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UK - Leading pro lighting and audio sales specialist Stagetec UK and its sister distribution company have moved into new, larger premises in Bracknell, Berkshire. The companies' new address and contact details are: Stagetec UK Ltd, 9 Bilton Industrial Estate, Lovelace Road, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 8YT, UK. Tel: +44 (0)870 224 7808, fax: +44 (0)870 224 7818. E-mail and web details are given below.

The move addresses the need for more space and the recent expansion of the team. The purpose-built unit is being customized for Stagetec to meet the growing demands of its business and workflow. The site includes a large, open prep area for equipment to be tested and set-up before being dispatched for installation or sale, and dedicated areas for both the audio and lighting elements of Stagetec's business, plus large demonstration and training areas. The offices are also designed and

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UK - Following the successful launch in 2003 of the first ever Museums & Heritage Awards for Excellence, created to celebrate best practice within museums, galleries and heritage visitor attractions, plans are now well underway for the 2004 event. The organizer of the Awards, the Museums & Heritage Show Ltd, have announced support from Dulux and The Independent newspaper for 2004. The new partnership will ensure next year's winners receive both industry acclaim and wider public recognition.

Taking place from 12-13 May 2004 at Earls Court, to coincide with the opening of the Museums & Heritage Show, the 2004 Awards will also include two new categories to ensure all areas of the industry have the opportunity to contribute. With a host of UK-based contractors and suppliers working on exciting projects throughout the world, the new Award for Excellence Overseas, supported by UK Trad

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UK - UK Trade & Investment has become the new single identity for the UK Government's business support organization, British Trade International, and its operating arms Trade Partners UK and Invest.UK.

The aim of UK Trade & Investment is to help UK companies build their international business and to encourage foreign direct investment. With teams based in 200 markets around the world, and a regional network that provides local knowledge right across the country, UK Trade & Investment is able to provide specialist advice and tailored programmes to help UK exporters and inward investors achieve business success in the global market.

This new identity reflects the increasingly close relationship between trade and investment work within the organisation and its continuing commitment to provide an integrated service - delivering business opportunities through a global network.

Si

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Regular readers of PLASA's electronic newsletter, Standards News, will be aware of the recent problems experienced by some PLASA members when renewing their insurance premiums and the massive hikes they have been faced with. In response to this problem, the Association of British Insurance (ABI) has launched a new initiative to reward businesses that can demonstrate good health and safety practices with greater access to Employer's Liability (EL) insurance.

This new initiative is said to benefit smaller firms, trade associations and other similar bodies, who will be able to submit their health and safety schemes to an ABI committee for an assessment of the scheme, which will then be held up against best practice features that they, as insurers, would expect to see.

The ABI assessment committee will consist of senior underwriters, and details of the assessments will be sent by the ABI

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UK - Leading AV supplier McMillan UK Ltd has gone into receivership. At the request of the company's directors, Blair Nimmo and Neil Armour of KPMG Corporate Recovery have been appointed joint receivers. Headquartered in Arbroath, the business has 10 offices supplying audio, video, and visual communications equipment to the broadcast, post-production and presentation markets across the UK and Ireland.

Established in 1982, the business employs approximately 140 staff, with an annual turnover of £20 million to the year ended 30 June 2003. Blair Nimmo, KPMG Corporate Recovery Partner said: "The business has experienced trading difficulties due to the general economic downturn which has continued to affect the advertising and related industries. Fortunatel, McMillan enjoys a good reputation within its marketplace and has a portfolio of high profile customers; therefore we are

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UK - One of the North-East's leading audio-visual and event production company, The R&B Group, has announced a string of new contract wins on the strength of its commitment to make Newcastle and Gateshead the events capital of Europe.

Newcastle Quayside-based The R&B Group has a staff of 15 and offers a complete technical solution for presentations, events or shows using the most progressive technical equipment available in the industry. Its work takes them across the country and abroad and is synonymous with many household names such the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal College of Nursing, Newcastle Chronicle & Journal Ltd, Northern Arts and the eye-catching launch of Gateshead's Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art.

