Germany - Just in time for Prolight+Sound 2012, Sommer Cable is presenting two new product ranges under the Cardinal DVM brand.

The DVM120 Series consists of seven different problem fixers and audio tools for professional live and studio applications. All devices have the same "indestructible, well-conceived and no-compromise housing design" made of a solid 3mm extruded profile.

Due to the front and connection plates recessed by 18mm all controls and connectors - including the active components - are optimally protected against boot kicks etc in the tough daily routine on stage or in the studio

All active devices are equipped with an internal power supply, suitable for operating voltages between 90 and 240V (50/60HZ). The mains supply is provided via a high-quality combined IEC switch/fuse unit. The supplied locking IEC power cord ensures safe contact making.

Qua

Germany - Doughty Engineering is introducing three new products at ProLight+Sound 2012, two of them designed specifically for smaller television studios.

Being seen for the first time is Doughty's all steel Beam Clamp which, with a wide adjustment range of up to 200mm, makes a flexible and versatile rigging point for hoisting equipment, pulley blocks or loads. With a forged eye and a central threaded spindle for easy attachment and safe and secure grip, the Beam Clamp has a safe working load of 1000kg.

Complementing Doughty's Quick Trigger range of clamps, the Baby Quick Trigger clamp is intended for use on smaller truss sizes, adjustable to diameters of 25mm up to 38mm. With TUV approval pending, the Baby Quick Trigger clamp will be available in polished aluminium or satin black.

Doughty is using ProLight+Sound (Hall 9.0, stand E91) to preview its new, lightweight spring Pa

UK - Triple E's Unibeam track System is ensuring the National Theatre's stage scenery travels right this spring for its production of Travelling Light. Since the show opened in January 2012 it has been broadcast to Cinemas worldwide and embarked on a tour of UK theatres, which opened at The Lowry, Salford, on 13 March.

Triple E specified and installed a custom curved Unibeam System that would work equally smoothly in the repertory as well as on tour.

"I was asked to recommend a track system that could be hung with the minimum of pickups, work smoothly and be capable of touring to different sized stages," says David Edelstein, managing director of the Triple E. "The solution was a hand winch rope driven Unibeam track."

Travelling Light, by Nicholas Wright, is a 'love-letter to the movies and an appealingly intelligent evocation of the Jewish

USA - This March, Total Structures' hosted its first ever Outdoor Stage Roof Workshop focusing on aluminium temporary stage roof systems. The primary objectives for this event were safety, education, and to promote discussion within the industry on the correct use of such structures.

This invitation only workshop, targeted solely toward owners and users of Total Structures outdoor stage roof systems, covered topics including system design and engineering, rigging fundamentals, fall protection concerns, equipment inspection and maintenance, and wind and weather hazard preparations.

Held near the company's headquarters and factory in Ventura, California, this workshop was attended by 45 industry veterans representing 22 companies, from countries as far away as Columbia, all working in the outdoor event field.

The three-day workshop offered an all-star cast of presenters includ

Germany - XLNT CyberMotion, billed as the world's first fully integrated mobile motion control system, will be on display at ProLight+Sound in Hall 9.0 on Stand F61. The system is designed "to change the philosophy of motion control with new creative possibilities".

XLNT CyberMotion offers a complete range of mobile motion control products designed specifically for the entertainment industry. Developed by XLNT Advanced Technologies, state of the art technology was used to create a series of SIL3 certified intercompatible road-ready products "for breathtaking shows and cost efficient global concert touring".

Intelligent, variable speed chain hoists, winches, trolley beams and other (custom) motion control mechanics, instantly add movement and velocity to permanent installations, multi-purpose venues, concert touring and theatre, TV or event productions of an

Germany - Hall Stage will be exhibiting at ProLight+Sound in Frankfurt this week on Stand F82, Hall9.0.

Amongst the products on show will be the new Chaindrive system for T60 & T70 track systems, which enables heavy curtain motorisation through tight & complex curves, even in 'rearfold' format - without the need for additional & expensive 'off-stage' storage space.

Also on the stand will be samples of Skydeck wire grid floor systems (Hall Stage has recently completed a 1,200 square metre Skydeck installation in the UK) and the acoustically tested and analysed range of acouStac acoustic banners and rollers.

