Business

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Nearly four months after revealing its new 37,000sq.ft corporate headquarters in High Wycombe, AC Lighting announces a major opportunity for people with limited budgets to acquire a diverse range of items at substantially reduced prices. The completion of the task to relocate all of the stock from the company's previous locations and the introduction of a sophisticated computerized stock management system has revealed a substantial number of items which are now surplus to requirements. The items on offer include luminaires, Par cans, moving lights, followspots, control equipment, smoke machines, trussing, stands, rack cabinets, flightcases and general lighting equipment and associated accessories. These items are ex-demonstration, ex-showroom, ex-rental equipment as well as a wide range of new equipment.

A full list of the items on offer can be obtained by contacting Jonathan Walters (

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SigNET AC Ltd, an electronics manufacturer in Tyne and Wear has been named North East regional winner in the Trade Partners UK National Languages for Export Awards 2001, in the category for small business, sponsored by NCM credit Insurance. The company won the award for noticeably changing its attitude and ways of doing business in a number of export markets.

The company which specializes in the design and manufacture of voice alarm, paging and background music systems, believed that early exporting initiatives were conducted tentatively. Richard Sice, marketing manager said: "In order to be more competitive in international markets we have taken a strategic approach to the use of our human resources and polices. We have taken steps to hire people with native language skills and also to employ UK graduates who have studied a foreign language. In addition, we are taking a fresh loo

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Adam Hall has announced the opening of their new Spanish sales office, based in Barcelona. The company has been targeting the Spanish market for the past two years in preparation for this event and says it is confident, even in the current economic climate, that this is the right way forward. The Spanish sales office contact is Gabriel Medrano Bultel, known as 'G' to his friends and colleagues. Bultel has been with Adam Hall for two years and has become and important member of the team in this time.

Adam Hall can be reached in Spain on tel: +34 93 213 3644.

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PCI LiveDesign, the London-based production company which recently merged with Ultimate Events, was commissioned in October for two Microsoft events. Following a long-standing working relationship with Ultimate Events combined with the success of Blackout Triple E’s involvement with the Microsoft Tech-Ed Conference 2001 in Barcelona, PCI LiveDesign again contracted Blackout Triple E, and project manager Chris Brain, for the project in Cannes.

Brain and his six-strong team made the journey to stylish Cannes to drape a drinks reception and party as part of a weeklong Microsoft conference. The theme required the team to turn their hands to more unusual drapes - plastic fish, to compliment the famous Palm Beach. The company also provided and installed 30 fibre optic starcloths (proving that it isn’t just at the annual Film Festival where the Stars come out in force), as well as

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In the wake of the recent launch of Midas's latest innovation, the Legend 3000, the Klark Teknik Group hosted a two-day event at their Kidderminster factory for over 30 customers of EVI France in order to introduce them to the new console. The company also took the opportunity to present an in-depth, hands-on demonstration of the Klark Teknik DN9848 loudspeaker processor, as well as give their guests a full factory tour.

Guest enjoyed both presentations and the factory tour with ample opportunities for Q&A sessions in just one afternoon. Delegates were shown a full DVD presentation of the new Legend console in French, and French-speaking staff were on hand throughout in order to minimize communication difficulties. According to EVI France's Cecile Dehlinger: "Events like this where we can really concentrate one-on-one with our customers and offer them the opportunity to meet the m

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With 15 years' experience, principally in the professional audio industry, Aviva Ozin has finally fulfilled her life-long ambition and set up Faith Communications, a consultancy offering PR and marketing services.

After a long association with the Autograph group of companies, working for both the sales and the sound design and rental divisions, Aviva has an in-depth understanding of the industry. She has also worked in the recording sector, prior to a two-year break from the industry, as the communications manager of a humanitarian aid organisation. In her new role, Aviva continues her association with the Autograph group, which has become one of Faith Communications' first clients. The consultancy is also talking with several other pro audio-related businesses and has recently won a contract from a company operating in the leisure sector.

In addition to its PR and consultancy servi

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London-based sound rental company Thames Audio has recently purchased eight QSC PL236 (PowerLight 2 series) amplifiers from UK distributor HW International. These will be used to power its Funktion One system comprising Resolution 2 and Resolution 4 touring loudspeakers and F218 self-powered subwoofers.

