UK - Sunbaba launched their first ever fully recyclable fabric at The Event Show this January receiving extremely positive feedback from industry professionals.

The old saying 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' has never been good enough for Sunbaba, whom during 11 years of providing high quality branding solutions to the event industry, has been passionate about developing greener branding solutions. Their commitment to research and development is evident as they launch their first ever fully recyclable product.

Jonathan Booth, marketing director at Sunbaba explains: "Polyethylene is our first fully recyclable product and offers the perfect replacement to traditional banner PVC. It can be printed using UV inks which further reduces the environmental impact. It is a solid fabric making it ideal for perimeter branding, building wraps and large format advertising."

As

USA - The Joint Training Initiative of The ESTA Foundation and USITT have announced a new course, Fall Protection and Rescue System Requirements and Methods to be taught in Bowie, MD. There will be two opportunities to take this two-day course beginning the week of 6 April 2009. Courses will combine both classroom and practical exercises and are designed for intermediate to advanced riggers. Topics covered will include OSHA and industry requirements, appropriate use and limitations of various systems, and useful climbing and rescue skills.

Sessions will be held at the Bowie Center for the Performing Arts, Bowie MD, and will be conducted by Morgan Neff of Mine Safety Appliances (MSA), a Fall Protection and Rescue Trainer, and Rocky Paulson, an ETCP Certified Rigger and ETCP Recognized Trainer.

(Jim Evans)

USA - The US Patent Office has issued patent 7,461,500 to J. R. Clancy for a "System for Determining Wear to Rigging System Lines," more commonly known as SureGrip rope. This is the only theatrical rope with a wear indicator, to tell users when the rope should be replaced.

SureGrip was developed by J.R. Clancy specifically to address the safety concerns of worn hand lines. Excessive wear is indicated by a "telltale" red thread woven into the rope - when red threads are visible, it's time to replace the line.

"Theatre safety is important to us," said Bob Theis, president of J. R. Clancy "and the development of SureGrip is part of our ongoing work to reduce risk backstage."

(Jim Evans)

Snow Business - Heavy snowfall caused several West End theatres to cancel their Monday evening performances. The newly-opened Oliver!, Avenue Q, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia! and Jersey Boys were all called off. The Royal Opera House performance of Die tote Stadt was also cancelled. Promoters said the weather meant that they could not guarantee the performers and crew would be able to make it into central London.

Eurovision Countdown - Jade Ewen has been chosen to sing Andrew Lloyd Webber's Eurovision Song Contest entry for the UK in Moscow. The Londoner won the public vote ahead of Sheffield siblings The Twins and Welshman Mark Evans after all three acts performed My Time. The ballad, heard for the first time, was composed by Lloyd Webber with US Grammy-winning lyricist Diane Warren. The compo

UK - Live event rigging company, Summit Steel has become part of Production Resource Group LLC (PRG). The same rigging service remains unchanged. Jon Bray, Chris Walker and their team at Summit are all maintaining exactly the same roles as before.

Summit Steel will be keeping its name, logo and identity, continuing as an independent brand, focussed on the markets that it serves. The company will remain located at its base in the South East.

PRG CEO Jere Harris said, "We are delighted to add Summit Steel to PRG's portfolio of brands in the UK and Europe. A specialist rigging supplier of this strength and reputation will complement and enhance our existing brands in the region and our business globally. We are looking forward to working with Jon and his team to further broaden our group technical services offer to support every size of event."

Summit's managing direc

USA - When the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Centre (EMPAC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute opened, its theatre, concert hall and two studios were ready for action with automated rigging from J. R. Clancy.

Eight years in the making, the 221,000sq.ft Curtis R. Priem EMPAC near Troy, NY, includes nine levels of studios, a 1,200-seat concert hall, a smaller 400-seat theatre, a studio with seating for 240 people, another that seats 120, a 1,500sq.ft rehearsal studio and four artist-in-residence studios.

Designed by Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners of London and New York, the project's construction began in 2003. Theatre consultants Fisher Dachs Associates designed rigging systems, with J. R. Clancy supplying the rigging and acoustical equipment for the four performance spaces.