(Jim Evans)

Germany - Interal T.C., the Dutch manufacturer of trusses for sale and dry hire, will launch its new heavy duty P100 Protruss at this year's ProLight+Sound tradeshow in Frankfurt, alongside its complete product portfolio of Protruss and Intertruss.

P100 Protruss, the latest product to benefit from the company's new automated fabrication process, is a heavy duty truss for the most demanding applications. The P100 has undergone a battery of tests and stress analysis, and even passed a load test that saw a 4.8m span support a 14 tonne point load with flying colors, to verify the theoretical calculations in real life.

Interal T.C. has taken a huge leap in the area of producing and dry-hiring aluminium trusses since it was established in 2003, and this year sees its automated fabrication system running at full force, bringing an unprecedented level of quality and consistency to the

UAE - When the 1,000-seat theatre opened on the new Abu Dhabi campus of Zayed University in December 2011, the theatre's advanced technology included motorized rigging and controls provided by J. R. Clancy.

Zayed'snew campus has space for up to 6,000 students - a dramatic increase over the 200 students enrolled when the university opened in 1998. The new theatre is part of a convention centre designed to involve the broader community of Abu Dhabi in performances and events on campus.

J.R. Clancy worked in partnership with the UAE team of J & C Joel to provide a combination of 20 counterweight rigging sets and 24 PowerLift motorised rigging sets. This system gives the new theatre plenty of capacity for raising and lowering scenery, lights, curtains, and an orchestra shell.

"The blend of manual and motorised rigging gives technical theatre students the opportunity to lear

UK - PG Stage has worked for over 30 years designing, supplying and installing performance facilities and equipment in venues across the UK. Their most recent project, in association with LCC Lighting and Sony Broadcast, was for Middlesex University who were in need of a flexible and dynamic television studio for their Film, Media and TV students to work in.

There were various demands to fulfil for the television studio. The first requirement was that it needed to maximise the floor space available, which was 150sq.m. It also needed to allow for the quick and easy set-up and de-rig of studio lighting.

PG Stage used their team of professional technicians to design and produce technical drawings which were then used to define a specification for the University and, as a result, PG Stage designed power distribution and DMX systems to fully meet the University's needs.

PG Stag

UK - Stage engineering specialists Hoist UK have supplied and installed a lightweight aluminium rigging bridge system at Warwick Arts Centre for their 1,500 seat concert theatre, Butterworth Hall.

The aluminium bridge rigging system covers an area of 360m2 and contains 20 moving and lockable rigging bridges, each capable of suspending a load of up to 1000kg and with a span of more than five metres with two moving and lockable points for any load bearing purpose.

The Hoist UK rigging bridge system is manufactured using aluminium components which contain a variety of tracks ranging from a 135mm deep track weighing just 6.5kg/m to a 250mm deep track weighing 14.5kg/m and capable of suspending a 2000kg load on a 3.4m unsupported span.

Hoist UK's Paul Jordan says, "The beauty about this system is that due to being a lightweight extruded aluminium track, we can maximise the c

Germany - ProLight+Sound 2012 will be the scene of a big celebration for MDG and cast C.Adolph & RST Distribution as the two companies celebrate a long-standing association. The show marks the twentieth anniversary of MDG's appointment of cast C.Adolph & RST Distribution as its distributor for Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

cast C.Adolph & RST Distribution promotes the whole range of MDG products across the entertainment, security, fire-fighting and industrial application sectors in these countries. This is backed up by comprehensive support and training roles.

High profile installations over the past 20 years have included Legoland Germany (2002) which marked one of the biggest MDG theme-pack installations to use this automatic refilling system and an art installation by artist Olafur Eliason, Innen Stadt Aussen Berlin (2011), where MDG fog generators were used to f

UK - Rigging Services will be conducting live demonstrations of the features, benefits and changes to its online shop RSDirect from its stand RA-C14 at PLASA Focus Leeds.

Rigging Services was one of the first companies (if not the first) in the event industry to offer online services from the mid 1990's. Re-branded as RSDirect the shop site does far more than allow an online transaction.

"Offering the option to buy online is essential for an industry that is nomadic and working 24 hours a day 7 days a week," states Paul Fulcher , director of Rigging Services. "However we feel that the client needs far more than a simple shop site , which is why the re-launched site is packed with extra features."

A simple click from the home page www.riggingservices.co.uk takes a browser directly into the shop.