Thames Audio’s technical director Graham Simpson commented: "When we first heard the Resolution Series at Funktion One, we decided unanimously that this was the only speaker system for us! It’s superb musicality was complemented by the PL236's dynamic delivery, which was a noticeable improvement on our existing switchmode amplifier stock. Our choice of amplifier also conforms in general to the touring preference of existing Resolution users." Since the purchase, Thames Audio have utilized the equipment on Brian Conley’s UK tour and for Hedwig at the Edinburgh

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The Production Services Association (PSA) is arranging a series of informal get-togethers around the country to enable its members to share stories and network with others in the industry. The first of these regional meetings will be held at Vari-Lite’s Greenford premises on Tuesday 11th December at 7.00pm. Those attending will have a chance to view the company’s facilities and see how it is tackling the challenges of 2002. The evening will also feature a demonstration of Vari-Lite’s new lighting systems in the demo room.

Anyone interested in attending should contact Keith Owen on 0121 693 7109 or e-mail keith@psa.org.uk.

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Expanding its presence in Germany, ETC has appointed a new dealer for the country. Effective from 1 December 2001, Despar GmbH will also be an ETC Authorised Service Centre, providing a round the clock service support to users of ETC's products in Germany.

Despar will distribute all of ETC's products, including Sensor and Unison dimming and the popular Expression and Obsession consoles, as well as ETCNet2, ETC's Ethernet network system. However, Lightpower Showtechnik GmbH will remain the exclusive distributor for ETC Source Fours and will also continue to distribute the full ETC product range. As a specialist in projects and installations, Despar has long been eager to include ETC's products in its stock. The company oversaw the first German installation of the Obsession in the State Opera in Hannover and has installed ETC equipment in various projects in Germany and abroad, includin

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Roxy Music’s world tour came to a close in late September, having reminded sell-out audiences across the globe of what they were missing during the bands 18-year separation. The three-month circuit of dates, which included appearances in Canada, USA, Australia and Europe received great critical acclaim for the quality of its sound, which was achieved by front-of-house engineer Levi Tecofski, with the help of Audio-Technica microphones.

A huge logistical operation, the show occupied over 70 input channels across two desks, with Bryan Ferry employing three separate vocal positions alone. Main stage and piano positions were handled by AT4054s and an ATW7373 handheld radio mic was in place at the keyboard. Also on an AT4054 vocal mic was principle pianist Colin Good, while the guitar amps of Phil Manzanera and Chris Speading were taken care of by AT4047s. For drummer Paul Thompson, T

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When Britannia Row were asked by MJK Productions to provide sound equipment for an event jointly hosted by Cadbury's and Popworld late in October, little did they know what a prestigious line up of bands would be there. The shows, held at the Hammersmith and Manchester Apollo venues, were private affairs for an invited audience of around 6,000 young pop fans, the winners in a national Cadbury's 'back of the packet' competition. The envy of many, the lucky fans were entertained by Westlife, S Club 7, Blue, Mis-Teeq and Jo Breezer in a stunning show compèred by Neil 'Doctor' Fox.

"It was a bit like the old BBC 'Crackerjack' show with bags of goodies and fun stuff between the major acts," said Mick Kluczinski of MJK, a regular user of Brit Row equipment: "They provide the kit and people I need, when I need them." Said Kluczinski. "This time, after previously test

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Veteran country music icon Garth Brooks is back on the road for three very special shows to coincide with the release of his new album Scarecrow. The Bandit system was once again designed by Dave Butzler with the help of Bob Peterson. Hanging from the almost 1,000 feet of truss will be over 400 Martin MAC series fixtures (61 MAC 250s, 54 MAC 300s, 58 MAC 500s, 162 MAC 600s and 72 MAC 2000s), and all will be controlled by four Wholehog 2s, three with expansion wings. Garth will once again utilize the exclusive Bandit Lites MotoData time and position based motor control system, to deliver stunning truss movement. Other equipment in use for the huge show will include 36 3k Syncrolites, 28 Martin Professional Pro 400s, 10 Lycian followspots and eight Anytronics Deathstar strobes.

