The Bristol based operation was founded by Darren Wring in 1990 as a lighting rental and touring company and expanded in 2004 to include a manufacturing facility for bespoke staging and scenic elements.
Current MD Rob Sangwell joined in 2002 and managed the production lighting and rigging aspects of Fineline until 2011 when he purchased the company with a view to focusing more on the rigging and lighting production, leaving Darren to concentrate on the more esoteric design and manufacturing projects.
Rob enjoyed the vibe and the challenge of running Fineline enormously in his initial nine years, and having built up copious amounts of goodwill and a great client base, the time was right to re-launch another era of Fineline.
Rob was able to make a strong start with the 'new' company."The messages and sheer volume of goodwill we received on the start-up were truly humbling," he commented, "It was clear that people appreciated and respected Fineline and understood where we came from and where we're heading, which really reinforced the decision. Although it had been an easy one to make in some ways, it was a big risk in others."
He added 'MD' to his job title of senior project manager and is every bit as involved hands-on in the day-to-day running of Fineline. Sevim Sangwell is the financial director and they are joined by operations manager Stuart England, warehouse co-ordinator Patrick Watson and their first apprentice Ben DeSousa, who has just enrolled.
The first major bookings for the new Fineline included work associated with the 2012 London Olympic Games. They supplied lighting and rigging for the Coca Cola Torch Relay Concerts in Cardiff, Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow, and won the rigging contract for the Box Hill Road Cycling circuit.
New work like the Eden Sessions - which Fineline is servicing for the third year this summer soon followed, while long term clients like Glastonbury continue.
In addition to the action-packed music events, Fineline's corporate work continues with brands like Tesco, Dell, Sainsburys and AgustaWestland.
New dynamics in the company are developing all the time, and a full rebranding exercise took place at the start of 2014 to consolidate the new directions and outlook.
Rigging and structures consultancy is another developing area. At the end of last year, Rob was commissioned to oversee all of the structural safety elements of a high profile Football Fan Park in Mumbai, India, including the construction of a 100 square metre video wall using entirely local contractors.
(Jim Evans)