For the theatre, the company provided 22 high speed (0 - 240 fpm) hoists with 2000-lb. capacit

The Netherlands - Mojo Barriers provided the crowd safety infrastructure required for the Dutch premiere of Valkyrie, the new film starring Tom Cruise. Cruise, who is known for his enthusiasm for greeting fans, often spending one or two hours on the red carpet outside film premieres, required the most robust safety measures for his appearance at Holland's Pathé Tuschinski Cinema, Amsterdam.

Mojo Barriers supplied 30m of aluminium barrier following a specific request for their product to achieve the highest standards of security and crowd safety. The Hollywood star met Dutch fans, signing signatures and constantly reaching over the barrier to shake hands, while crowds remained comfortable in spite of the high turnout.

"The comfort and safety of both the actors and the public was paramount to the organisers of the Valkyrie launch," says Patrick Jordan, ma

UK - Jan Booth, managing director of Sunbaba has been welcomed as a new council member of the National Outdoor Events Association. NOEA is the leading trade body for organisers and suppliers in the UK outdoor event industry and Booth joins them with two decades of experience in event signage and branding.

John Barton, NOEA general secretary said: "For many years Jan has supported the association and attended conventions and regional conferences. She is well known throughout the industry for her passion, commitment and good ideas and we are excited about her joining us to become involved in the future development of the association."

"I am delighted to have been elected as a council member. Having been in business for 21 years I feel that I can represent small /medium business in the outdoor event industry," said Booth. "We know that the next few years

UK - Litestructures supplied a key feature for the latest European tour of the American boy Band New Kids On The Block (NKOTB).

This was the first time Litestructures worked with the band. Production manager Bobby Schneider contacted Litestructures to supply a circular lift which would be located in the middle of the crowd, and would be able to hold the band and rise to up to 6' high.

Litestructures came up with a concept of adapting one of their standard Scissor lifts with a circular 12' diameter LiteDeck staging system - all used from the company's hire department.

The end result was a success and the lift acted as the centre piece of the show and toured with the band for three weeks. In smaller venues, the lift was replaced with a static 12' diameter circular LiteDeck.

Ben Brooks, hire manager at Litestructures comments: "It was a fantastic opportunity for Litestru

UK - In December 2009 Richard Box and Mick Birchall will attempt to row 2900 miles across the Atlantic Ocean as part of the 'Atlantic Rowing Race 2009'

Le Mark Group's Kraken Tape will form an important part of their emergency tool kit. Richard & Mick will crucially rely on a water maker powered by solar panels. Should this fail, the two rowers will rely on their own ability to fix and repair their equipment in extreme conditions, as best they can.

Kraken Tape will be on board ready to repair pipes, ropes and electrical connections. It can even be applied wet as it will still self fuse to give a "flexible seal that is 100% waterproof".

Kraken Tape has been tested to meet the stringent standards of WRAS, is completely safe to use and will not contaminate their precious drinking water, says the company.

Kraken Tape and the Le Mark Team are extremely proud to be abl

UK - In March 2006, the Leicester Theatre Trust, part of Leicester City Council, ordered an integral automation system as part of the building of Curve - a venue that was boldly commissioned to make the world of theatre visible from the outside in. This imaginative and unusual brief required the innovative thinking of automation pioneers and Stage Technologies was chosen to meet the challenge.

In July 2008, champagne corks popped as the venue was handed over, fully kitted out with a remarkable automation and flying system that incorporates 76 winches and 12 portable point hoists, a grid that encompasses the entire performance area and a control system comprising two mobile Nomad desks and two handheld Solo consoles.

Visibility was a key element of the brief, with the project directors wanting to be able to exhibit the performance area to a wider audience at the press of a butt

Australia - Rigging specialists Pollard Productions, based in Sydney, Australia has invested in a Kinesys automation system. Kinesys is a European market leader for flexible, user-friendly, precision automation solutions.

"We'd been following the development of the system for some time," explains James Ring, managing director of Pollard Productions, who reveals that they were eagerly awaiting the release of the latest K2 3D programming and visualizing platform, and had also seen Kinesys in action on several concert tours throughout Australia. "Kinesys came highly recommended by many of the touring riggers we know".

Pollards' system consists of eight 1 tonne Liftket and twelve 0.5 tonne Liftket double brake chain hoists with 20m of travel, 20 Kinesys Elevation 1+ variable speed hoist controllers, a 24 channel Kinesys Array PD-ES and two 6 channel Mini Array

UK - Litestructures proudly introduced its new line of creative aluminium solutions - LiteConsole - at the recent TPi Awards ceremony in London. Presenter Phill Jupitus described the console as looking like "...something from the Starship Enterprise!"

