Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

Rigging / Staging

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South Africa - Gearhouse (PTY) Ltd and Ashraf Omar (AV Network) this month announced the launch of a new company, Inhouse Venue Technical Management (Pty) Ltd (IVTM). Part of the Gearhouse group of companies, Inhouse VTM was formed to facilitate the supply and management of technical equipment and personnel within key venues across the Western Cape. The service enables venues to rent in the latest equipment and technical expertise without incurring expensive capital outlay. Cutting edge lighting, audio, staging, audio visual, daylight screens, power and rigging equipment coupled with experienced technical staff ensure that the event is seamless and there is also the additional benefit of an onsite branch to resolve any last minute eventualities.

The joint venture is the culmination of years of discussion between Inhouse managing director Ashraf Omar and Gearhouse directors, whic

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UK - For the 12th successive year, Hawthorns were contracted by East Midlands based The Christmas Company to provide the technical solution for it's Christmas party events held at Marquee venues in Bracknell, Leicester and Nottingham.

The Christmas parties take place over 20 nights in December and attract up to 1200 guests per night at each venue.Each Marquee is individually themed for the parties, with Bracknell hosting One Night in Bangkok, Leicester with its Russian-themed Gatecrash the Kremlin and Plunder the Pyramids in Nottingham.

Hawthorn provided all lighting, sound (Bracknell only), power distribution, drapes, star cloths (not Bracknell) and rigging.

80 days of manpower and effort were required by the Hawthorn team to rig each marquee and 30 days for de-rigging once the party schedule has been completed. Furthermore, Hawthorn provided operating

Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

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UK - Just a week before the second anniversary of his arrival at Total Solutions Group (TSG) and Mervyn Thomas is appointed MD of Total Fabrications Ltd (TFL). "If more evidence were needed of the impact this man has had, this is it," said Group chairman Chris Cronin. "He's a great team leader, a superb operations manager; I have every confidence in him."

Thomas was equally enthused, commentin: "This will relieve Chris of the day-to-day running of TFL," he said, "leaving him free to concentrate on what he does best; steering TSG strategically, and addressing the increasingly complex engineering demands placed upon us. So much of our work is now project led, and that's where Chris excels; with enough metal you can engineer your way out of any problem, but Chris creates elegant solutions that are lightweight and efficient."

TFL is the core

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UK - Summit Steel supplied a Kinesys automation system for the English National Ballet's recent UK tour of their acclaimed production, Alice in Wonderland which culminated in a run at the London Coliseum.

Summit was asked by ENB technical director Al Riches to come up with a tourable solution for accurately flying in and tracking the house - a large scenery piece weighting almost a tonne - diagonally across stage at a 45 degree angle; an effect specifically required by the production's choreographer Derek Deane.

Summit's Chris Walker came up with the method of using a vari-speed, position encoded, motorised beam trolley and two Kinesys-modified Lodestar hoists. The system was supplied for the ENB crew to be able to operate it themselves with Summit providing a technician to oversee the installation into each venue.

In previous tours of this production, the house has b

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USA - PRG drew on its experience with theatre and other staged events for the scenic and lighting innovations that helped draw crowds to exhibits for Hyundai, Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge at Detroit's North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). PRG also provided lighting and rigging for press events for other top automakers at the expo, which ran January 7-21 at Cobo Hall.

"Being a broad-based company allows us to draw on a wealth of experience and innovations in all areas and apply these to meet our customers' needs," says Jere Harris, founder and chairman of PRG.

To dramatize the sleek durability of Hyundai Motor America's new concept car, the HCD-10 Hellion, Hyundai asked its partner, Exhibit Works Inc, to design a turntable that tilted while it rotated - an eye-catching contrast to the flat, earthbound motion of typical auto show turntables. Putting Hyundai's ide

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Qatar - Stage One pulled off one of its greatest technical challenges ever, putting their extensive engineering capabilities into practice for both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, in December. Both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies were produced and created by David Atkins Enterprises (DAE) of Australia and told the story of a young man on a voyage of discovery through Asia, guided only by the stars and his Astrolabe.

Stage One was commissioned to supply all the aerial engineering and associated automation for both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies along with three of the Opening Ceremony's' main stage trucks. Working closely with the director of ceremonies and Cultural Events in DAGOC Sharif Hashisho, producer David Atkins, director of design Eamon D'Arcy, technical director Paul Bates and production designer Michael Scott-Mitchell,

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UK - Arena Group, the UK's largest events services supplier, has undergone a management buyout from parent group Evenser. The MBO team is being led by Group CEO David Walley, managing directors Grahame Muir and Joe O'Neill, sales director Dave Withey and finance director Mike Seaman.

