Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
Doughty - Banner - from 15 May 2025

Rigging / Staging

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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

Doughty - Banner - from 15 May 2025

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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

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Germany - Event industry experts now have an opportunity to help shape the content of two Stage|Set|Scenery formats at the international trade show and the International Stage Technology Conference. They are currently invited to submit their entries for papers at the International Stage Technology Conference and for the Safety in Action stage. The deadline is 3 December 2014.

The International Stage Technology Conference organised by DTHG will be an integral part of Stage|Set|Scenery. Taking place in Hall 4.2 and consisting of two parallel forums, it features an international symposium, lectures, workshops, seminars, round tables and presentations and is an ideal opportunity to find out about current and future industry developments and to actively contribute to the event. Applicants are requested to email their papers to: conference@stage-set-scenery.de. A jury will examine all

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UK - Le Maitre's newly launched range of Coloured Ice Gerbs includes a spectacular and unique colour change effect. A deeply coloured flame enveloping the base of the gerb and a column of silver sparks shoot up to heights of 6-8ft. The effect which last for some 20 seconds has been achieved by Le Maitre's R&D team and is available in aqua, blue, green, orange, purple, red, yellow and pink or as a colour change version.

The Ice Gerbs are the latest in a number of great effects from Le Maitre and produced using their completely new production process which is greatly increasing factory production capabilities.

Other new products also just released by Le Maitre include:

New Large Intense Flames in blue, white, pink, yellow, red and green, which as the name implies produce an vibrant and intense effect in terms of both colour and heat with flames 10-12ft high and lasting 20 seco

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UK - Cable specialists VDC Trading has announced the introduction of the Van Damme White Line range of LSZH Install cables.

Developed on the back of customer input and demand for a white option, the range consists of an AES/EBU 1pr and twin-axial Speaker cables in 1.5mm and 2.5mm. Designed in conjunction with existing Van Damme Ecoflex Install cables that are ABS design accredited, the White Line range is suited to every install need.

The Van Damme White Line Ecoflex cable is a Low Smoke Zero Halogen (LSZH) specifically for installation use. The use of LSZH cables is a specified essential in public buildings, new build construction and often marine projects. Based electrically and mechanically on the Van Damme Green Series range, the Ecoflex jacketed 1pr cable will carry AES/EBU and/or analogue balanced audio as well as paired data signals such as RS485, RS422 and DMX512.

Th

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UK - Hoist UK have recently completed a full LEEA audit, and have been granted full membership of LEEA (Lifting Equipment Engineers Association) effective from 1 August 2014.

LEEA is the leading representative body for all those involved in the lifting industry worldwide, and has played a key role in this specialised field for over seventy years offering members advice and training on standards, regulations and health and safety within the lifting equipment profession.

"Becoming full LEEA members marks another step towards our commitment to the safety and training of our employees and assuring customers that they are our top priority, this goes hand in hand with our most recent accreditations in quality management (ISO: 9001) and environmental management (ISO: 14001)," says Louise Dickson general manager of Hoist UK.

Paul Jordan, director of Hoist UK Comments, &quo

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UK - At PLASA London, uTRAC has revealed its top five feature developments to facilitate more efficient organising and tracking of labour for events

With the launch of uTRAC v2.0, the team has bolstered its drive to become the go-to workforce management application for events. The significantly re-designed interface has been tailored to improve the user experience and make its mobile app more touch friendly for people wanting to do their scheduling on the go with their tablets.

The new notification centre showing outstanding tasks includes notifications for unpaid invoices, unfilled shifts, and overdue payments among many other updates that will help all team members stay on top of their tasks.

The certificate management feature means workers will be able to record details of their relevant qualifications. An expiry date linked with uTRAC's notification centre allows both wo

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UK - PLASA London opened its doors at 10am this morning and welcomed a surge of visitors in the first few hours of the show. Hundreds of people skipped their typical Sunday activities in favour of a vibrant exhibition floor and an education programme packed with the world's biggest names in entertainment technology.

