated beam of light at 6.4°, which exceeds 55,000 lumens. Its lightweight robust construction and stylish compact design allows the fixture to be transported and installed easily, while its visual effects and weather guarded design - for limited protection from rain - offer something versatile and truly spectacular for arena applications. Created to be lightweight but robust, with an elegant compact design, the unit is easy to transport
Germany - ADB, the Osram group company specialized in theatre and TV studio lighting, has appointed NLT Professionelle Beleuchtungstechnik as sole distributor of its products in Germany. NLT was founded on the commitment of two experts in the professional lighting field: Berthold Jäger, who has worked in the industry since 1986 and who was head of the ADB office in Germany for a few years, and Mario Sprengel, who has had several experiences in professional lighting system design since 1992. Both have also worked for years as lecturers at the graduate schools in Hamburg and Munich. “The choice of NLT as ADB's partner for the German market seemed natural to us all," said Simone Capeleto, ADB CEO. "Berthold and Mario have dealt with promoting ADB for many years, and continuity is important to our customers. NLT has an excellent reputation and ensures the best technical
Germany - In response to the growing interest in its fixtures and video panels in Germany, Chauvet Professional has announced the completion of a distribution agreement with Fischer Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH. An entertainment technology specialist with bases in Bremen, Berlin and Munderkingen, Fischer will supply Chauvet Professional products to rental and install houses in the German domestic market and beyond. The deal marks a significant milestone for Chauvet, as it is the first time that Chauvet Professional fixtures will be available through official channels in the German market. “We are extremely excited to be teaming up with Fischer,” said Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet. “In Fischer, we have found an experienced industry partner with the knowledge, infrastructure and distribution network necessary to cover and serve Europe’s largest domestic market. We look f
The Netherlands / Germany - Huss Licht & Ton have become distribution partner for Prolyte in Germany. Starting to sell trussing and stage decks, they aim to become a full-fledged Prolyte distributor, offering their customers the complete Prolyte product range. Recognising Prolyte Group as a leading truss brand Huss contacted Prolyte to discuss partnership, based on their wish to offer its customer base a complete bandwidth of products. As Thilo Huss comments: “In our complete range of high-end event technology brands, we could not miss a brand like Prolyte as leading truss manufacturer”. (LSiOnline)
UK - Pearce Hire had good cause to celebrate earlier this month with a winning week at two prestigious industry awards ceremonies. For the third year running, Pearce Hire was shortlisted at the Total Production Awards 2017 for Favourite Power Supply Company and whilst they were unsuccessful in being announced the winner, Pearce Hire was proud to have been nominated, shortlisted, and recognised for their work. Later the same week, Pearce Hire was once more in the spotlight having been shortlisted at the 2017 Event Production Awards for Green Supplier of the Year and Best Temporary Supplier of the Year. These important awards for the live and outdoor events industry saw Pearce Hire crowned winners of the Best Temporary Supplier Award, with a Highly Commended in the Green Supplier of the Year category. “We are extremely proud of our award,” comments Shaun Pearce, MD
Spain - Community Professional Loudspeakers is pleased to announce the appointment of SeeSound as its distributor for Spain and Portugal. Based in Barcelona, SeeSound was founded in 2004 with the aim of delivering the best service and technical support, accompanied by a portfolio of premium brands that would provide consultants and installers with a complete range of solutions for projects. SeeSound represents over 25 leading pro audio brands, including AVID, DPA, Powersoft, Optocore, Symetrix and XTA. Community’s EMEA sales manager, Jamie Ward, commented, “Lead by Nacho Alberdi, SeeSound is a leading distributor with an experienced sales department, an innovative and highly skilled project and engineering department, and a solid administration and logistics department. They are an ideal choice for Community and we look forward to working closely with the team in Spain a
