Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
Doughty - Banner - ABTT (27 May - 5 June)

Rigging / Staging

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USA - If you have been thinking about testing to become ETCP certified, now is the time to apply, as fees will increase $50 per exam on January 1, 2015. There are over 1,600 ETCP Certified Technicians in North America, don't get left behind. You have up to one year from your acceptance date to take your examination, so sign up today to save.

ETCP Certification is a fundamental aide to employers who are looking for qualified technicians for lead positions. It guarantees a reliable level of expertise and skills because the exams are specific to this industry and a fair assessment of your knowledge.

There are a few ways you can be tested to receive certification. All three exams are available for computer based-testing and a candidate can make arrangements to take the exam at one of 190 testing centres around the U.S and in Canada. ETCP will be offering all three examinations in

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UK - Envy Productions, organisers of Norfolk's Sundown Festival and inaugural Reload Festival, appointed Mojo Barriers to supply the stage barriers for both events, ensuring the safety of the crowds across two weekends.

Held at Norfolk Showground, Sundown Festival lived up to its name and kept the rain at bay, with the 54,000 capacity crowd enjoying pop and dance acts Katy B, Tinie Tempah, Chase and Status, Clean Bandit and Ellie Goulding.

The following weekend, 5-7 September, saw the first ever Reload festival which bought classic soul to the streets of Norfolk with Kool & the Gang, Billy Ocean and Sister Sledge taking to the stage. With thousands of people in attendance the event used much of the same infrastructure as Sundown festival, including the same main stage and stage barrier layout.

Kevin Thorborn, general manager Mojo Barriers UK, said, "These two events att

Doughty - Banner - ABTT (27 May - 5 June)

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UK - Bookings for PLASA Rigging Conference, running at ExCeL London, are up by fifty percent compared to this time last year, providing a clear indication that the new, one-day format is proving popular with the rigging community. The news comes as the conference announces two important additions to its programme - Matthias Müller's Raising Your Game and The Piece Rather than the Rigging presented by Alan Bartlett.

Raising Your Game will consider the role of the chain hoist as the industry's workhorse and address questions that are often overlooked when making an appropriate choice for a given task. Hoists are an integral part of almost every show or event these days, which makes these decisions more relevant than ever. The session's presenter, Matthias Müller, will look at why specification should be an informed and holistic choice, rather than simply bei

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UK - On behalf of Glastonbury Festivals Ltd, the event production services company was responsible for overseeing all production aspects. A local crowd of over 5,000 enjoyed a stellar line up, as headliners the Foals were supported by Ella Eyre, and local up-and-coming band Fast Decline.

Introduced by Michael Eavis, the event serves as a thank you to Pilton village that lives with the disruption the main festival can bring, with all money raised given in grants to different local organisations.

Managing director of EnTEEtainment Ltd, Dick Tee said, "With the likes of Kasabian headlining in 2005 when it was held at the village hall playing fields, the popularity of the event quickly outgrew its former site, and moved to Worthy Farm in 2007. Drawing on our depth of knowledge of the site and long standing relationship with Glastonbury Festivals, we were brought in to provide

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UK - Star Events Group supplied stage, rigging, grandstand, ancillary structures and miles of fencing and barriers to AEG Live's Invictus Games' Closing Concert, a first big event for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park's south lawn.

Headlined by Foo Fighters in front of a 26,000-strong crowd, and broadcast by the BBC, the concert crowned a phenomenal four days of sport for injured servicemen and women, motivated by Prince Harry.

As Official Supplier to AEG Live, together with parent company Beaver 84, Star Events provided for Unspun's Opening Ceremony before adapting the kit to accommodate Foo Fighters and nine other Closing Concert acts, together with a succession of medal presentations.

Star Events clad the grandstand, stage right, with vinyl-wrapped solid panels from its Vista range, combining the requirement for a clean, corporate finish with the need to prevent any access

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Denmark - Located on the waterfront of Aalborg and with a panoramic view of the Liim Fiord, you will find Musikkens Hus (House of Music) - the new musical gathering point of Northern Denmark and an architectural gem, designed by the internationally acknowledged architectural firm Coop Himmelb(l)au.

Nordic systems integrator Exton was awarded the tender for sound and communications. The project required over 20 kilometres of premier quality audio and video cables which was supplied by London cable specialists VDC Trading.