Here are some of the highlights from today's show:

World Class Exhibitors

Every year, PLASA London brings together the most important audio, lighting, video and staging companies, filling the show floor with a feast of exhibitors. This year is certainly no different, with more than 250 companies exhibiting. Looking around ExCeL London's first class exhibition space, we see companies like Robe, Clay Paky, Shure, Polar Audio, Autograph, SSE Audio, FBT, Philips Entertainment, White Light, Highlite, Chauvet, MA Lighting, SGM, Prolyte, A.C Entertainment Technol

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UK - Faster rigging of stage and sets combined with improved safety are just two of the benefits offered by Doughty Engineering's Modular Rigging System, shown at PLASA for the first time.

A strong, safe alternative to 'home made' drop arms, which until now have been the only option for riggers, the system uses tried and tested connectors to give a SWL of 100kg and enables the safe and speedy rigging of luminaires from truss or fixed tubes or barrels. It also provides for a range of configurations to open up the possibility for highly innovative lighting design.

The Modular Rigging System uses 48mm diameter aluminium barrels in conjunction with a truss style conical coupling and is designed as two parts - Modular Drop Arms, which are single arms designed to be suspended with a coupler, and H-Frames, which can be suspended or floor-standing with tank traps.

Mark Chorley, desi

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UK - Milos Group, one of the largest manufacturers of trussing and support structures in the world, welcomes James Thomas Engineering to its growing number of professional and trusted brands. James Thomas Engineering has been one of the leading manufacturers of aluminium trussing, rigging and ground support to North American and international clients since 1977. Its General Purpose, Supertruss and HD truss systems are known throughout the industry as benchmarks for professional outdoor concert, theatre and corporate venue productions.

As part of the Milos Group, and falling under the TOMCAT banner, JTE will continue to manufacture the same high quality "Made in the USA" products that industry professionals have relied upon for more than 35 years. Innovation will remain its first priority, and its mission statement "Innovation through Design and Engineering Excelle

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UK - The buzz around the aisles and stands of PLASA London 2014 has created an incredible atmosphere for visitors and exhibitors alike. The entertainment technology industry is full of brilliant characters, giving the industry its special personality. While the social side of the show has flourished, so has business, as exhibitors continue to launch new products and make important connections.

Green Hippo has chosen PLASA London 2014 for the launch of the Hippotizer v4. The company has taken the award-winning features of the Hippotizer v3, such as UberPan, Cross-Fade on Layer, Presets and Region Mapper success, and added new hardware and an array of key software features that will make the user experience better than ever before.

Raycom is exhibiting at PLASA London for the first time, using the show as a platform for moving into the live market. The company has built up an ex

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UK - The PLASA Awards for Innovation (sponsored by Lighting&Sound International) were presented on Tuesday 7 October, revealing the most ground-breaking products of PLASA London 2014. It was a night of celebration and remembrance, as the prestigious Gottelier Award was awarded posthumously to Clay Paky founder, Pasquale 'Paky' Quadri, who recently passed away.

Clay Paky's Chief Operational Officer, Pio Nahum, graciously accepted the Gottelier Award on behalf of his friend and colleague. The other nominees - Richard Belliveau, David Cunningham and Dr Christian Heil - withdrew from the running following the sad news. The lighting industry has lost a great character and a true pioneer.

Every year, PLASA recognises products that demonstrate progress, through attributes like a new style of thinking, an improvement in technical practice, new technology, materials or technique

  1. Ivor Crewe Lecture hall connected by Van Damme
  2. Firefly Cygnus reduces event fuel costs
  3. Q Willis joins PRG as head of rigging services
  4. Engaging PLASA show breaks new ground
  5. Show Distribution to introduce Imperium controller
  6. S+H installation at Twitchen Holiday Village
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GLP - MPU - Feb, Apr 2025

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