UK - Creative Technology Ltd (CT) is pleased to announce that following the acquisition of the company by NEP in January 2017, the UK division of sister company Mediatec will be merged with and rebranded CT from 1 April 2017. Mediatec UK has been providing LED screens and associated production services to a small portfolio of prestige clients across the sporting and corporate event sectors since 2003. The merger with CT will allow the team access to a significantly larger pool of technical and operational resources. The business will continue to operate from its current premises in Sunbury on Thames during the busy summer period, however it is expected to relocate to CT’s Crawley headquarters during the second half of 2017, allowing the combined business to fully realise the opportunities arising from collective resources. Dave Crump, CEO of CT Group commented:
UK - Founded in 2006 by Central School of Speech & Drama graduates Kris Box and Marc Callaghan, Liteup Events is a company specialising in both live music and corporate events. The team at Liteup pride themselves on the quality of their customer service and being able to provide a comprehensive range of services including event production, technical support, equipment hire and concept design. So, when Box and Callaghan discovered that they urgently needed a new lighting console for a client’s upcoming tour, they took the opportunity to visit the Ambersphere Solutions stand at PLASA where they discussed their requirements with Thor André of technical sales. “When we went to PLASA, we knew that we wanted to invest in MA control, explains Box. “Whilst there we received a call that really gave us the green light to go ahead with an order. Having the opportunity
USA - VDC Trading, the company behind Van Damme cable, has announced a distribution agreement with Fingerprint Audio, a USA-based distributor of pro audio equipment for North and South America since 2009. The agreement sees Fingerprint Audio take on VDC’s entire range of Van Damme audio, fibre, data and video cables, including bulk, manufactured and packaged cables and act as distributor covering the entire USA market with immediate effect. Commenting on the agreement, Niall Holden, CEO of VDC Trading, said, “Fingerprint are an excellent distribution partner for our Van Damme cable range in the USA. With their expertise in audio and MI, they are well positioned to extend our reach and penetration across the US national market. We are delighted to be working with the team.” Josh Thomas, general manager of Fingerprint Audio, added, “Van Damme cable is known the
China - With an already successful presence in Asia thanks to a joint venture and historic distributors, French loudspeaker manufacturer APG took advantage of the recent Prolight+Sound Guangzhou trade show to announce new partnerships around APG North East Asia, the company’s joint venture in Hong Kong. The first expansion is evidenced in China where APG welcomed TRAudio, who will share responsibilities with APG’s historical Chinese partner BVCam. “This partnership with TRAudio will focus on the entertainment sector, while BVCAM will keep doing the amazing job they have done for years in every other markets,” explains Raymond Wong, managing director of APG North East Asia. “Being based in Guangzhou since 2011, TRAudio is ideally positioned to help us grow the brand in the entertainment market and in particular in the club scene, while giving the APG brand a more co
South Africa - Green Hippo, manufacturers of the Hippotizer Media Server range, have appointed DWR Distribution as South African distributor. Hippotizer Media Servers have been on some of the most highly recognized events worldwide, including Eurovision, The Academy Awards and the Super Bowl half-time shows. Theatre spectaculars such as Love Never Dies in the West End and American Idiot on Broadway utilise the system due to its flexibility during production periods and concert tours for artists such as Beyoncé, Jay Z, and Madonna have proven its reliability out on the road. This May, in conjunction with Green Hippo, DWR Distribution will be heading out for the South African Hippotizer roadshow, visiting Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. This roadshow will showcase the latest developments from Hippotizer V4, including SHAPE 3D Mapping and their creativ
Sgt. Pepper Promotion - The Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 50 years ago this week – and it remains widely regarded as the best rock and roll album concept of all time. To mark the anniversary, the city of Liverpool is to host a huge cultural celebration, called Sgt. Pepper at 50: Heading for Home from Thursday 25 May to Friday 16 June. The council has invested £750,000 of National Lottery funding through its Ambition for Excellence scheme to fund the celebration. The events include: When I’m 64 - A mass sing-along - broadcast live on radio - of 64 choirs from across the city and of all ages. With an inter-generational theme, the event will focus on what age really means to anyone who is between 14 and 64. Lucy in The Sky with Diamonds - A light festival on an Olympic scale, with music and fireworks, in
