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

Rigging / Staging

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USA - Similar to many worship families across the United States, the congregation at the First Baptist Church in Thomasville, Georgia, recently underwent a sanctuary renovation to offer both contemporary and traditional worship services.

Working with Thomasville's S&L Integrated on a complete audio, lighting and LED video renovation, the church wanted to make sure that while the technical systems received an update, the traditional aesthetics of the sanctuary were not affected. Desiring a solution that would enable the use of a dynamic LED video system for the contemporary services while discreetly hiding it for the traditional, S&L Integrated teamed with JR Clancy to create a roll-up LED video system using FLEXCurtain HD from Nashville-based PixelFLEX.

"We've developed a wonderful relationship with First Baptist Church over the years, so when they approached us about conc

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UK - Star Events will supply stages, support structures and seating to the third edition of Spirit of Rock Productions' Ramblin' Man Fair next July, at Mote Park in Maidstone, Kent. The contract comes on the back of a successful sophomore year for the 15,000-capacity event.

Star has committed to provide Ramblin' Man 2017 with a 20m VerTech Main Stage, two mobile stages, a VT show deck stage, that will sit inside a temporary structure, and a mobile seating unit.

Chris Ingham, creative director at Spirit of Rock Productions, comments: "The quality of Star Events' infrastructure and its experience with festivals of all sizes makes it a perfect fit for Ramblin' Man."

Pete Holdich, head of structures at Star Events, says: "Three years in, Ramblin' Man Fair continues to grow and we're very pleased to be involved with the next stage of its development."

Ramblin' Man Fair

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

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UK - Cardiff-based 11th Hour Ice has enjoyed a busy and very productive lead-up to Christmas, supplying and installing ice-rinks at several locations in South Wales. Temporary ice rinks are becoming an increasingly popular feature in the landscape of the festive events season, something with which 11th Hour Ice is well acquainted, having operated in the field for a number of years. The company covers all bases in terms of ice rink provision, offering everything from the ice itself, to any infrastructure and ancillary services that are required.

Essentials such as power generation, distribution and site lighting can be supplemented with everything from project management, ticketing, rink marshalling, decorative lighting, sound systems and even marketing and sponsorship. Effectively, 11th Hour Ice offers a bespoke ice rink service tailored to meet the needs and budgets of a rang

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UK - Current RMS reports having had a "huge year" in 2016, with major feature releases on display at multiple shows in the UK and US, as well as significant team growth, enabling its team to provide more support to customers worldwide.

To end 2016, the company has revealed a brand new feature, ready for users to have a play with over the Christmas holidays . . .Users can now Clone or Copy & Paste Opportunity Groups across different jobs, which is useful when providing kit for a job with multiple rooms or venues. Rather than having to use the Product Picker to select the same item across multiple jobs, users can now select 'copy' next to the item and paste it onto a different job.

Current RMS will be seeing in 2017 with over 2,100 rental experts onboard, across 1,300 cities worldwide. Major feature releases such as; Simultaneous Scan, Organisation Discounts and a new Costin

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Europe - From the beginning of 2017, Swiss electric chain hoist manufacturer GIS AG is replacing its LCH series with the LP series, offering entertainment rigging professionals a lifting solution tailored to their sector.

The LP series includes the much anticipated and innovative LP500 with up to 60% greater lifting capacity, IP65 as standard and very quiet running at a maximum 65 dB - a key feature for the theatre and live events marketplace.

The specific requirements of the entertainment industry, such as increased capacity in one fall operation, low dead weight, low noise emission and suitability for outdoor use, have been given priority throughout the design and manufacture of the LP500 concept.

LP500 has a robust construction, is simple in its assembly and does not contain any sensitive electronics. All shaft-hub connections are built in a self-centring polygonal

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Belgium - Entertainment engineering specialists WIcreations has supplied several automation elements to help Belgian superstar rockers Clouseau ramp-up the drama and fun for their biennial end-of-year spectacular shows at the 20,000 capacity Antwerp Sportpaleis venue.

The band is in the middle of playing four sold-out shows that started in December and conclude in January - following an extensive theatre tour ongoing through most of the year to support their innovative and popular Clouseau Danst (Clouseau Dances) album.