Exton's veteran project manager, Gunnar Gunnarsson, opted to work with VDC Trading given their dedication to quality, reliable logistics and excellent service. For all the audio and video applications, Exton used a variety of Van Damme cable including Purple, Brown and Black series.

VDC Trading chairman Niall Holden commented, "Once more it was a pleasu

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UK - Utopium combined creativity and logistical expertise to create a stunning brand environment for Fat Face's Brand Camp.

Fat Face held an immersive three day event for 300 directors and managers, combining daytime team building activities and evening conference and social events, including dinners, DJ's and a live band. They selected a remote farm near Scafell Pike in the Lake District to host the event.

Tents was contracted to provide the venue using one of their temporary S 5000 Duo span structures. Their MD, Steve Haderell, recommended Utopium to fulfil the technical event production. Discussions opened with Utopium's Colin Bodenham exploring the scope of the project with Fat Face's shoots and event production brand experience manager, Ian Williams.

This led to Utopium being entrusted to deliver site lighting, generators power and distro, along with a precise logistics

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UK - The fifth annual PLASA Riggers' Forum will be held on Sunday 5 October 2014 from 2pm - 5pm in the North Hall Gallery rooms at ExCeL London, setting the scene for the PLASA Rigging Conference, which takes place on the following day. With drinks, refreshments and lively debate on offer, the forum provides an opportunity for members of the rigging community to meet in an informal environment and discuss issues that affect their everyday working lives.

This year's Riggers' Forum will focus on a subject that has implications for everyone connected to the rigging industry - training. It's been widely recognised that training is a fundamental pillar of the industry, especially now the National Rigging Certificate is established. Routes to assessment are being developed, alongside courses that augment learning on the job, refresher training and product specific training for new sta

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UK - Serious Stages closed a busy 2014 festival season supplying stages and site structures to the inaugural On Blackheath festival, 13-14 September, 2014.

On Blackheath announced its arrival on the UK festival map this September with a colourful weekend site combining musical headliners Massive Attack, Frank Turner and Grace Jones, with culinary delights including Gizzi Erskine's Chef's Club and a mixture of family entertainment.

Promoter Harvey Goldsmith steered the content and managed the launch, with long term production director Jim Baggott managing the technical elements of the festival.

Baggott stated, "We wanted a stage that was versatile, that could be built very quickly in the three day window available to us. So we went to Serious Stages and decided on their 19m Supernova roof as the main stage. We've gone deeper than you'd expect for an audience of 15,000, m

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USA - The Tobin Centre for the Performing Arts, which opened on 5 September in San Antonio, will provide the community with a permanent world-class live entertainment venue.

The Tobin Centre repurposes the city's existing Municipal Auditorium, built in 1926, and includes the 1,759-seat H-E-B Performance Hall, the 250-seat Carlos Alvarez Studio Theatre for smaller productions, rehearsals and community use, plus an outdoor performance plaza. The façade of the original building has been retained, but behind the scenes the Hall takes advantage of 21st century technology.

The Tobin Centre's technical director Stefan DeWilde's designs for the new venue included a stage lift for the H-E-B Performance Hall, to be utilized for performer entrances and exits, reveals and scene changes. The lift will also be used for lifting grand pianos from their sub-stage storage, for resident and gue

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UK - The PLASA Professional Development Programme (PDP) is renowned as a platform for sharing ideas and showcasing industry expertise. This year, the PDP will occupy two spaces at Excel London - the Audio and AV Theatre and the Lighting and Stage Theatre.

The PDP made its debut in 2010. Since then over 300 speakers have taken part in its panels, which have welcomed thousands of attendees. The programme's aim is to test theory, inspire debate and positively impact the different strands of the entertainment technology industry.

The Lighting and Stage Theatre is preparing to welcome a wide range of expertise and talent, from companies like Martin Professional, Theatre Projects, Marshmallow Laser Feast, IQ Magazine, The Backstage Centre and Avolites Media, and from organisations including ABTT and the Association of Lighting Designers.

Leading lighting manufacturer, Martin Profe

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UK - In 2013 Le Maitre invested in increasing productivity at its pyrotechnics factory in Peterborough UK, in order to cope with demand. The pyrotechnic manufacturing process is a very labour intensive process and Le Maitre had reached almost full production capacity the year before.

The company therefore researched alternative methods, exploring different industries before subsequently identifying a completely new production process which can output a phenomenal 24,000 to 26,000 units per hour, regardless of diameter, and is now resulting in a terrific increase in capacity.

