Several companies travelled to Shanghai as part of the Britain in China programme. Among them was DHA Lighting, exhibiting in conjunction with its Asian stockist Pacific Lighting (HK) and showing its latest product, the Gecko Image Projector, together with a range of other products. Zero 88 was reinforcing its presence in the Asian market with the first Asian showing of its Frog and Fat Frog lighting consoles, whilst Artistic Licence was profiling its DMX512 processor chip range which it is promoting for OEM business.
Strand Lighting debuted its 520i lighting console for the Chinese market and also showed its SL spotlights, 300 Series control consoles and SLD96 dimmers. Simplex, meanwhile, was promoting its Ultralight staging system designed for temporary installations, whilst Smoke Design was demonstrating its range of silk flame machines - including Excalibur, Sabre and Medieval Torch and its Scenta Five fragrance unit. Laser Creations International, for its part, was at the show with details of its Laser Video Projectors and Waterscreens - both proving popular in installations across China. MGC Lamps, the UK distributor for replacement lamps from Philips, GE and Osram, was at the show "to scoop some business around Asia in general, and China in particular," according to director Jeff Sawyer. Hong Kong and China distributor ACE took its usual stand inside the main entrance. British lighting companies on the ACE stand included ADB/LSI with a first-time showing in China of its Phoenix 10 desk, which allows for up to 2,048 channels and four monitors, and Pulsar, which was showcasing its Minipiece 54 and Masterpiece 216 DMX desks. Clay Paky and Jands products were also represented.
On the audio side, ACE featured products from Soundcraft, JBL, Lexicon, BSS, dbx, Crown and Shure, for which the fast-growing company has recently been appointed Chinese distributor. Together with a complete range of Shure products, ACE was also promoting the first-time availability in China of the KSM44 studio mic.
Central to the Pacific Audio Supplies stand was the Bose Panaray system, together with the Allen & Heath ML 5000, GL 2200, GL 3300 and ML 4000 VCA consoles and Xone range of DJ/club mixers. The company also showed a range of Carver amps plus a display of products from Australian manufacturer ARX, including the EQ-60, Barmix, 8-pre 8 mic amp, Afterburner and Sixgate units.
EVI Hong Kong was handling the Asian debut of the Midas Venice console aimed at small venues and corporate AV, as well as the first time showing in China of Dynacord’s LittleMax speaker range and AM12 active monitors. The company also showed a Midas Heritage 1000, the smallest console in the range.
Chinese manufacturer Deton took a large space to exhibit its range of power amp, mixer and equaliser products. The company was showing its new D Series Switchmode amplifier for the first time, and also featuring the MP Series advanced mixers.
Other prominent Chinese exhibitors included Prosperity Lamps and Components which was launching the Cyberlight Turbo, Studio Beam and new Color Pro series from High End, controlled via a Wholehog II desk. Chinese sales agent Artco dedicated almost all its stand to promoting UK speaker brand Ohm, which it is actively establishing in Hong Kong, China and Macau. The company also exhibited a range of lighting products from German manufacturer JB Lighting, for which it was appointed a distributor at this year’s Frankfurt Musikmesse. US speaker, amp and mixer manufacturer Biema also had a large range of its products on display. Biema has joined forces with Hong Kong-based Wind Force (HK) Tech Industrial Company to introduce its products in to the Chinese market.
Sammy de Havilland, CEO of DARE Pro-Audio and Deco Leisure, was at the Shanghai show in his role of PLASA treasurer an
