Rich Neale has joined as production manager for entertainment and sport. He joins from Saville Audio Visual where he was conference and live events manager for six years.
Tom Kaye has been recruited as senior rigging technician while Greg Chapman, Anthony Cowley and Mark Anderson join as production technicians. Their roles include preparing, installing, operating and dismantling of production equipment, from small conference breakouts to large scale arena set-ups, to ensure the smooth and effective delivery of events.
The department has provided a series of in-house productions for conferences this year such as NHS Confederation, the British Association of Urological Surgeons and Accelerate 2014. The National Cancer Research Institute in November is among forthcoming productions.
Arena events where the team has provided support include Disney on Ice, Katy Perry and England Boxing Elite Men's Finals. Technical services were supplied for the city's Rock 'n' Roll Liverpool marathon in June. Kylie, Mrs Brown's Boys and Andre Rieu make up some of the entertainment events calendar later this year.
Meanwhile the venue, currently home to BT Convention Centre, Echo Arena and, from next year, Exhibition Centre Liverpool, has invested a further £250,000 in technical equipment. Enhancements include new LED lighting through the galleria; high-definition projectors and switchers in the auditorium and meeting rooms, and an infrared assisted listening system.
Nicky Norman, senior production and technical manager, said, "We have been gradually expanding our department since the venue opened in 2008 and are pleased to now have a team of 19 skilled technicians and production managers.
"As well as our recruitment plan, we are continually investing in new equipment, providing every event with the in-house services, expertise and facilities they may need."
(Jim Evans)
