Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
Doughty - Banner - from 4 July 2025

Rigging / Staging

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UK - Doughty Engineering has awarded an aspiring performing arts student for her achievements at a gala dinner hosted by Brockenhurst College. 18 year old Josie Camble was chosen to receive the accolade at the awards ceremony on September 20, held at the end of a week of celebrations to mark the college's centenary and 100 years of education excellence.

Josie stood out as an active member of the performing arts department, and Tara Gadd, Head of Performing Arts, said: "I couldn't think of a better person to receive the award. Josie's commitment to her craft far outreaches her course requirements at Brockenhurst. Alongside her studies she was the lead dancer and choreographer for the Olympic Torch celebration, represented the college at the Christchurch Christmas Festival and choreographed the college's production of Spring Awakening."

She added: "We have an extr

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UK - PLASA London 2013 proved a great success with exhibitors and visitors alike at its new home at ExCeL London. Over 11,000 visitors (subject to ABC audit) attended the show, of whom over 3,000 attended on multiple days. International interest was high, with more than 2,200 visitors from 84 countries. Stand rebookings for next year's show are also up on last year, and several major companies that did not make the move to ExCeL - including Philips Entertainment - have either already signed up for 2014 or are in serious talks to return.

Chris Toulmin, head of events, PLASA London 2013, said, "The response we've received to PLASA London 2013 has been overwhelmingly positive, both from visitors and exhibitors. They have embraced the new venue and also enjoyed the new features such as the AudioLab Arena, Theatre and Interactive. The PLASA team has worked very hard to get to th

Doughty - Banner - from 4 July 2025

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UK - Prolyte Group and subsidiary Brilliant Stages enjoyed a busy PLASA Show at its new home, ExCeL London, earlier this month. Both companies reported positive feedback following their decision to do something different for PLASA London 2013.

On display for the first time in the UK was the ProLyft AETOS range. Visitors were given the opportunity to see a selection of the new hoists in action on a dedicated demo booth. UK sales director Keith Williams commented, "The reaction to ProLyft AETOS has been amazing. We realise the products have to be seen to be fully appreciated so we had several working units on display, which gave us an opportunity to demonstrate their potential. The hoists were very well received, reinforcing our plans for the future. We had quite a number of enquiries from new contacts and met with many of our existing global distributors. Despite some initia

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UK - For the first time the PLASA 2013 was held at London's ExCeL. "We heard very different opinions about this relocation in the run-up and thus set out for London in a pretty neutral mood," says Peter Rieck, key account & distribution manager with Sommer Cable. The on-site impressions definitely had to be judged as really good. However, we felt that - compared to the previous years - there were fewer exhibitors in the sound technology sector, but then again there were visitors from all specialist fields.

Continuess Rieck, "My sentiment with regard to the overall number of visitors is highly positive - due to our location directly opposite the entrance we were able to keep a weather eye on this. I felt that Monday and Tuesday were the days with the highest attendance figures; we've booked again for next year already. Meet'n'Greet has priority at PLASA, so we coul

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USA - With significant business growth throughout the Asia Pacific region, J. R. Clancy has opened a Southeast Asia office in Singapore.

Robert J. Degenkolb will step into the role as managing director of J.R. Clancy (Singapore) Pte Ltd, where he will be focused on business development for the region.

"We initially opened the Singapore office to provide support for the Star Performing Arts Centre project," said Degenkolb. "Since then, we've found that Singapore's business infrastructure and high quality compliance requirements have been favourable to hosting our Asian Pacific stage engineering presence."

Singapore is known for having some of the highest quality standards in Southeast Asia, making it a natural fit for J. R. Clancy's standard for manufacturing, installation and operational/maintenance philosophy.

Degenkolb formally joined Clancy as a proj

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UK - The First Night Riders charity motorbike and classic car adventure, which raises money to help The Theatrical Guild support backstage and front of house staff, has announced new dates for 2014.

Organisers David and Brenda Edelstein, from track systems specialist Triple E, will be leading next year's event and are inviting riders and classic car enthusiasts to join them from 20-23 June 2014.

Next year will be the fifth time the First Night Riders have toured the UK, setting off from a London location (TBC) and visiting some of the UK's most fascinating theatres and theatre suppliers.

Last year, the intrepid gang embarked from London's iconic Roundhouse and travelled through the Midlands, visiting sites including the Oxford Playhouse, the Buxton Opera House, and Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.