The original inspiration for LiteConsole came from Paul Oakenfold who required a modular performance console to reinforce his stage presence on his recent global stadium tour with Madonna, and Litestructures totally responded to Paul's requirement.

"LiteConsole represents an innovative, portable and high visual impact solution for corporate presentations and live performances," says the company. The line can be used as musician/DJ/production work surfaces; as eye-catching information booths at trade shows and exhibitions; for TV/video recording projects; and as temporary retail outlets/sales promotion counters

USA - PowerLift, J. R. Clancy's popular automated theatre hoist, has been listed as meeting the rigorous UL 1340 Hoist standard for safety by ETL. A Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL), ETL was originally founded by Thomas Edison in 1896. PowerLifts will now carry the ETL Listing Mark.

This listing signifies that PowerLift meets the safety requirements of the world's most trusted source for product compliance, illustrating Clancy's ongoing commitment to backstage safety.

"This is an important step forward, as most of the theatrical hoists installed in the U.S. are not listed by any agency," said Tom Young, Clancy vice-president of marketing. "By complying with the most rigorous standards in the industry, we're helping to reduce the risks backstage. Now it's clear that PowerLifts can help the show go on - safely."

To be listed, the product must

UK - The specialist procurement and installation skills of Lighting Technology Projects (LTP) were utilised to specify, prepare and rig 48 custom designed and manufactured trusses that facilitate the 'house' lighting in The Atrium at Westfield London, the UK's new £1.7 billion shopping destination in W12.

Westfield London, currently the largest urban shopping destination in Europe, features a spectacular central Atrium space the size of a football pitch. Designed by Westfield's in-house architects, its undulating glass roof comprises thousands of glass panels, suspended by tree-like support structures.

LTP was referred by architectural/entertainment lighting specialists Architainment to T Clarke, electrical contractors to Westfield. They needed LTP's experience of integrating theatrical and architectural lighting methodology to provide design support for the trusses incl

Switzerland - Europe's tallest wine tower, standing at a staggering 15 metres, has been unveiled as the centre piece of the new Radisson Blu Hotel at Zurich Airport. The innovative installation was the focal point of the recent grand opening ceremony.

ES Projects, a trading division of ES Group Ltd, designed, built and commissioned the structure with the support of specialist sub-contractor Stage One who installed and commissioned key features such as the LED lighting and Angel flying winches. ES Projects called on its experience in the events industry to provide training and choreography for the Wine Angels.

The wine tower is a steel framed, glass clad structure designed to act as a vertical four sided temperature controlled wine cellar, operated in full view of the hotel guests and bar customers. The total capacity of the tower is 3,840 bottles. Wine bottles are store

UK - Wisbech-based flightcase manufacturer 5 Star has again provided a case solution for UK DJ equipment specialist, Pioneer.

Following the success of the Pro-420FLT and Pro-440FLT mini consoles, Pioneer required a custom designed case to house its latest professional DJ system, the MEP-7000 multi entertainment player and controller, which also includes a 19" mixer such as the DJM-3000. The DJM-700 mixer can also be housed via the 19" rack conversion.

Pioneer and 5 Star worked closely from the outset of the project to achieve a value added' product with numerous eatures and Pioneer branding.

"Pioneer has a great relationship with 5 Star", says Pioneer's Paul Beardsall. "We simply supply a brief for a new project and they have a remarkable ability to produce and deliver the goods. Design flare, an eye for detail and a superb production turnaround real

UK - Showsec secured the Brit Awards 2009 with at Earls Court and simultaneously, they played an instrumental part in the War Child Benefit gig at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, with some artists appearing at both venues.

Showsec's Operations Director Simon Battersby managed the Brits project, liaising with organisers from the BPI and production management M.J.K. and Earls Court. He said, "This is the second year that we have worked at the BRITs and the smooth, assured manner in which we undertook such a complex operation underlines the professionalism and capabilities that are present at all levels within our team."

Maggie Crow, event director for The BRIT Awards 2009 noted: "Showsec provided the most exemplary security at this years' BRITs. My feedback has been every guest - and there are over 12,000 of them who are all treated as VIPs - were welcomed and dire

UK - A 15-way Kinesys automation system was in action recently on the Strictly Come Dancing Live UK arena tour. This was specified by the tour's production director Andy Gibbs of producer Phil McIntyre Productions and follows on from the success of a six-way system that they hired for last year's tour.