Working easily with either a PC, laptop or smart phone the

UK - Rigging Services will be conducting live demonstrations of the features, benefits and changes to its online shop RSDirect from its stand RA-C14 at PLASA Focus.

Rigging Services was one of the first companies in the event industry to offer online services from the mid 1990s. Re-branded as RSDirect, the shop site does far more than just allow an online transaction.

"Offering the option to buy online is essential for an industry that is nomadic and working 24 hours a day 7 days a week," states Paul Fulcher, director of Rigging Services. "However we feel that the client needs far more than a simple shop site, which is why the re-launched site is packed with extra features".

A simple click from the home page www.riggingservices.co.uk takes a browser directly into the shop.

Working easily with either a PC, laptop or smart phone the site is very simple to

UK - After visiting inspHire's stand at the Executive Hire Show this year and having a full demonstration of inspHire's rental software solutions, Sheldon Hire has purchased inspHire Express.

Sheldon Hire is a small plant and tool hire shop, based in Solihull Birmingham which has been running for the past 25 years. Before deciding to implement inspHire, Sheldon Hire was manually tracking all equipment and inputting hire contracts. However, as the company grew it became clear to Sheldon Hire that they needed a rental software system in place in order to reduce the administrative burden of manual invoicing, to help improve their business efficiencies and in turn to continue company growth.

"After reviewing the different hire software systems on the market we decided that inspHire was the right fit. We chose inspHire because of its modern interface, and the overall user-frie

Germany - J&C Joel launched their Reefer String Curtain at Prolight+Sound 2012 in Frankfurt last week.

Manufactured from flame retardant treated polyester, Reefer String Curtains can be made to any size and are available in a wide range of colours, each with the option of interwoven lurex thread in either gold, silver, or bronze.

J&C Joel managing director, Andrew Walsh, said, "The release of the Reefer String Curtain shows J&C Joel's commitment to sourcing new products and providing our customers around the world with the very best in high quality flame retardant fabrics and draping.

"We're thrilled with the amount of interest our Reefer String Curtain attracted in its debut at Prolight & Sound; so much so that we're already planning where we can exhibit it next. This is only one of the many new products that we will be releasing into the market during 2012, which

UK - Rigging Services has announced its latest growth plans; these include a new location in west London and a re-location of its Birmingham branch to a new site "four times its previous size".

The latest and fourth location of Rigging Services is based at Pinewood Studios. Although supplying its services across the entire event industry, not only within TV & Film, there is a good synergy with Rigging Services and other complimentary services also operating from Pinewood.

"We are really pleased to be a part of the Pinewood community and look forward to working amongst like minded individuals," states Bob Dean - national sales manager.

From this new location Rigging Services can offer a quicker, cost effective and more local service to its clients on the west side of London. This site also allows quicker links to its other locations in the Midlands and Nor

UK - Since 2010, when Unusual Rigging covered the front of Earl's Court in 'grass' for that year's Ideal Home Show, a façade has become a trade mark for this long established exhibition. For the 2012 show, Unusual transformed Earl's Court - externally at least - into a grand country house.

The graphics, designed by Justin Southgate of Southgate Design for Media 10, feature both horizontal and vertical 2D architectural detail, so the Unusual Rigging team recommended keeping the printed mesh fabric panels as large as possible.

The central panel is the largest, measuring 30m x 20m and weighing a total of 335kg including accessories, while the side sections are made up of three panels. The outer panels are wrapped tightly round the sides of the building, and sheeted as close to it as possible, with tight guy lines to prevent air pressure getting underneath the facade and stressin

Germany - Interal T.C., the Dutch manufacturer of trusses for sale and dry hire, said the launch of its new heavy duty P100 Protruss at ProLight+Sound in Frankfurt has been a "great success".

Managing Director Jan Verheijen said the exhibition had been "our busiest ever, with a lot of enquiries about the P100 Protruss, as well as the rest of our product portfolio. We'll definitely be back next year and expect to be busier than ever."

Fellow director Frank Claessens noted that "visitor footfall was well up from last year and we spent a lot of time talking about our automated manufacturing, which basically benefits customers through extremely short lead times, even for complex custom-designed trussing projects."

P100 Protruss is a heavy duty truss for the most demanding applications. The P100 has undergone a battery of tests and stress analysis, i

UAE - The technical and administrative members of staff of Unusual Rigging & Engineering have moved to new offices in the European Business Centre at Dubai Investments Park.