WIcreations is collaborating closely with the show design team from Painting with Light to create some wow factors for the Sportpaleis shows.

These include a moving bridge in the middle of the audience with a 360 degree rotating arm which rises and cantilevers 15m across the audience, allowing Clouseau's charismatic lead singer Koen Wauters to tr

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Turkey - LITEC has announced the appointment of Eramita as their new distributor in Turkey for LITEC truss systems, EXE-Rise chain hoists, EXE-Drive controllers and EXE-DST automation equipment.

Eramita's founders are people with an extreme amount of enthusiasm and extensive knowledge of the show and events industry, especially in the area of culture and art centers. They provide their clients with leading audio, video, furniture, lighting and textile products.

General manager of Eramita, Seha Tekinalp, said, "It is with great pleasure that we enter this new partnership with LITEC, a leading-edge company in trussing and rigging. Collaboration is a core value and key constituent of our vision. Turkey is a quickly growing country with a dynamically evolving market. With the help of Eramita, I'm sure LITEC will play an important role in the Turkish entertainment segment."

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USA - After surpassing more than three decades on the road, the Red Hot Chili Peppers show no sign of slowing down. In fact, the band is doing just the opposite, as they wrapped up their four-month European leg of The Getaway Tour and began their North American leg in San Antonio last week. With probably the largest kinetic light installation in touring history, the Red Hot Chili Peppers have lit the path for a new concert-goer experience.

Rewind to 1 September, 2016, the Chili Peppers opened The Getaway Tour in Budapest, Hungary. The energetic, funk rock band revealed a larger than life, kinetic light installation that hung above the audience while the Chili Peppers performed a wild jam on stage. Fast forward to 5 January, 2016, the Chili Peppers light up North America, performing to another sold out crowd at the AT&T Centre in San Antonio, TX.

Last week, the Peppers didn

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UK - Event policing specialist TSG has achieved ISO 9001 certification, the international benchmark for business quality.

To gain the accreditation TSG had to demonstrate its dedication and commitment to meeting customers' needs, operating efficient management processes and delivering consistent, good quality products and services.

ISO consultancy QMS oversaw an analysis of the TSG business model, followed by a two-stage formal assessment before awarding the company with ISO 9001 certification.

Danny Littlechild, technical specialist consultant at QMS, comments, "By achieving ISO 9001 certification, TSG is able to demonstrate to customers and suppliers that the systems it has in place meet the high standards set out by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO).

"I was very impressed with the TSG management team's commitment to establishing clear proc

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USA - Total Structures closed 2016, its 25th year of business in the United States, with the debut of its latest award winning products. Halo and Sky-net, fall protection solutions for Total's ground support tower systems and outdoor roof grids, received the Best Debuting Rigging & Staging Product award from Live Design during LDI 2016.

Both products are designed to work with new systems as well as existing roof systems.

Halo provides vertical fall protection and wire rope ladder mounts for 18 inch and 20.5 inch ground support tower systems. This addition of safety equipment will allow technicians to gain access to the tower head block to set hoist chains and to install grid lock off hardware once the structure has been raised into position.

Sky-net is a modular fall prevention net system designed for use with Total Structures' industry leading ladder grid outdoor stag

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USA - When ESTA learned it would be losing a long-term source of revenue, the association faced the loss of almost a third of its income in 2017. The immediate impact of this is to endanger the survival of ESTA's ANSI-accredited Technical Standards Program (TSP). The ramifications of this would be enormous to the entertainment technology industry. Upon hearing of the situation, Ford Sellers, senior product manager at Chauvet Lighting, commented, "The work that is done by the TSP is indispensable. It is central to our industry...In fact, it is what makes us an industry, instead of just a bunch of individual projects."

The rallying cry went out from the volunteer leadership of ESTA and members of the Technical Standards Program, "Everyone in the industry benefits from the TSP and everyone needs to step forward and fund this critical program to keep it alive." The standards creat

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UK - VDC Trading, one of the UK's main distributors of Van Damme cabling, has announced that the Van Damme Tourlight Range of fibre cables has been approved by Neutrik for use in its opticalCON assemblies.