Also investing in the group and joining the board as non-executive directors will be Greg Lawless and Dermot Divilly, the industrial investors who have also invested in a number of other event companies including furniture supplier Spaceworks, Well Dressed Tables, Caterhire and Hireall in Ireland.

The Arena Group Companies are recognised as the very best in their respective fields; specialising in the provision of temporary and permanent seating, temporary structures, multi storey hospitality boxes and temporary support systems. Servicing many of the major events held in the sporting, exhibition a

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USA - Tomcat USA has teamed up with Cirque du Soleil once again to provide equipment for Delirium. The show is a live music concert that features remixes of existing Cirque music and reinterpretations of performances from other Cirque productions. Not a traditional Cirque show that plays over multiple weeks in a city at a time under their trademark Big Top tent, this is a multimedia / theatrical production designed to perform in arenas for one or two nights then moving to the next location.

For its part, Tomcat delivered two new curved bridges to be used as replacements for the bridges originally created for the show. These new pieces were specifically designed to be smaller and lighter. With the pre-existing bridges weighing in at approximately 1,200 lbs a piece, the goal of the new design was to cut the size by 25% and weight by 50%.

To achieve this Tomcat designed a

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UK - March once again brings the RSAMD (Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama) Graduate Exhibition and Trade Show (21-22 March, 10.00am - 5.00pm). For two days, final year students of the Technical and Production Arts Course will be exhibiting a broad range of work from their three years of study in the Chandler Studio Theatre.

At the same time, the Academy's main theatre, the New Athenaeum, will become an exhibition space for the Technical and Production Arts Programme's sponsors and suppliers, enabling them to demonstrate and discuss their most recent equipment and products with prospective clients and visitors to the Academy. Companies such as Black Light, Stage Technologies, ETC, MA Lighting, Green Hippo, Selecon, Martin Professional and White Light will be taking part.Alongside this, a range of seminars will also be taking place over the two days, lead by Bernie Davies

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

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

The 2007 project involved the preparation of over 100 points of rigging, for which Summit has supplied 40 of their own Lodestar hoists in addition to using the house hoists.

Summit also designed and installed truss mothergrids, lighting and drape masking trusses, utilising nearly 400m of James Thomas Supertruss. This is needed for Cirque to produce their daring, highly acrobatic production in a Grade One listed venue, as opposed to staging it in their own purpose-built big top.

Before Christmas a

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UK - Showsec has gained SIA Approved Contractor Status (ACS) accreditation in two sectors: Door Supervisor and Security Guarding. With an overall aim of supplying the best customer service Showsec has invested heavily in training and internal business systems over recent years. This was acknowledged during the independent audit during process undertaken to gain the SIA ACS approval, which considered everything from recruitment through training to actions in the workplace. This process involved many key members of Showsec staff who reached (and sometimes exceed) the stringent criteria of the SIA audit requirements.

Managing director Mark Harding said: "I'm very proud of the positive comments we received from the independent assessors that related back to our staff at all levels. Following on from being awarded 'Investors in People' in 2006, this SIA approval re-iterates our

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UK - Star Events Group and SRC have announced that they are combining their mobile stage operations to form what is probably Europe's biggest rental fleet.

"We are always looking for ways to expand our operation so that we can continue to provide our clients with a first class service," says Star Events' group sales director Jane Russen. "There is an obvious synergy between our Star Mobile division and SRC, so when the opportunity to combine our two mobile fleets presented itself, it seemed a logical progression."

Jon Slater of SRC commented, "SRC has always had a good working relationship with Star Events Group. Combining forces in this way can only make our service stronger. We are looking forward to the challenges ahead."

The new alliance will operate from Star Events Group's headquarters. All contact names, numbers, web and email addresses r

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UK - A.C. Lighting has announced a new staff appointment at the company's Northern Sales office in Leeds. Paul Hadfield joins the company's Sales department as rigging and trussing sales executive, providing office and in-the-field support for the company's expanding range of leading rigging & trussing brands.

A well-known face in the industry, Hadfield brings many years of technical experience and industry knowledge to the new role, having previously worked in a variety of entertainment industry sales roles.