This year's route and stop offs are still in the planning stages but seaside

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USA - Many major venues and employers across North America are now requiring ETCP certified technicians for lead positions. Increase your credibility with your employers by becoming ETCP Certified!

The ETCP Examinations will be given at LDI 2013 in Las Vegas, NV. All three ETCP examinations will be given in one session the morning of Saturday, 23 November, 2013. Candidates who wish to take more than one exam should contact ETCP. All applications must be submitted by 5:00 pm on 28 October 2013.

Candidate information, including eligibility requirements, applications and study tactics, is available on the ETCP website (http://etcp.plasa.org/ldi2013.html), or etcp@plasa.org.

Can't make it to LDI? ETCP examinations are given daily at over 190 computer based testing centres across the US and Canada. After an application has been received and accepted, candidates will be sent infor

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UK - The LS-Live Studios in Wakefield hosted and produced a launch ceremony for the prototype of Keating Supercars' new super car 'The Bolt' last month, which is anticipated to beat the world speed record for a production car at over 300mph.

Developer Tony Keating introduced the car to an audience of over 100 people before it descended from the studio roof to a pyrotechnics display and performances by the Wakefield Wildcats cheerleaders. X Factor contestant Laura White and MC Gordon Burns warmed up the crowd, which included governors from The University of Bolton.

Guests were then invited to inspect the car, which is the fourth car to be developed by Astley-based Keating Supercars, founded by engineer Anthony Keating in 2006. The key to the latest model is a new kind of supercharger, developed in-house by Mr Keating alongside experts from the University of Bolton's automotive

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UK - PLASA secured a significant lobbying success last month when the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee published its report into 'Supporting the Creative Economy'. The Committee roundly endorsed PLASA's position regarding the Olympics 'No Marketing Rights Protocol'.

The report was the culmination of an inquiry which was launched just over a year ago with a call for evidence from the Committee, which is made up of MPs from across all political parties. PLASA made a detailed written submission as to how the creative industries can be better supported, with a particular emphasis on the value and importance of the Entertainment Technology sector. PLASA's evidence focussed on issues around allowing companies to promote their involvement in the Olympics, tax relief for apprenticeships, improving protection for intellectual property and helping SMEs in the sec

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UK - When plans got underway at the Museum of London for The Cheapside Hoard: London's Lost Jewels, a major new exhibition in the Linbury Gallery, Unusual Rigging was called in to help display the exhibits to their full potential.

Through new research and state of the art technology, The Cheapside Hoard: London's Lost Jewels, which runs from now until 27 April 2014, showcases the wealth of insights the Hoard offers on Elizabethan and Jacobean London as a centre of craftsmanship and conspicuous consumption, at the crossroads of the Old and New Worlds.

Shaun Green, deputy head of facilities at the Museum of London, explains, "Having worked with the team at Unusual Rigging before, they were our first port of call when we realised we needed to create a full Unistrut grid in order to provide a rigid framework for the lighting, the hanging of some of the exhibits

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UK - Flightcase manufacturer 5 Star Cases used the 2013 PLASA exhibition at ExCeL London to re-launch its popular Speed Challenge motor racing simulation game ... crowning Carl Sheehan, deputy manager of event technology specialist PSAV as the 2013 5 Star Speed Challenge Champion.

5 Star created a completely new bespoke simulator for this year's Speed Challenge, built using 5 Star's Super Tour specification product, complete with several special features and running Sony's PlayStation 3 Codemaster F1 2012 racing game in full HD.

The 5 Star Speed Challenge was first seen at PLASA 2006. This year it had an additional resonance as 5 Star has been one of the most enthusiastic of a number of industry supporters of British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) racing's rising star, Jack Goff, throughout the 2013 season.

The 5 Star Speed Challenge ran on all four days of the exhibition .

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UK - Following a record year of direct sales in 2012 Maltbury Staging is turning its attention to its distributor network in 2013.

Maltbury made its name with its modular staging systems like Steeldeck and Metrodeck. However, it has recently expanded its range with the new Aspect bench seating system (installed earlier this year at London's new Park Theatre) and a wide range of bespoke services from consultancy and design through to manufacture and installation.

And now, says managing director Philip Sparkes, the company is looking to cast its net wider by offering a better deal for distributors.

"We now offer a much more generous and supportive distributor package. This includes greater levels of discount, product samples, e-literature and a dedicated distributor email address for priority service."

Significant new sign-ups to the distributor team include London

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UK - A global musical phenomenon, Wicked has taken to the road for its first UK and Ireland tour and the Production Resource Group (PRG) is providing a custom-built automation solution and the full lighting system.