The company's marketing team has just returned from a successful city conference with the Newcastle Gateshead Initiative, aimed at attracting London buyers into ho

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UK - Matrix Audio Developments Ltd has gone into voluntary liquidation. The company was founded by Matrix designer/brand owner Andrew Hunt and Clive Kinton to distribute Matrix amplifiers in the UK; Kinton left the company last month, following Hunt's decision to bring the sales and marketing of the Matrix brand under the control of the manufacturing company, A.S. Laser, in Cwmbran, South Wales.

Adrian Merrett of A.S. Laser told L&SI: "The move will streamline our service and address the production issues we have had in the past, ensuring next-day delivery for our customers."

The company's 07000 contact number remains the same.

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UK - A PLASA member has informed us that a number of their customers have received orders that have subsequently turned out to be fraudulent. In one case the fraudsters emailed credit card details - that were either stolen or fake - to the company with an order, but fortunately the card number was picked up by the bank. Another company was not so lucky and the goods were dispatched before the fraud was discovered.

L&SI ran an article back in March 2003 about the rise of credit card fraud within the industry and you can find out more at the PLASA Website address given below. It is also worthwhile checking the guidance and advice on avoiding credit card fraud at the Cardwatch website address, also given below.

(Nicky Greet)

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USA - Rigging Seminars has announced that it will hold three four-day seminars in 2004, each consisting of three days of instruction on rigging principles and practices plus a full day of hands-on training. The sessions will take place in Orlando, Florida from 1-4 February, Las Vegas, Navada from 2-5 May and Denver, Colorado from June 27-30.

Rigging Seminars is a world leader in rigging training, having been in operation more than 10 years and trained more than 4,000 people. Its instructors are highly respected in the entertainment industry; Jay Glerum is the author of the Stage Rigging Handbook, and Harry Donovan is the author of Arena Rigging and an active member of the new ESTA Rigging Skills Committee, which is writing a certification standard for riggers. More than 20 major entertainment industry organizations have committed to supporting the rigging certification program.<

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UK - Avesco plc has announced that it will be applying for admission to the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and cancelling its listing on the UKLA Official List. The Company will also be considering the demerger of its Core Services from its two investments, the 49% holding in Complete Communications and 23.7% holding in Medal Entertainment and Media plc (itself an AIM-listed company). The move to AIM will simplify the ongoing administration and reporting requirements for Avesco as a public company. The lower compliance costs of AIM should enable Avesco to develop its business by acquisition at a substantial saving to the costs it would have incurred as a fully-listed group.

The reason for considering the demerger is that it may enable the Core Services and Investment businesses to develop better their opportunities as separate entities rather than in the single structure, a

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USA - During the recent LDI exhibition in Orlando, Florida (21-23 October) ESTA (the Entertainment Services and Technology Association) announced the winners of the 2003 Dealers' and Manufacturers' Choice Awards.

The Dealers' Choice Customer Service Awards offer ESTA's Dealer Members the opportunity to publicly recognize those manufacturers that provide consistently good customer service throughout the year, and recognize high performance in four main areas - Customer Service, Shipping & Billing, Technical Support and Quotations/Project Management. Dealers cast their votes for Manufacturers in each of three categories based on the Manufacturers' number of employees, 1-6, 7-25, and over 25. The winners for 2003 are Doug Fleenor Design (1-6 employees category), City Theatrical (7-25 employees category) and Apollo Design Technology (over 25 employees category).

The Manufacturers'

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UK - Stage One Creative Services is on the move as part of its continuing development and expansion programme. From 5 January 2004, the copany will be based at Marston Moor Business Park at Tockwith, near York. The move will give Stage One a one-stop shop facility, incorporating steel fabrication, joinery, electrical, QMotion and Hangar Staging all under one roof.

Contact details from 5 January will be: Stage One Creative Services Ltd, Hangar 88, Marston Moor Business Park, Tockwith, YO26 7QF.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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This is a pivotal time for PLASA as it reviews its long-term goals, and with issues such as safety, training and legislation high on the agenda, a review has been undertaken to ensure all our plans for 2004 are met and new initiatives are given momentum. Thus key changes have been made which will allow us to build on our achievements to date and create a stronger and more active organization.