Moving from the previous moulded stars method to the new format has been far from straightforward. The production process greatly affects how the pyro behaves and the Peterborough team have had to spend a huge amount of time and resource in the careful adjustment of product composition.

Le Maitre confirm

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UK - Lift Turn Move (LTM) is now the UK and Ireland agent for Planeta Hebetechnik GmbH, which manufactures hoists and other lifting equipment suited to construction, engineering and special environments.

The agreement adds explosion proof manual chain hoists up to 10t capacity and air hoists up to 25t capacity to LTM's already impressive product offering. LTM is also able to offer ultra low headroom chain hoists.

Operations director David King says, "The range of products from Planeta are perfect for clients, especially those who supply equipment into harsh working environments such as utilities, construction and offshore industries, The products complement our existing range and create new opportunities for our clients."

Herne, Germany-based Planeta manufactures a wide range of products, including manual lifting equipment, rope winches and air hoists in addition t

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UK - VDC Trading, specialist distributor of Van Damme cable, assemblies and connectors has appointed Jodie Verley to the role of sales manager. Jodie's background for the last 16 years has been in electronics distribution, where over the last 12 years she has worked her way from material planner, account manager, field account manager to sales manager.

Jodie is enthusiastic, and passionate about ensuring our customers have an exceptional service experience. She says: "We have a great product and it's my job to ensure our sales team deliver the service and product."

(Jim Evans)

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UK - PLASA Rigging Conference 2014's line-up has been completed with the announcement of Pushing the Limit - a session that will tackle the misunderstandings surrounding factors of safety in the industry. It is the final piece of the jigsaw for a conference that promises to deliver a lively day of expert insight on Monday 6 October.

Pushing the Limit will be presented by Abigail Mathews, who co-founded Momentum Engineering in 2005. Abigail has been involved a wide range of projects from small, bespoke architectural jobs to multi-million pound mixed use development schemes. In recent years she has specialised in the sports, venue and entertainment sectors, and has worked closely with production teams and specialist rigging contractors on the engineering and delivery of a variety of temporary structures and events.

The session will break down the confusion that can

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UK - As the deadline for entries approaches, nominations for the PLASA Awards for Innovation are rolling in. Examples of all the nominated products will be exhibited at the PLASA Show's Innovation Gallery at the centre of the PLASA show (ExCeL London, 5-8 October), forming a focal point for visitors to the exhibition keen to view the latest technologies.

The products will be judged against one another on the strength of their innovation alone. All nominees will have the opportunity to make a 5-minute presentation, during the show, to a team of independent expert judges, who will have eight awards of equal standing at their disposal - plus the option to give a 'Gold' Award to one or more products which they feel reach a particularly high standard of Innovation.

The judges are tasked with making their decisions based on the PLASA Awards criteria for Innovation. The winners will

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UK - Ysgol y Gogarth is a special needs school in Llandudno, North Wales, where the 170 pupils have a wide spectrum of additional learning needs. The school recently moved to a new £18m facility with a new library, IT spaces, therapy rooms, hydro pool, sports hall and drama studio.

When Crown Stage and Theatre Services were brought on board by Willmott Dixon Construction to carry out the installation of the drama equipment required to fulfil the needs of the school, a range of products from Doughty Engineering was specified.

Crown Stage's Russell Payne said, "When it comes to jobs like this, Doughty Engineering is our first choice. We have a long trading history and an excellent working relationship with them. We've been using their products for over 20 years and we know they are guaranteed to be of a high standard with the assurance of quality and safety."

R

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South Africa - Five days, 150 teenagers music, dance, production and technical and you get Inspired Stages, a school holiday workshop that gives insight to the entertainment industry. This event took place from the 14 to 18 July at the GrandWest, Cape Town.

It's interesting to see the results when people give something back to the industry, as was the case four years ago when Karen Burt of Planet Productions Code Teen and Gavin Taylor of the GrandWest Entertainment in Cape Town spearheaded the successful music and entertainment initiative called Backstage Pass High School Jam. The performance project did not only unite cultures, communities, schools and families, but above all encouraged self-pride, achievement, self-appreciation and the fulfilment of dreams.

Inspired Stages, hosted at the GrandWest, was the next step of the journey, giving students the op

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USA - Matt Mullen, vice president of sales for J. R. Clancy, Inc., has announced the return of two of its top-performing associates to its sales and product development staff. Patrick Finn and Paul Skidmore returned to J. R. Clancy in August.