Colombia - Czech moving light manufacturer Robe has announced AV Com as its new Colombian distributor. Based in Bogota the vibrant capital of Colombia, AV Com is well known in the world of professional broadcasting, video and installations, and “ideally placed to move Robe forward in this key LATAM country,” says Guillermo Traverso, Robe’s regional sales manager for Latin America. AV Com was founded in 1999 and is headed by Camilo Aranguren who has been in the show and entertainment industry all his working life since the age of 19. AV Com has a reputation as a top-level supplier to leading rental companies and installation projects. They already have several premium audio and video brands in their portfolio, including L-Acoustics, Avid, Sennheiser, Focal and Grass Valley and had been looking for some time for the right moving light brand to add. “I have
Europe - Pre-launched in 2015, Alcons Audio’s LR28 larger format pro-ribbon line array is an attractive solution for audio rental companies who service festivals throughout the summer season. The first to invest in the system was Trondheim Lyd AS and, after two summers of using it, the company could not be happier. “In 2015 we needed a new system, because one of our customers wanted to start using a new outside amphitheatre,” says Hege Strand-Nustad, Trondheim Lyd CEO. “We also needed a system that had a longer throw than the others available. Our technicians went out and listened to several products, but when they heard the Alcons LR28 they came back and said ‘We can stop looking, this is the one’.” With fully-predictable linear response behaviour, perfect intelligibility and identical tonal balance at any volume, the Alcons pro-ribbon technology in the
Korea - Renowned Korean rental company, Blessway, now has models from the entire Allen & Heath digital mixer line up in its hire stock, following the recent investment in a dLive S Class system. Located in Daejeon, one of the country’s major cities, Blessway has purchased a dLive S7000 Surface and DM48 MixRack fitted with a Waves V3 card. The company now covers the whole spectrum of Allen & Heath mixers from the compact Qu to the flagship dLive. “Our first digital purchase was the GLD-80,” explains Blessway’s CEO, Jongyul Lee. “I liked A&H's unique warm sound, quality FX, and fully customisable fader strips. We invested in a Qu-16 to use at small events, and to coincide with the acquisition of a new PA system to cover larger venues, we bought dLive. “I think dLive's most powerful strength is its ability to grow through firmware updates, a
Germany - As KV2 Audio prepares for its annual pilgrimage to the 2017 Prolight+Sound Show in Frankfurt (Booth J20 Hall 3.1), this year brings with it another milestone in the company’s history. In 2002, KV2 began its journey in a small cottage tucked away in the forests of Southern Bohemia near the Czech town of Milevsko. In January of 2003, the ES System was released at the Anaheim NAMM show and the rest as they say is history. As the company celebrates its 15th birthday, its growth reflects the success it has enjoyed. Now housed in a 9,000sq.m state of the art, custom-built factory in Milevsko, KV2 manufactures everything in house except transducers which are still brought from Italy. It is a far cry from the initial beginnings, when everything was sourced from third party manufacturers and reflects the company’s commitment to achieving the best possible quality
South Africa - Eventech has taken delivery of a DiGiCo S21 live mixing console. "The rental market companies and technical riders demanded it," said Wynand Veldsman from Eventech, a rental company based in Centurion. "We are thrilled as the unit is fast, flexible, offers ease of use, compact and has versatility with the D-Rack. Gone are the days of having a big, bulky console. The processing is amazing – it just never runs out." The DiGiCo S21 was supplied with back-up and support by South African distributor, DWR Distribution. "The best part of selling DiGiCo consoles is seeing the pure delight from the audio engineers who receive them," said Kyle Robson of DWR. “The S21 is our best seller, and while it initially took DiGiCo about three years to develop the console, it was well worth the wait. Thank you to Eventech for your support and we hope this unit will work hard f
Mexico - Chauvet Mexico has opened a new office, warehouse, service centre and showroom facility in response to “rapidly increasing demand for its products among dealers and rental houses”. Speaking at the ceremony, Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet, thanked Carlos Zamora de Martino, general manager of Chauvet Mexico, and the entire Chauvet team. “The hard work, enthusiasm and talent that so many people have devoted to Chauvet Mexico has been remarkable,” he said. “We know that the tremendous results that we have achieved in Mexico the past year could not have been possible without contributions from so many people, and we deeply appreciate their efforts.” Over 100 assembled guests representing dealers and production houses joined Albert and Berenice Chauvet at the grand premiere festivities, which featured a buffet dinner, speeches and DJ entertainment.