Prior to the move, all staff were located at the company's warehouse facility, but with a 100% increase in staff over the past 12 months, the move ensures not just capacity for existing office staff, but also provides room for further growth.

The subsequent increase in warehouse space allows for increased stock holding of Prolyte truss and Liftket chain hoists, as well as easier test builds of rigs and equipment testing.

The postal address of Unusual Rigging and Engineering LLC remains PO Box 283586, Dubai, UAE; telephone remains +971 (0)4 885 9009, fax changes to +971 (0)4 813 5145.

(Jim Evans)

UAE - The technical and administrative members of staff of Unusual Rigging & Engineering have moved to new offices in the European Business Centre at Dubai Investments Park. Prior to the move, all staff were located at the company's warehouse facility, but with a 100% increase in staff over the past 12 months, the move ensures not just capacity for existing office staff, but also provides room for further growth, the company says.

The subsequent increase in warehouse space allows for increased stockholding of Prolyte truss and Liftket chain hoists, as well as easier test builds of rigs and equipment testing.

The postal address of Unusual Rigging and Engineering LLC remains PO Box 283586, Dubai, UAE; telephone remains +971 (0)4 885 9009, fax changes to +971 (0)4 813 5145; email alan.thomson@unusual.co.uk.

(Lee Baldock)

Germany - Last week's ProLight+Sound show was the busiest ever for Doughty Engineering, reports sales director Julian Chiverton. "It was the first time we'd had our own, rather than a shared, stand and the response was tremendous. We were incredibly busy the whole exhibition, with visitors from as far afield as Japan and Russia, and a lot of new contacts to follow up."

Doughty also reports that a lot of interest was shown in its new Baby Quick Trigger clamp. Intended for use on smaller truss sizes, this clamp is adjustable to diameters from 25mm up to 38mm and will be on show for the first time in the UK at PLASA Focus Leeds.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Backstage Academy has launched a range of short courses for Spring 2012. Based at the LS-Live rehearsal studios in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, the Academy benefits from its links to some of the world's leading productions and production personnel, tailoring courses to suit the evolving demands of the sector. Courses take place in its training centre and Apple Authorised Training Suite, adjacent to the studio where the likes of Kylie, Dizzee Rascal, P!nk, Robbie Williams, Lady Gaga and Tinie Tempah have all rehearsed.

The courses cover a range of backstage skills, from rigging and stage pyrotechnics, to the SPA Event Safety Passport (which everyone working on site at the Olympics must have this year) and Apple based technologies like Pro Tools and Final Cut for audio and video editing.

COO Robin Watkinson said, "Britain is going to host many exciting events this summer

UK - PLASA Focus Leeds will be the launching point for several new in-house developments from ShowTex.

The Acoustic Baffle from ShowTex proves ecology and noise level control can go hand in hand. The new acoustic fabric panels are made from 100% recycled material compressed together to optimize sound conditions. The Acoustic Baffle comes in two sizes and can be installed modularly for extra flexibility. By combining the two standard formats, nearly any height or area can be covered. The Acoustic Baffle can be installed as a ceiling lining or around curves and corners. Custom formats and /or colours are available by request. The panels are finished off with Velcro for connecting together easily and can be used for temporary and fixed installations.

Another development is the TMC 1000 track motor. A compact version of the ShowTex TMC track motor; it's designed for smaller theatr

USA - Flightcase and loudspeaker solutions specialist Penn-Elcom continued its support of the Breast Cancer Awareness fundraising initiative started by Janal Cases - a Case for the Cure - at the NAMM 2012 trade convention in Anaheim, southern California.

Janal cases - a long term and highly valued Penn Elcom customer - raised over $1150.00 with special signed T-shirts.

The Case For The Cure T-Shirts were signed on the Penn Elcom booth at NAMM by a selection of stars who were lined up by Janal Cases, including legendary funk bassist Bootsy Collins, Kelly Hansen of rockers Foreigner, drum addict Ya'el Biz, pop-rock band Hero's Last Mission and Canadian alternative actress and performer Molly Parker.

For a two hour slot on the second day of the exhibition, these T's were available from the stand for a donation to the Case for the Cure campaign of $10.00 .

A crew of Janal Case

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