"Patrick and Paul each bring a career's worth of rigging expertise to J. R. Clancy, as well as a deep understanding of our customers' needs and the products and services they require," said Mullen. "They will work to develop new products, find new pathways to innovation, and open new markets for Clancy products."

Patrick Finn joined Clancy in 2009 as a dealer project manager and product manager. He returns to continue his work in product development while researching new innovations within the entertainment technology field. He brings experience as a technical director, theatre consultant, and rigging and fall protecti

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USA - TAIT and sister company Stage Technologies have completed their move into a new joint location on Las Vegas's Wynn Road.

The new office, which includes 30,000sq.ft of workshop space, seven loading docks and a full ground-supported test stand will accommodate work for West Coast theatre, casino and theme park clients. Other features of the location include all utilities and systems for testing and system configurations for these projects. In addition to functioning as TAIT's West Coast permanent installation hub, the onsite team will handle operations, local show service and support, project management and administration.

According to Dana Bartholomew, VP of West Coast Operations, "The new TAIT Stage Technologies facility is not only great for clients in this region, but it will also serve as a home base for our integrators when they're working on installation projec

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Spain - Every September thousands of revellers descend upon the streets of Barcelona in Spain for La Mercè, a five-day, free-to-attend celebration. Live music, dance and theatre take place in venues across the city as locals and visitors alike bid farewell to summer and welcome the cooler days of autumn. This year, Mojo Barriers was called upon to provide its crowd control solutions at one of the festival's busiest venues, El Parc del Forum.

Mojo Barriers' Gatekeeper 2.0 intelligent turnstile system attracted organisers BSM, which needed to ensure capacities of the open air concert venue - which also hosts Primavera Sound festival - weren't breached. The venue welcomed live music fans across three nights who danced the night away to a host of local and international acts.

Leon van der Velden, project manager at Mojo Barriers, said, "The Gatekeeper 2.0 is the ideal soluti

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UK - Automation specialist Kinesys will use the networking opportunities of the 2014 PLASA exhibition at London's ExCeL Centre to meet, greet and be social with its UK, European and International clients - existing, new and potential - who will be visiting the show.

Booth P25 will be designed to maximise meeting opportunities, complete with refreshments and areas where people can congregate and engage in lively discussion, as well as having information on hand about Kinesys' products and systems.

2014 has been landmark year so far for the company which has expanded on all levels.

At Kinesys' UK headquarters in west London, the addition of a third unit has expanded the total space by a third. The first unit is dedicated to Research and Development which is a constantly active and ongoing process; the second houses the main offices, administration, sales and marketing, complet

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UK - Doughty Engineering is showcasing its award winning Drop Arms, T-Bars and H-Frames at PLASA London 2014, the first time the finished products will have been seen at an exhibition.

Designed to provide a safe, flexible rigging method for suspending luminaires from a truss or fixed tubes or barrels, Doughty's Modular Drop Arms and H-Frames won the 2014 ABTT Award for Engineering Product of the Year when the prototypes were previewed at the show in June this year.

"We wanted to show the industry what we had been working on," said Mark Chorley, design engineer at Doughty. "What we didn't expect was the amazing reception the product would receive. We've been working ever since to prepare the range for sale and I'm pleased to say that we are now ready to take orders."

The modular system, which offers a range of configurations to open up the possibility for

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UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) will showcase a selection of the very latest lighting, audio, rigging and video solutions available from their vast portfolio of premium brands - on stand P40 at PLASA London 2014.

Salesteams from AC-ET's four specialist product divisions will be on hand to demonstrate and discuss the latest technologies from leading marques which AC-ET are the exclusive UK reseller for, as well as over 200 leading brands available for immediate despatch from the company's multi-million pound inventory.

From AC-ET's Lighting division, the stand will showcase product highlights from the many UK-exclusive LED lighting brands available. Chroma-Q will unveil their new Color One 100 LED Par, which features an innovative fully homogenised beam virtually eliminating the colour separation and shadows synonymous with LED lighting - delivering above Par perfo

  1. Stage|Set|Scenery 2015 announces call for papers
  2. Le Maitre adds more pyro products
  3. Van Damme introduces White Line
  4. Hoist UK becomes full member of LEEA
  5. PLASA 2014: uTRAC's reveals top five feature developments
  6. PLASA London off to a flying start
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