The first spectacular show aired live on CBS television on 14 November from The Forum in Los Angeles. The secon

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White Light Sales ha supplied the first production units of the new Ice Fog low-smoke generator from MDG to the English National Ballet (ENB) and to the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). The ENB has been closely involved with the development of the new machine, having tested a pre-production version on their production of Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall in London last year. Dave Richardson, the ENB's chief electrician, was very impressed that a single machine could generate low-lying smoke that would carry along the full length of the Albert Hall. He and his team did, however, return a list of suggestions to the manufacturer, these including simpler set-up, easier fluid refilling and lower running noise.

They were impressed enough, though, to order machines of their own - and, having taken delivery of the first production units in the UK, they are impressed that their suggesti

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CIE-Audio has once again received the award for the world's leading Inter-M distributor. As part of a network of 94 distributors in 72 countries throughout Europe, America, Asia, Africa, Middle East and Australasia, Nottingham-based CIE-Audio exclusively distribute the complete commercial audio, pro sound and CCTV product ranges from Inter-M. "The latest news of our Inter-M sales figures exceeding all other distributors throughout the world reflects not only our commitment to the brand, but also the popularity of the product range within the UK market," said Chris Edwards, CIE-Group marketing manager. "This will be our 10th consecutive year as the Number 1 distributor and, for such a small country to provide the highest sales figures is an acknowledgement of the dedication and hard work our staff continue to provide."

The news of CIE-Audio's achievement comes as th

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Creative Technology London were the official IT and AV suppliers at the recent TMA 2001 exhibition, held in the Brighton Centre, and at the town’s Metropole and Grand Hotels. In the largest supplier agreement so far, services were provided to over 30 separate stands at the show. Contracted by organizers TMA Ventures, Creative Technology London provided a wide range of presentation services that included the provision of all press office IT communication equipment. This dedicated area was designed to replicate the event’s theme of intelligent communication, by allowing exhibitors access to some of today’s mobile IT solutions, in order to stay in contact with the office whilst visiting the show.

Karen Brennan of TMA Ventures commented: "In what has been a difficult period in the telecommunications industry, we were delighted with the way that IT and AV supply at T

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Telford-based broadcast sound equipment hire company Soundsense has announced a series of cuts to its hire charges to make it easier for Restricted Service Licence operators get on the air. The cuts mean that prices have fallen by an average of 14% across the board. To help bring the cost of transmission to an all-time low, Soundsense have introduced the Broadcast Warehouse TX20 20W transmitter to its hire fleet. With internal RDS encoder and on-board compressor limiter, Soundsense are offering 'ready to go' stereo transmission packages from just £250 (inc VAT) per month. The new transmitters make their debut as part of the equipment package being supplied to Red Dragon Rally FM, the RSL station for the Network Q Rally which is on air from 21-25 November.

Soundsense's Derek Tallent told us: "We're aware of just how tough it's becoming in the current economic climate to get an RSL

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A newly-appointed Icelandic distributor of Baldwin Boxall's has recently purchased 12 Vigil Eclipse Voice Alarm systems for installation in a new shopping complex in Reykjavik, Iceland. HT&T visited International Fire Expo (May 2001) where they met with Baldwin Boxall, who were giving the recently-launched Vigil Eclipse its UK debut. HT&T thought the Eclipse was the perfect solution to the Smaralind Shopping Complex's voice alarm (VA) requirements as the wall-mounting unit is simple to commission and easy to install. The 12 Vigil Eclipses were built in Baldwin Boxall's factory in Sussex and shipped to Iceland, ready for installation - a very quick process for HT&T, saving them valuable on-site time.