As part of this process, Ruth Rossington will be promoted from Editor of Lighting&Sound International to executive director of the PLASA organization - a newly created role which will see her working closely alongside CEO Matthew Griffiths and finance director Shane McGreevy to ensure the Association, Media and PLASA Show teams achieve the main objectives identified in PLASA's strategic aims.

In PLASA Media, L&SI deputy editor Lee Baldock moves up to become editor of Lighting&Sound Internation

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The results of this year's PLASA committee elections were posted just as L&SI was going to press. As a result, the Association has welcomed three new members to its executive committee. With effect from 1 January 2004, Adrian Brooks of LiteStructures, Becky Loughran of Vertigo Rigging and John Jones of PCM/Pfaff Silberblau will join PLASA's executive body.

The new places were made available by the departures of Mick Hannaford of LightProcessor, Sammy de Havilland of Dare/Deco Leisure and Neil Darracott of Total Fabrications, all of whom have completed their terms. PLASA Chairman David Hopkins OBE acknowledged the valuable contributions all three had made, and thanked them for their efforts.

The three new members are all highly experienced. Adrian Brooks is the managing director of LiteStructures: his company, one of the largest in its sector, began manufacturing the original Astralit

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UK - Eat to the Beat catered for the crew and artists at the Capital Christmas Live event at Earls Court this month. Amidst one of Eat to the Beat's busiest months this year, catering for over 150 shows through December, from tours to one-off events, the prestigious Capital Christmas Live was the largest single music event. On the day of the event, Eat to the Beat catered for 250 people and served the artist's dressing rooms, catering to specific requests for the likes of Sugababes, Busted, Texas, Sting and Enrique Iglesias.

The Eat to the Beat team arrived on site on 2 December, two days prior to the show, led by crew leader Rachael Collins and head chef Suzie Collins. The team provided three meals on each of the three days, with constant refreshments available all day for the crew on site. The artists were provided with a rolling buffet of hot and cold options when arriving at

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1) The way they begin every conversation with "Of course, you can do it for 5.00?"

2) Counting is not their strong point: a production manager's week bears absolutely no correlation whatever with a real week.

3) They are in your face on the fit-up, in the bar during the show and unavailable when you need to get paid.

4) They never look out of the window in the morning because then there would be nothing left for them to do in the afternoon.

5) On a fit-up, they believe that the centre of the universe shifts slightly with every important step they take.

6) They believe actors are props with dialogue, producers are props with clipboards and if we could all read minds, we wouldn't need headsets.

7) They have no comprehension of national holidays that fall on a Monday.

8) At home, their door mat is gaffered down so no one will trip over it; their furniture has wheels

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UK - Lighting&Sound International magazine (L&SI) will stage its second Networking event in February, when it offers readers a unique opportunity to take a behind the scenes tour of Dralion, the latest production from the world-renowned Cirque Du Soleil, which comes to London's Royal Albert Hall in the New Year. The first Networking event was a great success, providing 56 delegates with a backstage tour and performance of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium.

For the next event, which will take place on 13 February, delegates will be able to join L&SI at the Royal Albert Hall and meet with members of the Cirque Du Soleil production team, the Royal Albert Hall's technical crew and representatives of the companies who have supplied lighting, sound and rigging expertise to the production.

The day will include a guided tour of the historic venue and modern produ

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UK - Legendary rock'n'roll trucking company Stage Truck is making good use of the entertainment industry's fastest-growing resource - StageAccess.com. "Although I still drive trucks," explains Stage Truck's Will Johns, "I'm spending more and more time talking to potential clients and finding out information about venues. Traditionally, this means a big pile of industry directories, the trusty Filofax and a long memory, all of which is a time-consuming process, and of course all those pieces of paper are constantly going out of date. By going into StageAccess.com I can email tour managers to see what's coming up, or get straight into venues' details, all in a few mouse clicks - fantastic - knowing that all the information is completely up-to-date because everyone can update their own information on the site as often as they like."