The system consisted of 15 half tonne Liftket motors and Kinesys Elevation 1+ controllers, plus a Vector control system operated by Barry Branford.

Six bespoke scenic chandeliers, suspended from a box truss in the centre of the dancefloor move individually. Eight small mirror balls on single points around the outside of the dancefloor and a large 2.5m mirror ball right in the centre of the dancefloor were also automated.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Branding specialist Sunbaba opens the doors of its new London studio this week. The studio will be managed by account director Jonathan Booth.

The addition comes as Sunbaba's work with London-based agencies and for events in the capital increased in the last 12 months, prompting the need for a London office for clients to discuss complicated branding projects and see Sunbaba in action, says the company.

Sunbaba launched a range of new products in 2008 for both indoor and outdoor events, expanding the range from air permeable fabrics for outdoor branding to include correx board, voiles and soft fabrics and a range of eco-friendly products.

Jonathan Booth said: "Having a base in London makes us more accessible to our clients in the capital. Customers are welcome to drop into the studio at any time to see fabric samples, review artworks or simply to have a coffee and

UK - MTFX was at the Brit awards at Earls Court providing confetti 'butterfly effects' for Chris Martin from Coldplay.

This consisted of three cues, one on each of the chorus of Viva la Vida. To produce the effect the producers hired 12 of MTFXs Confetti storms, four extra large venturi blowers, three extra large spinners and 250kgs of red, white and blue Butterfly confetti.

(Jim Evans)

UK - The achievements of Arena Seating were recognised at the National Outdoor Event Association (NOEA)'s Annual Tributes this year, when the company was awarded the trophy for best supplier.

The award, sponsored by Access All Areas, was presented to Arena Seating's sales director Dave Withey by promoter Harvey Goldsmith and TV's Ed Stewart. It recognised Arena Seating's track record of service and innovation at events like Wimbledon, Red Bull Air Races, X Factor, the Hyde Park festivals and many other events.

"We're delighted to receive this NOEA Annual Tribute, which we feel reflects the hard work and dedication of everyone at Arena Seating," said Dave Withey. "It is a privilege to win the recognition of our industry peers and we look forward to working with many NOEA members at every type of event over the next 12 months."

(Jim Evans)

USA - In an effort to effectively insure life safety and maintain the structural integrity of the space, the award-winning San Diego Convention Centre has revised its rigging requirements. Among the new requirements, the policy states that all rigging installations must be done under the supervision of a rigging supervisor who is certified through the Entertainment Technician Certification Programme (ETCP).

"As an early supporter of the Entertainment Technician Certification Programme, we at I.A.T.S.E. Local 122, understand the value of supporting the vision of ETCP to provide a benchmark set to establish the skill levels of technicians within our profession," said Carlos Cota, I.A.T.S.E. 122's business agent. "So, when the San Diego Convention Centre proposed a change in their rigging policy stating that there would be an ETCP certified rigger on every rigging ca

Japan - Prolyte has announced the official launch of a new sales office in Japan. The combined Prolyte and Doughty sales office is a branch of Prolyte Asia Pacific.

The Tokyo based office is equipped with a warehouse that stocks a broad range of Prolyte and Doughty products, which enables PAP to gain competitive edge when delivering the products within a shorter lead-time, says the company.

Mr. Mutsuo Osawa is managing director for Prolyte Doughty Japan Incorporation (PDJ). He brings considerable experience from both the entertainment and the advertising industry, having worked for Theatre Engineering Co Ltd and headed many international campaigns, ranging from changing corporate/brand image to launching of new product for Fujitsu, Canon and Nissan.

In order to provide maximum service to customers and users, a Japanese website as well as a translation of the main Prolyte bro

Latest Issue. . .

Save
Cookies user preferences
We use cookies to ensure you to get the best experience on our website. If you decline the use of cookies, this website may not function as expected.
Accept all
Decline all
Analytics
Tools used to analyze the data to measure the effectiveness of a website and to understand how it works.
Google Analytics
Accept
Decline
Advertisement
If you accept, the ads on the page will be adapted to your preferences.
Google Ad
Accept
Decline