Sweden - Slingco has installed a CABLEnet tensioned wire grid system into the main auditorium at Helsingborg Theatre in Sweden - giving safe and flexible access to the overstage/above auditorium roof space. It's the first tensioned wire grid in Sweden.

Helsingborg was also the first town in Sweden to open a municipal theatre in 1921. Originally housed in a theatre built in 1877, its current building opened in 1976. Helsingborg Theatre is one of the leading producing and receiving houses in the country.

Rochdale-based Slingco - developers of CABLEnet, the leading product in its genre - was visited by architects Peder Lindbom and Torsten Nobling of Stockholm-based AIX Architects at the PLASA Show in 2004. The pair were leading a major refurbishment programme for the theatre, and were very interested in utilising the CABLEnet technology.

Discussions started in early 2005. Sling

Tomcat went "a little bit country" with the announcement of its new Nashville office, due to open in 2006, headed up by Max Wilson. Combined with the company's depot at United Staging in Connecticut, the Nashville office will enable the company to get closer to its customers, says president Mitch Clark.

Total Structures' CFO Peter Johns was on good form at LDI. Following a tough time for the company, business is on the up again, and at the time of the show, the company was undertaking a major motor show build for Ford at the Cobo Hall in Detroit which, incredibly, is the single biggest job TS has ever done. Johns also reported that Kleege Industries has bought its fourth roof system from the company, which it will be using for the Coachella Festival in California. Other big projects for the company recently have included the provision of towers and a massive 8" steel cable spanning 210ft - all to suspend a small speaker cluster above an amphitheatre - at the Getty Villa in Malibu . . .

Staging Dimensions showed its Pixel Panels, modular interlocking deck pieces with programmable LED technology. The company now also handles the Soft-LED curtain from Main Light Industries.

As we reported in the news last month, Stage Technologies' main announcement at LDI was the opening of a permanent US office in Las Vegas, to be headed by Kevin Taylor. Having contributed extensive stage automation expertise to the major Cirque du Soleil show KA at the MGM Grand (see L&SI May 2005), and with other major projects ongoing, the US office is a timely move for the company. John Hastie commented that the US office is also involved in some film work (the UK office has too - the latest Harry Potter movie being an example). As to LDI, 'pretty quiet' was the verdict.

XLNT gave the official US debut of its Cyberhoist/InMotion 3D motion control system, winning LDI's Rigging Product of the Year Award in the process to add to its PLASA Award for Innovation, won in 2004. The system's two main elements are the InMotion 3D programming and control software and an unlimited number of CyberHoist intelligent motors. The dedicated DataMotion Ethernet network and PowerMotion power distribution system complete the package.

Show Distribution revealed that it has supplied to Tait Towers the biggest Chainmaster Variolift system in the world, for the current Jon Bon Jovi tour. The company also has gear out with the Foo Fighters (due to be covered in depth in L&SI, February 2006) and other music acts.

Columbus McKinnon had its new manual inverted chain hoist, the Hurricane. Available in one-ton capacities, the Hurricane's hand wheel cover rotates 360° for hoist operation in any direction. Also new from CM was the ProCommander Control System, which offers motion control of electric chain hoists, with up to 96 motors, which can be controlled singularly or simultaneously.

On the Rose Brand stand, UK manufacturer Triple E showed 3Way, aimed at venues with lower budgets but with the requirement for a robust, medium-duty track, fulfilling the need for an easy-to-install, simple-to-operate system. Rose Brand also showed Crystal fabric sculptures, and Glassless Mirror, made of a super-reflective film stretched over a sturdy, lightweight aluminum frame.

James Thomas showed PixelArc, a new series of self-contained LED fixtures; the PixelEight, an LED version of the classic Thomas eight-lite blinder; and holographic film for beam shaping and diffusion for all PixelRange products.

Harlequin Floors showed Hi-Shine, its high-gloss, wet-look floor for various applications, especially those that require quick load-ins and breakdowns.

UK - The world-renowned Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) will celebrate its tenth anniversary next week, with a joint event that will also launch Liverpool Performs 2006 - the fourth Capital of Culture themed year.

On Monday 30 January - 10 years to the day since LIPA's inauguration - nearly 250 LIPA students and graduates will take part in a gala performance at Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall.The performance will also herald the official launch of Liverpool Performs 2006 - a 12-month celebration of Liverpool's outstanding track record in the arts, sport and business - the latest in a series of themed years leading up to European Capital of Culture in 2008.