All of which is a welcome tim

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Diane Grant of DHA Lighting and Andrew Bishop of Carlsbro Electronics have been elected PLASA chairman and vice-chairman respectively, with Tim Brown of Apple Sound re-elected as PLASA treasurer. Previous chairman David Hopkins (OBE) of Audio Design Services remains on the PLASA committee, but former vice-chairman Sammy de Havilland steps down, having completed his term in office.

During the year ahead, the new committee will focus on several key themes, including improved services for the membership and greater emphasis on safety and training.

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PLASA has been approved as a RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) CPD Network Provider. The Association has been looking for an opportunity to build closer links with the architectural markets, and RIBA in particular, so that it can create greater awareness of its members and contribute to the building design process.

As part of this, PLASA's Nicky Greet, in conjunction with Andy Brining of Stagepoint (and with input from Chris Higgs of Total Fabrications), has developed a seminar entitled Design Considerations for Buildings used for Corporate or Entertainment Applications, to provide architects with essential information in the design stages. The first will be delivered at PALME in Dubai next month, with others to follow.Further details from

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Lots of new members signed up for membership at the tail-end of last year.

Joining as Full members are amplifier manufacturer Chevin Research (+44 1943 466060), audio distributor Intersonics (+44 1270 820904), audio export specialist Paxt Ltd (+44 1763 262101), one of Europe's largest audio sales and rental companies - SSE Hire (+44 1527 528822) and flightcase manufacturer Swan Flight (+44 1740 623555). Audio, lighting and laser company S.A. Sound & Light Show Lasers, Belgium (+32 6834 0368) has joined the ranks of Full EU members, whilst a further three companies have signed up for international membership - WYSIWYG software developer, CAST Group, Canada (+1 416 597 2278), AV specialist Khaldi Est, Saudi Arabia (+966 1280 3009), and lighting fixture manufacturer San-Ei Electric Co, Japan (+81 6 6379 0010).

Bould Lig

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UK - Stage Electrics has announced the launch of its new website, which combines information on all the services offered by the company, with key data on products in their extensive hire and sales inventory. David Whitehead, Stage Electrics' managing director said: "The new website is the first phase of an ongoing plan to provide customers with a 'one stop' approach to gaining knowledge on the technical equipment and services we can provide."

An added feature for the technicians in the industry is the incorporation in the Hire section with useful information on some of the equipment, such as weight, lamp, power rating, number of DMX channels etc. There is also a facility for technical manuals to be downloaded.

Linda Moore Stage Electrics sales and marketing manager said: "We believe the site is easier to navigate, we wanted it to be bold and dynamic, providing o

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UK - The Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) has appointed the senior management team for the New Wimbledon Theatre, as the venue prepares to re-open next month. The venue closed in June 2003 and was taken over by ATG in September.

Among the newly-appointed team is general manager Maralyn Sarrington. Most recently, she was general manager of Hampstead Theatre, where she supervized the organization's move to a new, multi-space public venue following its successful Lottery bid. From 1996 - 2001, she was general manager at Shakespeare's Globe, which included managing its opening season in 1997.

David Holder has been appointed theatre manager, in charge of front-of-house services and customer care. David has spent the last four years with ATG, as theatre manager of the Theatre Royal in Brighton and before that, as customer services manager at its flagship venue - The Ambassadors comple

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UK - There is no question that the pioneering work of Autograph Sound Recording chairman Andrew Bruce has shaped the face of theatre sound design. Currently celebrating its 30th anniversary as the UK's first, and leading, theatrical sound design company, Autograph was founded by Bruce and fellow Royal Opera House sound department member Phil Clifford in 1973. The enterprising duo purchased a Revox to rent to producer Michael Codron's production manager, who wasn't happy with the standard of equipment he'd been renting. "He basically said that if we ever thought of opening up our own hire company to let him know and we could do all his work!" remembers Bruce.

By 1976 Autograph had come to the attention of leading US sound designer Abe Jacob, who was in London to appoint an equipment supplier for the UK production of Broadway hit A Chorus Line. A firm working relationsh

  1. New chairman and vice-chairman at PLASA
  2. PLASA continues RIBA relationship
  3. Olivier Award nominations include Sound Design
  4. David Johnson to head up LD & ED magazines
  5. PLASA announces new American publication
  6. VME Ltd appoints new events director
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