Previous roles include working in the Sales department of Tomcat UK supplying CM Lodestars and trussing equipment to a Global network of dealers and working in the rental hire departments of Lifting Gear Hire. Hadfield also gained a knowledge of rigging and various other lifting equipment whilst working in the Sales department at PCM.

Phill Capstick, A.C. Lighting's UK

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USA - The ESTA Foundation's Behind The Scenes has announced The Challenge Grant Programme, an opportunity for donors to see contributions double in value while providing help to peers in their time of need. Established challenge grant slots are currently available for the Behind the Scenes / Long Reach Long Riders 2007 USITT Raffle, March 15 - 17 in Phoenix, Arizona (six openings) and The Long Reach Long Riders 2007 New England Charity Ride, July 29 - August 6 (two openings).

"Our industry's history is full of strong partnerships that have led to technological advances, artistic reaches, and goals we continually strive to achieve," says Behind the Scenes committee chair Rick Rudolph of the new initiative. "Many of these partnerships have also led to lasting friendships that are at the foundation of our industry. We hope that the relationships and partners we work

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UK - PLASA Events Ltd, the new wholly-owned events division of the Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA), has revealed the first details of the PLASA07 Show at Earls Court - including a new layout that extends the show over one floor into both Earls Court 1 and Earls Court 2.

A host of innovations, based on exhibitor and visitor research, are designed to build on the show's reputation as the premier international new product showcase and PLASA Events anticipates a record number of new product launches this September.

The most radical development is the new show floor layout, which sees PLASA07 transformed into a two-hall, single-level show by expanding into the adjacent Earls Court 2. Essentially, this re-draw will secure premium exhibition space for the future growth and expansion of the show, whilst addressing industry and exhibitor demands.

The show design t

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UK / The Netherlands - The Ampco Flashlight Group won the Total Production International Award for 'Favourite International Production Company' in the recent TPi Awards 2007 ceremony at the Novotel hotel, London.

The award, which was voted for by readers of Total Production International (TPi) magazine, reflects the group's strength on the international concert production scene and its reputation for combining top quality service and equipment with constant innovation.

Ampco / Flashlight Group rental companies, both independently and jointly, have provided a wide variety of audio, lighting, rigging and motion control systems for major tours in the past 12 months including Madonna, Black Eyed Peas, Blue Man Group, Coldplay, Lenny Kravitz, Paul McCartney, Rammstein, Mariah Carey, Riverdance and Lionel Richie, and hundreds of festivals including North Sea Jazz, Lowlands and WOMAD

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UK - The Rigging Partnership has designed, supplied and installed the latest capital acquisition of Stage Machinery into the Young Vic Theatre. As part of the Theatre's ongoing investment strategy TRP provided a lockable tracking beam system into the main auditorium, new truss grid systems into their two new studios and chain hoist motors for use in either space.

The Young Vic is one of the most creative venues in the UK having been completely refurbished over the last two years. TRP worked in close collaboration with the Young Vic management and technical team on this important project that will secure the versatility and functionality of the theatre for years to come.

TRP were contracted to design, supply and install 25 bespoke lockable travelling spreader-beams, which provide suspension points to any position in the auditorium. These spreader beams are telescopic, removable

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Portugal - Summit Steel supplied trussing, motors, rigging and automation for a gala dinner and awards ceremony at the 2007 European Sales Meeting (ESM) of a leading US-based medical device company. It was their third year working on the project, which this year was staged at the massive Pavilhão Atlântico (Atlantic Pavilion) arena in Lisbon, Portugal.

Summit's team of six riggers headed by Jon Bray started two days before the dinner. It was just one of a series of events, conferences, seminars, workshops and presentations taking place all around the city. They installed over 300 metres of trussing and 60 conventional motors, plus seven Kinesys-modified hoists, two powered beam trolleys and a Kinesys' K2 control system to fly and move a nine-metre diameter truss. This was used for lighting effects and as a large circular projection screen.

The trussing was used to form three

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USA - The Long Reach Long Riders and The ESTA Foundation have announced their annual raffle to benefit Behind the Scenes at the USITT conference. This popular event will be held on 17 March at the Sapsis Rigging/ESG/Behind the Scenes booth (#525-625) on the trade show floor of the USITT conference in Phoenix. Tickets, which are $5 each or five for $20, may be purchased at the booth throughout the show.