LIPA itself is one of the city's best known success stories, committed to its aim of providing high-quality teaching to prepare students for sustained careers in the industry, either as performers

USA - PRG is pleased to announce that Tim Brennan has re-joined its operations in Las Vegas as sales and customer development executive. Brennan is tapped to develop lighting and theatrical solutions for customers in a variety of markets including theatre, television, concert touring, clubs, and themed environments.

"We're delighted that Tim has returned to PRG," says Jere Harris, PRG's chairman and CEO. "With a wealth of industry experience and resources from his days at Cinema Services and Martin Professional, we look forward to having him continue expanding PRG's business in one of our fastest growing geographical markets."

Brennan got an early start in his entertainment career by accompanying his father, Jim Brennan, founder of Cinema Services, to visit clients at television events and theatres. Before moving to Martin Professional where he was director

Czech Republic - Robe Show Lighting has launched a range of MediaSpinner products. Combining lateral thinking and practical engineering, the MediaSpinners are designed and built to display and rotate banners, screens, flags and assorted other media. Applications include exhibitions, conferences, shows, product launches, corporate events, parties, promotions and any event requiring branding to be displayed in an eye-catching way.

The units are fully DMX controllable and can be run from any lighting desk, or in stand-alone mode. A 4-digit LED display on the base enables onboard programming. Master/slave operation using a serial cable is another simple control option, running multiple fixtures through one unit.

Variable speed rotation in both directions is possible, and smooth and precise movement is guaranteed with the use of 16-bit DMX. A virtually silent cooling system makes R

UK - Software provider Stardraw.com have announced that support for Mode Lighting (UK) Ltd's Evolution system of architectural lighting control products has been incorporated into their ground-breaking new application, Stardraw Control.

Mode Lighting Ltd is part of the Mode Group of companies dedicated to the design and manufacture of electronic products principally for the lighting industry, including architectural dimming systems, electronic transformers for low voltage lighting, electronic convertors for neon and cold cathode lighting, colour-changing lighting and control systems and LED lighting systems.

Stardraw Control is a software-based application designed expressly to control systems that contain diverse products. It generates stand-alone, customized control programs that can manage and monitor any type of addressable equipment from any manufacturer using any protoco

UK - Summit Steel is once again supplying rigging and associated support services for the Cirque du Soleil production of Alegria at the Royal Albert Hall.

It's the sixth Cirque production that Summit has put into the venue, and Alegria was also the first Cirque production which Summit were involved with in the central London venue, back in 1998.

The 2006 project involved the preparation of 104 points of rigging, for which Summit has supplied 40 of their own Lodestar motors in addition to using the house hoists.

Summit also designed a completely new rigging infrastructure, involving the installation of nearly 400m of Summit's James Thomas Supertruss. This was needed for Cirque to produce their daring, highly acrobatic production - normally staged in their own purpose-built big top - into a completely new and different venue. The Albert Hall is a challenging venu

UK - Komedia is Brighton's leading live entertainment venue, weekly playing host to a huge variety of musicians, comedians and other performers. Because of the theatre's demanding and varied schedule, it is crucial that the interior of the venue be versatile and robust. The entire set up regularly needs a complete change around in a matter of hours.

In 2003, Maltbury supplied Komedia with an initial package of Metrodeck when the venue underwent a major overhaul. Because of the theatre's schedule, it truly puts Maltbury's popular staging system to the test. The system is regularly moved around to accommodate the widely differing performances taking place: bands such as Supergrass and The Tiger Lillies, theatre productions for all ages, poetry and stand-up. The Metrodeck system has made this task possible.

Komedia's technical manager Chris Williams says: "This is a very ver

The PLASA Show has today launched its 2006 website. The new site carries extensive information on PLASA06, which will bring the industry live to Earls Court 1 in central London between 10-13 September 2006.The striking new website has been designed to help exhibitors and visitors quickly access everything they need to know about the show. It features an easy-to-use menu system, quick links to essential information such as the exhibitor list and floorplan and a straightforward online registration area where visitors can pre-book their tickets at the reduced rate of £9.00 - a saving of 50% on the on-the-door price of £18.00.Further essential information will be added in the coming months, including details of the seminar programme and Innovation Awards, exhibitor and visitor events, the latest technologies to be previewed and any further new initiatives being introduced at PLAS

UK - The Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) has undergone a major refurbishment programme. As a major part of the this project, the Solent Hall has installed twenty Hall Stage ASM D8++ 1,000kg chain hoists to provide a permanent in-house mother truss for the room's own stage lighting and loading platform for incoming shows & events.