In addition to the product certification, VDC Trading has seen its Neutrik opticalCON Service Centre certification upgraded to the highest level of Class A COCA (Certified opticalCON Assembly), following continued investment in clean room facilities and training. VDC will now be able to offer Van Damme Tourlight II OM3 50/125 and OS1 9/125 Superior Fibre Solutions terminated with Neutrik connectors at optimal turnaround times, delivering a high speed, fibre optic solution to clients globally.

Paul Marchesi, VDC Trading general manager and Neutrik approved Class A Coca Assembler, comments, "We're delighted to have achieved the Neutrik COCA accreditation for the successful

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USA - The Entertainment Technician Certification Programme (ETCP) has announced the programme has now certified 1000 arena riggers throughout North America.

Since 2006, ETCP has issued a total of 2,350 certifications held by 1,978 individuals in the areas of Rigger - Arena, Rigger - Theatre, Entertainment Electrician and the newly developed Portable Power Distribution Technician. ETCP has provided an easy to use search function to find one of our Certified Technicians within your area. You can search by Name, Certification, City, State, or Union Affiliation: http://etcp.esta.org/cert_technicians/search.php

Bill Sapsis, ETCP Arena - Rigging SME chair says, "Congratulations to ETCP on certifying its 1000th arena rigger. Not only does this mean that all of our hard work writing the exam is being put to good use, but also having that many qualified riggers in the work force me

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Belgium - PRG Belgium has recently received a large batch of ProLyft Pro controllers, which will instantly be deployed on productions. After a thorough selection procedure, Prolyte was selected to supply PRG Belgium with its high-end control systems. Investing in 30 12-way control units is the first step in further professionalizing and renewing their rigging department.

PRG's segment advisor rigging, Stef De Raet and Michiel van der Zijde, product manager ProLyft, met during the STEPP contact days, with the leading leitmotiv of "Lifting above the public". Both entirely dedicated to making rigging as safe as possible, discussing about rigging, regulations, and how the market will develop towards the future, they shared their common vision on how safer products can contribute to improve work floor safety, an obvious concern for all involved in rigging. "Whenever you're ready -

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UK - Truss UK is one of the few remaining British manufacturers of load- bearing aluminium trussing products; they design and manufacture structural aluminium products for the entertainment industry as well as other specialist industry sectors worldwide.

Having recently launched their new aluminium space frame product, Truss UK have announced that they have supplied the National Theatre (NT) with a large OBLIK system.

OBLIK is a modular space frame system consisting of only three main component types, the largest of weighing in at less than 16kg. The system is lightweight, compact for transport and storage and simple to erect using conventional fixings (nuts and bolts) to create complex aluminium structures that are extremely strong.

Truss UK director Paul Jordan says, "The OBLIK space frame system was deployed in the grid of the NT's Lyttelton theatre and is suspended

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UK - PLASA Focus Glasgow has announced its final programme of events, including support from the BBC who will provide a unique opportunity to visit the BBC Scotland production facility. PLASA Focus Glasgow - Scotland's sole entertainment technology show - returns to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) on 18-19 January 2017.

John Carmichael, BBC Radio operations manager for Scotland, will host a tour of the studio for the Quay Sessions, a live music programme recorded in front of an audience, including a run-through of the state-of-the-art studio technology in use. The studio is in the BBC Scotland production facility at Pacific Quay, just a few minutes' walk from the SECC.

Other highlights on the Glasgow programme include a networking event at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, who will host a drinks reception and technical tours. Seminar sessions

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UK - Production, entertainment and events flooring specialists Harlequin Floors are exhibiting at PLASA Focus, in Glasgow, 18-19 January on stand A3, introducing new and exciting products including Hi-Shine Gold and Silver.

Following a huge success at the London Olympia exhibition at the end of September last year, Harlequin Floors is heading to Glasgow for more PLASA action, where it expects to have heads turning once again at the new product lines on offer.

The metallic finishes in gold and silver are the latest additions to the Hi-Shine range and give a highly reflective, glossy, and mirrored effect. Because Harlequin's Hi-Shine floors are durable and easy to roll out, they are perfect for the fast-paced and pressurised world of events, television production, set design and fashion, where time and high quality are of the essence.