Vigil Eclipse is a stand-alone, wall-mountable system, which can operate up to four zones of VA - all dual circuit if required. The system, which utilises Baldwin Boxall's well established

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Leading London-based rental company John Henry's Ltd has just taken delivery of a batch of QSC Powerlight amplifiers to upgrade their main PA racks. The purchase of the PL236 and PL6 units came after a lengthy evaluation of a number of different amplifiers with their existing EAW speaker system. "Having expanded our main EAW KF850 system at our sister operation in Dubai, we shipped our existing amp racks out to power it," said Aden Gregory, JHL's Audio rental department manager. "This gave us the opportunity to review our amplifier stock. We decided to check out a range of different switch-mode power amplifiers and after extensively testing a number of brands we chose the Powerlights from QSC. We were surprised that the PL6.0PFC weighing only 59lbs could deliver so much energy and have such a fast recovery rate. Not only do they sound excellent but they also have the added

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Total Structures and BSI Production have designed and installed a state-of-the-art rigging grid for the Coach USA Center in Elmira NY. BSI Production was approached by the GM at the Coach USA Center to design a rigging system that would be able to accommodate the needs of touring production without extensive modification to the existing roof. BSI's Ron Branchini and Hard Hit Productions' (the arenas preferred lighting and rigging supplier) Bruce Perron identified the needs of this multi purpose venue. Total Structures was then contracted to engineer and then manufacture the appropriate system. The equipment has been designed to allow rigging from the ground, which eliminates the fall hazard to the crew working the event and reduces load-in times.

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At a meeting of Martin Professional's board held in Aarhus, Denmark on 18 November, the final go-ahead was given to the construction of a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for the production of automated lighting. Construction of the new 12,000sq.m factory is to begin over the next few weeks, with completion expected by the end of the summer 2002. Total investment in the project will be approximately US$20 million.

The new facility, to be located in the city of Frederikshavn in northern Denmark, will be geared toward the production of Martin's most high-tech products. Upon completion of the new facility Martin will effectively double its production capacity for the manufacture of automated lighting. Martin's current production facility, also located in Frederikshavn, will continue operation.

The latest production techniques will be utilized in an innovative, state-of-the-ar

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Tomcat UK has announced the addition of TMB to their list of European distributors. TMB will now be able to supply Tomcat's full range of truss as well as the ever-popular Columbus McKinnon Lodestar chain hoist. Paul Hartley, TMB's general manager, Europe said: "This agreement will enable us to offer our customers Tomcat's truss and also the Lodestar hoist at very competitive prices. This deal just adds to the number of products we can now offer from our UK warehouse."

The distribution agreement was signed by Paul Hartley and Tomcat UK’s managing director, Mitch Clark, at PLASA 2001.

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ESTA, the Entertainment Services and Technology Association, has announced that the following draft American National Standards are available for review.

BSR E1.16, Entertainment Technology - Configuration Standard for Metal-Halide Ballast Power Cables. This identifies which pin on the ballast to power cord connector shall be used for the non-current-carrying grounding connector. Many manufacturers use the same connector when a detachable power cord is provided, but do not necessarily use the same pin for the grounding connection. This can lead to serious problems when users connect the power cords intended for one manufacturer's product to another manufacturer's ballast. This draft standard is an effort to regularize the grounding pin designation.

BSR E1.5, Entertainment Technology - Theatrical Fog Made With Aqueous Solutions Of Di- And Trihydric Alcohols. These theatr

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The Total Production Awards are scheduled for January 30 2002 at the Hilton Metropole Hotel in London's Edgware Road. The Awards will acknowledge the achievements of leading individuals and rental companies in the fields of live sound, lighting, video, staging, rigging and other key disciplines. Three special commendations will round off the Gala: a Lifetime Contribution Award, a unique Best Live Event of All-Time Award and The Editor's Award - something which TP editor Mark Cunningham promises will yield a big surprise on the night. Nominations will be announced in the Winter issue of Total Production, published on December 21.

A voting form and table booking form will be included in the forthcoming November issue of Total Production; alternatively, PDF forms can be obtained by contacting Andy Lenthall at the address below.

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Mackie Designs has launched a fully interactive, online tradeshow exhibit that will highlight new products from Mackie, Mackie Industrial and Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW). The 'e-Show' will offer educational and entertaining features, including streaming and downloadable video demonstrations, new product announcements, downloadable software demos, instant access to product datasheets and a series of topic specific discussions hosted by representatives from all three companies. Visitors will be able to order literature and can even buy real tradeshow 'swag!'

"We acknowledge that there is no substitute for the personal interaction of a live tradeshow," said Karen Anderson, director of marketing communications at EAW. "But, in the absence of actually being there, we feel the ‘e-Show’ is a great way to provide many of the informational, educational, and fun eleme

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