D8++ hoists fulfil the requirements of German safety standard BGV D8+, meaning that once a load has been positioned, no further safety device, such as a load arrestor or secondary safety line is required.

Halls also installed bespoke truss and cable management systems for 96 ways of dimming for the new house LX system in the venue which is owned and managed by Bournemouth Borough Council, operating alongside its sister venues, The Pavilion Theatre and Ballroom and The Pier Theatre to provide some of the best technical facilities in the UK.

(J

UK - Drapes specialists J&C Joel has supplied the acclaimed Yehudi Menuhin School for gifted young musicians, with 14 special acoustic drapes for two levels of its new 315 seat Menuhin Concert Hall.

The funding impetus for the £5 million project came with the death of Menuhin, the school's founder and mentor, in 1999. The new venue was finally completed and opened in January. Lead Architect Mark Foley of Burrell Foley Fischer worked closely with the School's acoustician Bob Essert of Sound Space Design and theatre consultants Anne Minors Performance Consultants.

The Menuhin Hall is a chamber music venue and a daily performance and rehearsal space for school use. The students are primarily string and piano players, however they also participate in school choirs, and student rock groups are starting up. Additionally, the Hall is available to hire for other music events and

Belgium - AMX unveiled at ISE in Brussels three new products to its line of NetLinx integrated controllers. The next-generation NI-2100, NI-3100 and NI-4100 offer "many exciting new benefits for both dealers and end users, including significant reductions to programming time and an enhanced user experience".

The NI-2100, NI-3100 and NI-4100 offer the same form factor as their predecessors, the NI-2000, NI-3000 and NI-4000, while offering twice as much memory and three times more processing power. These increases mean that system programmers can have more resources available to tackle elaborate control system designs.

The controllers are Duet-compatible out of the box. Duet is a dual-interpreter firmware platform from AMX, combining the power of NetLinx with the capabilities of the Java 2 MicroEdition (J2ME) platform.

"I challenged our engineers and marketing s

Sweden - The Nobel Prize Banquet, which follows the Nobel Peace Prize Awards, took place as usual at Stockholm's City Hall. Among those in attendance were the King and Queen of Sweden, and other members of the Royal Family, a host of Nobel Laureates, politicians, dignitaries and VIPs, totalling approximately 1400 guests.

The lighting at this event is taken just as seriously as the prestigious guest list. Not only are there strict rules regarding rigging and visibility, the banquet is broadcast live on Swedish National television's SVT1.

Spectra Stage & Event Technologies in Stockholm supplied creative design and production management services, plus all lighting and AV equipment for visual requirements at the banquet. W-DMX transmitters and receivers were used to control the fixtures. Spectra utilised SGM's latest Giotto Synthesis 700 moving lights, Barco R18s for the projectio

USA - For the fifth consecutive year, Visual Terrain Inc. has successfully produced Organ Power In Concert for the Roland Corporation. This event was held at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, California. This is the eighth annual production in association with other Roland activities surrounding The NAMM Show at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Traditionally, Organ Power is staged with both live and videotaped performances.This year, set designer Edward Marks added another challenging element to the staging with raised turntables and serpentine ramps, creating intimacy to the expansive stage.

To meet the logistic lighting challenge of a revolving set, a large part of the solution according to lighting director Jeff Ravitz is careful coordination and flexibility. "Our goal was to create an intimate setting for each performer and at the same t

Australia - State Automation reports that it has increased its lighting and service focus in Europe, Asia and Middle East over the last few months, to complement its strong commitment to local Australian business. "We anticipate future overseas revenues to rise rapidly, as a result of contract negotiations under way," said new operations director, Patrick Bravard.

Bravard, who has been appointed as State's new operations director, will lead the new phase of the company, and aim to "continue developing high quality and technological advanced dimming and network products to service the entertainment market".

In Europe, the company has recently appointed Eclalux, Enttech and bdl Buro fur Daten & Lichttechnik KG, who join its expanding distribution portfolio as representatives in Paris, Greece and Germany respectively. State Automation will be jointly exhibitin

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