Gulf Crewing Company was launched in November 2008 by Jo Marshall, Nigel Beaton and Shane Manning - all of whom have considerable experience working in various aspects of the live events industry.
The concept is to provide a European style crewing operation to supply skilled, qualified efficient crew and technicians for all types of events.
Beaton had been working in the Middle East as a freelancer and realised that there was a real need for a professionally run and organised crew service on these lines. He and Marshall - a show technical director/production manager and now heading Al Laith Events Services, formed GCC along with Manning, an experienced rigger, to fill that vacuum.
"The idea is to equip all our crew with the knowledge, training and experience to offer the very best service and support at all events - from corporate to rock 'n' roll," says Marshall.
"Our aim is to present the best crew with the best attitude and technical skills," says Beaton, adding that their success in the short time period has been down to creating a well organised, service-driven operation that has impressed numerous clients first hand.
All GCC members are required to have a basic understanding of all the technical disciplines - lighting, audio, AV & video, rigging, staging scaffolding, power, etc., with many having considerably more than 'basic' knowledge. The opportunity is also there for anyone ambitious and wanting to get on to learn new and further skills, and this is actively encouraged.
Recent GCC work has included all of Abu Dhabi based Flash Events' major shows in the last six months, various projects in Ferrari World, and shows for leading Dubai production companies like HQ Creative, Mamemo, IBS Décor and Showtex to name a few.
A new Rigging Division of GCC is being set up, run by Shane Manning. "Realistically there are only a handful of experienced, trained riggers here full time" says Manning, "and when the season gets busy, there is a severe shortage of good quality rigging crew." The intention is not to buy kit, but invest in supplying competent and more importantly, safe riggers and ground crew.
As part of the training, GCC riggers will be attending a five-day rigging course hosted by trussing manufacturer Prolyte, in co-operation with Neumann & Mueller Dubai. This will cover all the main theoretical rigging skills like risk assessments, rigging basics, calculations, PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), hoist technology & controllers, as well as a hands-on workshop and trussing technology. An examination at the end will give the attendees an indication of their comprehension of the offered topics.
(Jim Evans)