The show opened at the Manchester's Palace Theatre to five star reviews and plays until 16 November when it will move on to Dublin. PRG is no stranger to the show, having supported the US tour since 2004.

PRG supplied a bespoke designed automation package for the production. For expediency the system used was set-up in its entirety in PRG's testing facility in New Windsor, New York prior to shipping to the UK. This enabled Wicked's creative team to pre-approve scenic moves, which saved valuable time in the theatre.

To support its UK installation John Galante, systems manager for PRG, joined the PRG and Wicked's technical team at the Manchester Palace Theatr

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Germany - Today, with more and more Global Truss copies coming to the market, it is important to strengthen the high quality originals and keep users from harm from unsafe and poor quality imitations. Also, the previous unique selling proposition of Global Truss - the two rings on the connector - are increasingly copied. Though the same look does not provide the identical quality.

In order to illustrate the proven Global Truss safety and reliability, the connectors and the Global Truss logo are clearly knurled on the trusses. But not only a visual differentiator is introduced - the knurling gives the connectors a better grip, which makes the assembly and disassembly, as well as carrying much easier and above all enjoyable. By this new copyrighted finishing the user can easily differentiate between a copy and an original. Of course, the new connector is compatible with the previo

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UK - With its handy D8 Plus chain hoist, Movecat is satisfying the oft-expressed wish of many users for a single-line chain hoist capable of lifting a safe working load of 1,000 kg at a speed of 4 m/min. The Movecat PLUS and PLUSlite 1000-4 is based on the current DIN 56950-1:2012-5 standard and satisfies the BG requirements in full. The mechanism is designed to accommodate twice the nominal load. The chain exhibits dynamic and static safety factors of 8:1 and 10:1 respectively.

With its compact, cast aluminium housing, 9 x 27 load chain, two robust handles and total weight of only 115 kg, the new chain hoist is especially well-suited to daily touring and rental use. Above all when used as a climbing hoist in combination with the Movecat Case, which was developed in close cooperation with users, ideal operation is guaranteed, as the chain-hoist can climb and retract independentl

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UK - Since its official launch back in April of this year, OV Truss from Total Solutions Group (TSG) has found many willing adherents. The winning combination of lighter-weight and lower cost coupled with a strength gain of 15% against any other comparable truss is compelling, says TSG. Yet even with that triplet feature set there are other reasons why users have been quick on the uptake of OV Truss and these are all about the very practical considerations made by the end users.

"The Lincoln Performing Arts Centre, part of the expanding University of Lincoln campus, required a ground support grid," explained Jeff Pallett at SES Technical Ltd. "We already have a significant amount of TSG trussing in our hire stock; all their various ranges are durable, strong and retain their good looks. What the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre required was simple in definition - a

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USA - USA - Track systems supremo Triple E will be teaming up with its long-time US distributor Rose Brand to exhibit its array of industry-leading products at LDI Las Vegas this month.

Triple E's managing director David Edelstein and general manager Scott Foster will be jetting to Sin City armed with Triple E's Erail, Unitrack, and Unibeam track systems - known for their simple design, rugged construction and ease of installation in entertainment applications.

They will also be demoing Triple E's track mounted motors SDRIVE and TDRIVE in conjunction with Rose Brand - which has been Triple E's American distributor for ten years - on LDI Booth #1035 at the Las Vegas Convention Centre, 22-24 November.

"Together with Rose Brand we've been developing the American market for Triple E systems for more than a decade now - and following the introduction of Erail and the SDRIVE

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Qatar - European flightcase manufacturer 5 Star Cases has shipped the first part of a major order for over 100 road cases for live event AV and video specialist Creative Technology (CT)'s Doha, Qatar facility.

These are to house a variety of kit used day-to-day by the busy rental operation which is headed by general manager Andy Reardon, including control systems, racks, a variety of different sized plasma screens, mains and power distros, 3U drawered racks, plastic blow-moulded cases with CNC machined foam inserts for audio and video processors and a number of high end bespoke designed cases to house assorted cameras.

5 Star's Keith Sykes visited Doha in the summer and undertook a marathon measure up of all the kit needing to be cased.

In the UK, CT has been a 5 Star client for many years, but this is the first time they have supplied the international facilities.