Every dollar raised will be tripled thanks to challenge grants sponsored by I. Weiss and Sapsis Rigging. The list of twelve terrific raffle prizes, which have been donated by industry companies, can be viewed at www.lrlr.org/LRLRsponsors.html or www.estafoundation.org/bts/events_USITT.htm

All proceeds of the raffle go directly to The ESTA Foundation's Behind the Scenes programme, which provides entertainment technology industry members with grants for emergency situations, such

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UAE - The announcement of the fourth all-star annual Dubai Desert Rock Festival at the 30,000-capacity Dubai Country Club in March, is having a profound effect on interest for May's Event 360 expo, an integral part of PALME Middle East.

According to Jonathan Gadalla, project manager for the vertically-integrated show, interest in live music is running at an all-time high in the desert, with international legends such as Iron Maiden, The Prodigy and Incubus heading a Festival line-up that will appear on one of the largest stages in the region. Also included are Junkyard Groove, the winners of SHAMAL (a competition for unsigned rock bands in the region).

Gadalla believes that the world is starting to take notice now that the Middle East is not only attracting leading names in the world of rock, but will also stage a second F1 Grand Prix (in Abu Dhabi) in 2009 - which will

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UK - The ABTT Theatre Show's organisers - The Association of British Theatre Technicians - have announced that its 29th edition has sold out five months before it takes place on 13 and 14 June in London's Royal Horticultural Halls.

Filling all three exhibition halls in London's Royal Horticultural Halls to capacity, the show will again play host to over 100 exhibiting companies who will showcase a comprehensive range of products and services for professionals involved with equipping, refurbishing or up-grading their drama studio, theatre, auditorium or multi-purpose performance space.

Committed to building on the show's success the organisers aim to expand the show's attendance which grew by 5% last year to over 2,400 visitors, and included theatre and venue managers, technical directors, technicians, technical managers, heads of drama departments, architects, consultants, des

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UK - Blackout enjoyed its busiest Christmas ever in December 2006, including supplying drapes to four music awards ceremonies and a further series of three concerts within the space of four weeks.

Within the relentless run-up to the festive season, the Blackout team was called upon to provide black wool serge drapes to a series of prestigious events, all of which were televised.

The hectic period began in Copenhagen, where Blackout supplied drapes to the two venues hosting the MTV Europe Music Awards in November. Blackout then moved on to London to supply black wool serge drapes to the UK Music Hall of Fame event at Alexandra Palace. "We 'black-boxed' the Great Hall and Blackout did an amazing job," says Paul-Anthony Viollet, the event's production manager.

"Working with Blackout is always a pleasure," Viollet continues. "Their profess

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UAE - Stage One demonstrated the its Q-Motion motioncontrol system recently when it was called into action for the 18th Gulf Cup, heldin Dubai. Brought on board by Dubai based production company HQ Creative,the team were tasked with pulling a world class show together just 43 days afterreceiving the go-ahead from the organising committee.

Fortunately, the Gulf Cup followed hot on the heels of the Asian Games, whichhad just taken place in Qatar, meaning that a great deal of the expertise, technicalequipment and skilled personnel were already in the region and available oncethat project was concluded.

Jim Tinsley, technical director for Stage One, says: "The success of this ceremony isdown to sheer hard work. It was pulled off in an incredibly short time scale - onewe wouldn't want to make a habit of! It does demonstratehowever, that we can provide a service that goe

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Switzerland - Based in Wohlen but operating throughout Europe, the media service provider Winkler Veranstaltungstechnik AG has just brought its kinetic equipment up to date by investing in equipment from Movecat (distributed by Think Abele). Winkler now has twenty VMK-S 500-24 hoists, a low-noise model with noiseless brakes, and twenty V-Motion 30 power packs for motors up to 3 kW. The VMK-S hoists have a capacity of 500 kg, raise and lower their loads at speeds of from 0 to 20 metres per minute, and as a closed loop system are capable of achieving a genuine hovering state as well as reversing the run direction without incursion of the brakes.

The two Expert-T controllers used here, which are also from Movecat, were developed for the systemic control of kinetic drives in complex projects where up to 240 fixed- or variable-speed drives may be in use simultaneously. The selected c

  1. Kinesys at The Brits
  2. Hall Stage refurbish Abbey Theatre
  3. Control automation giants join the PALME line up
  4. Behind the Scenes grants for USITT announced
  5. Insight for 5 Star
  6. SGMedia reports strong start in UAE
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Astera - Large MPU - June 2025
Sennheiser - MPU - June 2025

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