Also of interest to set designers an

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USA - Motion control systems manufacturer Kinesys again welcomes guests to its dedicated training facility in Atlanta, Georgia with a combined Open Days / Training Workshop event running from 21-24 February 2017.

The emphasis is on both product awareness and providing fee-free training for those who want to increase their knowledge and understanding of automated rigging for the entertainment industry.

Subjects will include the operation and implementation of Kinesys automation products as well as the application of load cell systems for increased safety in multi-hoist lifting operations and the invitation is open to designers, operators, rental suppliers and rigging service providers - anyone with an interest in this dynamic element of modern show production.

The training workshops will provide structured learning in the theory, programming and operation of Kinesys' po

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UK - Doughty Engineering is set debut a new adaptable, three-position Tank Trap at this year's PLASA Focus, Glasgow. Visitors to stand B6 will be able to find out more about the prototype product which has been devised to answer customer demand for a Tank Trap which would allow rigging close to a wall, in the corner of a room or near to an obstruction.

It has a detachable receiver suitable for 48mm barrel, which may be fitted to any of the three mounting points. These mounting points are located in the centre as per a standard Tank Trap, at the edge and in the corner.

Dan Phillips, project sales coordinator at Doughty said, "The Adaptable Tank Trap's mounting points consist of a welded socket which the receiver slots into.The receiver is held in place with a 12mm stainless steel pin, which is in turn secured by a pair of lynch pins. The mounting points and receiver are CNC

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Germany - The first Landesjazzfestival Bayern (jazz festival Bavaria) took place in Regensburg from 21-23 October, 2016. The event, which received prominent support - the patron was Bavaria's Premier Horst Seehofer - presented a top-class and diverse programme on all three festival days. Among the highlights were the shows of Grammy winners Ron Carter and John Scofield as well as the concert of Dusko Goykovich.

During their celebrated performances, the jazz legends shared the stage with equipment newcomers - the new Gravity stands, an Adam Hall Group brand. Once again the accessories showed off their qualities: easy handling, stability and an appealing design.

Winni Freisleben, head of the board of the Jazzclub Regensburg and co-initiator of the first Landesjazzfestival Bayern, noted, "We received positive feedback regarding the Gravity stands from several musicians. The s

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Final Curtain - The curtain is coming down on the most celebrated circus in the US, the Greatest Show on Earth, run by Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey. After 146 years in the business, the owners said declining tickets sales and high operating costs were to blame. Activists who campaigned for decades against the travelling circus's animal acts welcomed the news.

"After much evaluation and deliberation, my family and I have made the difficult business decision that Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey will hold its final performances in May," said a statement from Kenneth Feld, CEO of Feld Entertainment, the family business which has run the circus since the late 1960s.

Sep Outside Love - A life-size bronze statue of Cilla Black has been unveiled outside Liverpool's Cavern Club as the venue celebrates its 60th anniversary. The club, credited with launching

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Europe - Evago AG, German event infrastructure provider, has acquired 100% of the shares in Mojo Barriers' global crowd barrier business.

The Evago Group, which includes German full service event company B

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UK - PLASA Focus Glasgow kicked off the 2017 show season unveiling exciting new product launches and UK debuts including: EM Acoustics' ESP-8 and IC range, Allen & Heath's new dLive C1500 on SSE's stand, RCF's TT45-CXA touring and theatre series, Area Four's EXE Rise 500kg electric chain hoist, and ETC's new AV version of the Color Source desk.

The show, taking place at the SECC in Glasgow, attracted a record number of visitors on day one, hosting packed seminar sessions - including Phil Ward's panel entitled Is Point Source Fighting Back - and the Riggers Forum.

Chris Toulmin, director of PLASA Events says: "PLASA Focus Glasgow has gathered fantastic momentum in the Scottish region, attracting industry support from likes of the BBC, Department of International Trade and The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. The buzzing show floor is further testament for the thrivin

  1. LITEC injects Naples with MyT Folding Steroid
  2. Senior appointments confirmed at J&C Joel
  3. Set designer Guang Jian Gao to speak at PL+S
  4. Current RMS hits the 1,000 user mark
  5. PLASA events attract £3.47billion buying power
  6. BlackTrax releases Beta 2.0
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Astera - Large MPU - June 2025
Sennheiser - MPU - June 2025

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