Reardon

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UK - Le Mark's Steven Marshall has been titled an 'outstanding employee' by the professional judges of the Archant Herts & Cambs Business Awards. Steve is known to many as the project manager and lead designer for Le Mark Groups Dirty Rigger gloves and accessories division. The Judges commented: "It's not often you come into contact with a young man who has such passion for business excellence and creativity".

Stuart Gibbons, Le Mark Groups MD commented: "It's been a personal pleasure for me to have mentored Steve and see him develop into such a consummate professional and talented designer. Dirty Rigger products are available around the world through a network of partner distributors, this can be much attributed to the hard work that Steve has committed to building a 100% quality focussed brand. Steve has had to learn and develop his management skills along the w

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UK - A two minute silence was staged at Trafalgar Square on Monday 11 November giving visitors the chance to unite in remembrance. The event marked the 95 year anniversary of the World War One (WWI) armistice, paying respects to members of the armed forces who had fallen in that war and in all conflicts since.

Star Event Group were contracted by SW19 to provide a front of house structure along with their 10m x 8m mobile stage which played host to live performances from actor Adrian Lester, X Factor group Next of Kin, tenor Paul Potts as well as The Poppy Girls, whose fathers are all servicemen.

The 10m x 8m mobile stage built in just three hours offered maximum time to load in and the quick de-rig of the stage ensured the Square was clear within a few hours of the event finishing.

Charles Ellery from SW19 said, "It's the right tool for the job. We only get from 6pm the

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UK - Doughty Engineering has announced a restructuring of the company as the business continues to flourish year on year.

Laurence Dyer, previously UK sales representative, is now sales and customer services manager, having inherited the title from Julian Chiverton. Julian remains sales director at Doughty but the change enables him to take a back seat in the main office and focus on growing the business, as well as building and maintaining customer relations both in the UK and overseas.

Dan Phillips continues in his role as project sales co-ordinator while Mike Guglielmi, previously UK sales, now heads up the export department, where Vickie Thake, Jenny Ambrose and Julie Eady have recently taken up new positions. Finally Samantha Hawkins has joined the sales team to look after UK sales and administration, following the retirement of long-standing staff member Christine Drinna

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China - Milos Structural Systems conducted a two-day workshop at its factory in Guangzhou, China, on 25 and 26 October for a select group of Milos customers from Indonesia, India, Singapore and China.

The goal of the meeting was to present Milos Structural Systems, as well as its factory, products, and manufacturing processes. Educational sections of the workshop also served to inform Milos customers about using and working safely with Milos products.

Although the workshop was held for only two days, many subjects were presented. On the first day, a detailed overview of the company, brand strategy and growth in 2013 was given, which was followed by a presentation of rigging and rigging hardware.

An interesting and fact-filled tour of the extensive Guanghou factory came next. While touring the factory, Milos sales and technical representatives showed participants Milos weldin

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The Netherlands - Belden Inc., a global leader in signal transmission solutions for mission-critical applications, has introduced a range of rugged high performance shielded Cat 6A cables for use in studios or in tactical field deployable audio/data installations. Designed as the ultimate field deployable product, these exceptionally robust cables can be used in the harshest of environments, yet deliver reliable performance for maximum uptime.

Belden CatSnake Cat 6A tested cables deliver superior performance thanks to the 100% coverage of the pairs as these are individually shielded with Beldfoil aluminium/polyester foil and an overall braided shield.

The new Belden CatSnake Cat 6A cables are extremely robust and have exceptional flexibility and flex life. This makes them ideal for use in high traffic areas, such as in broadcast studios or in any type of tactical, field deploy

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UK - When Bliss Events was asked to manage a much bigger than previous Switch-On of the Regent Street Christmas lights, they turned to Star Events Group for a unique set of equipment. The brief called for a substantial stage with full PA and lighting rigging facilities, a fully roofed and raised grandstand for 220 VIPs and a screen support. All easy enough except for the need to close Regent Street on a busy Saturday in November. The road closure order gave just 6 hours to set up and 4.5 hours to remove everything. Star Events Group squeezed in the same mobile stage used for The Olympic Torch Relay, with just inches to spare between blocking the access to French Connection on stage right and the fire lane on stage left.

With Westminster City Council insisting that only mobile structures could be used (due to the need to re-open the road on time) and no mobile grandstand being bi

  1. Stage Technologies plays role in National anniversary
  2. J&C Joel installs curtains for Oslo Concert Hall
  3. Stage Technologies helps revive Swedish venues
  4. Walking (vertically) in a winter wonderland
  5. Fibre optic solutions from VDC
  6. IPAF introduces Smart PAL card
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