UK - The European RDM and sACN Developers Conference and Plugfest for 2017 will take place Wednesday 26 through Friday 28 April, in the UK, at Gatwick Manor, London Road at Lowfield Heath, just south of Gatwick Airport. The Developers Conference provides a European forum for manufacturers, designers, consultants and prospective users; and aims to ensure that the adoption of standards achieves the desired levels of interoperability and reliability. Conference sessions will cover the understanding, implementation and use of the published E1.20, E1.37-1 and E137-2 RDM standards. Other projects in the current ESTA Technical Standards Program such as “E1.33 : RDMnet” and the E1.37-5 and E137-4 extensions will also feature. Updates on Art-Net and RDM will also feature. The Plugfest is a hands-on opportunity for product developers to try out their hardware and code
UK - Audiologic has secured the exclusive UK distribution for Swedish-based manufacturer SONAB which manufactures System 9, a premium wireless sound system, principally designed for use in the retail, office and hospitality sectors. Using the power available from existing track lighting systems, SONAB System 9 delivers an easy-to-set-up, highly flexible system that connects via a transmitter to any available sound source to deliver a high-quality audio experience. Changing speaker positions within a room or even moving the system to an entirely new location is as easy as clipping and unclipping speakers from the track. SONAB is firmly established in Scandinavia and Northern Europe, where the company's products can be found in a host of applications from prestige car showrooms and hotels to department stores and art galleries. This partnership with Audiologic wil
The Netherlands - Martin Audio has extended its long relationship with De Oosterpoort concert hall in the northern Dutch university city of Groningen, by upgrading the W8LC compact line array, that had served it so well for 14 years, with a new MLA Compact. The installation was again carried out by Ampco Flashlight Sales (AFS), and the man responsible for commissioning the earlier Martin Audio compact line array, Oosterpoort technical manager, Pieter Stove, was again responsible for the upgrade. Known for its vibrant cultural and musical nightlife, Groningen is also the city where one of the largest European music festivals is held every year, called Eurosonic Noorderslag. During this festival the venue hosts up to 3,500 visitors of which 1,850 are packed into the large room. And it was with this event in mind that Pieter Stove decided it was time for the old
Diversity Programme - Improving diversity and protecting local authority funding are at the forefront of UK Theatre’s business plan for the next four years. The plan from the membership organisation, which sets out its objectives for 2017-2021, describes its aim to improve the diversity of theatre and the performing arts as “a significant priority”. The organisation commits to working with Tonic Theatre, Equity and other stakeholders to publish a planning tool for the casting process in order to improve diversity on stage. It will also establish a ‘board bank’ of professionals from black, Asian and minority ethnic, disabled and low socio-economic backgrounds to assist organisations in addressing the diversity of their boards. Another focus in the business plan is addressing the increase in live-to-digital theatre. The industry body promises to negotiate a st
USA - Chauvet & Sons LLC has announced the completion of the acquisition of ChamSys Ltd, the Southampton, UK-based designer and manufacturer of lighting controllers. ChamSys provides Chauvet a strong presence in the controller market that complements its Chauvet Professional lighting fixtures and LED video panels. “We are very excited about the opportunity to join forces with ChamSys,” said Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet & Sons LLC. “ChamSys has a well-deserved reputation for innovation, quality and value, the same principles that are at the heart of our own Chauvet brands. Together ChamSys and Chauvet are now in a position to better cover and serve worldwide markets.” ChamSys will continue to operate as an independent business unit from its facility in Southampton, UK. ChamSys founders Chris Kennedy and George McDuff will remain as managing directors
Germany / China - EZPro International Technology Limited has been appointed as the Hong Kong, China and Macau distributor for Pan Acoustics, the advanced steerable audio specialist from Wolfenbüttel in Germany. Alan Ho, senior VP business development of EZPro explained their choice of Pan Beam, “With many column speakers available in the market over more than 15 years, many companies have engineered their own solutions as part of an existing range of products in an attempt to tap into the growing market. “We have been looking at the various solutions available in the market and all had their strengths and weaknesses - heavy, big, difficult to set up - so we were looking for a company that was specialised in steerable products but also offering a slim line of passive speakers, that had leading technology and the feature set that the market needed. “W
