UK - The opening of temporary outdoor ice rinks across the UK were delayed due to the unusually warm November weather (the Met Office states the warmest autumn since 1659). However, Stage Electrics' supplied rinks in Bristol & Gloucester which managed to open on schedule.

Speed of freezing was crucial to the rink Stage Electrics supplied to The Mall at Cribbs Causeway, a regional shopping centre on the outskirts of Bristol. The team led by Sam Saltmarsh, installed ice, lighting, sound and structures in less than a week to meet the launch deadline. The rink opened on time and runs until early January.

For the second consecutive year Stage Electrics is working with Gloucester City Council to provide a 475m2 ice rink for the Christmas season. The rink is situated in Kings Square in Gloucester city centre. Paul Greenwood led the team that installed all of the technical elements in

UK - Wirral based lifting and rigging specialists Lift-Turn-Move has launched an apprentice scheme, and taken on its first new recruit. "We became acutely aware of the engineering skills shortage needed in our specific area of the industry when we were recently trying to recruit a workshop engineer," explains LTM's John Jones.

The company eventually engaged Lee Culff an experienced Lift Engineer, who joined Dave Ward, Alan Wood and Phil Jones in LTM's busy and expanding workshop.

The first apprentice is 17-year-old Phil Newton. "Phil wants to learn, he has a very positive temperament, a good brain and there's always a smile on his face," says Jones. Newton's apprenticeship in 'Electro & Mechanical Engineering' lasts three and a half years, and will be a valid qualification that he can use in other sectors of industry. He works at LTM's Wirral base four days

USA - Tomcat USA Inc. has shipped a package of equipment to Las Vegas for the Four Wall Entertainment installation of a new entertainment lounge at the Green Valley Ranch Resort and Casino.

"Tomcat worked with us to create a completely engineered truss solution that significantly lowered the installation cost," senior project manager of 4Wall West, Buddy Pope, explained. After working on the design for the unique system, it was dubbed the "Spider Grid" because of its appearance. It is made up of dozens of ladder trusses that intersect at various angles, creating a grid over the floor. At all of these intersections, the ladders are joined by a specially-designed universal hub. These hubs also serve as the pick-up points for the system. Brackets were made that will attach to the walls of the venue to terminate the runs of the ladders through the venue.

"

UK - A.C. Lighting's Northern UK sales manager, Adam Beaumont, has been named Manfrotto Lighting Support Product Manager of the Year 2006.

The award recognises the sales and promotional achievements of the most active dealer for each Manfrotto division and was announced at the company's recent product managers annual meeting in Venice.

The annual meeting is a key opportunity for Manfrotto to meet face to face with its dealers to exchange feedback, review sales performance and market trends, and announce new products coming next year.

Vitec Photographic Div. regional sales manager (E.ME.A.I.) Fabio Prada, who presented the award, says: "Adam has proved to be particularly dedicated to the Manfrotto & Avenger brands and really got behind the launch of some of their key new products this year, such as the Avenger CrossPole, providing a level of dealer promotional support in

USA - Chart-topping artists from across the recording industry made the 2006 Billboard Music Awards this December's "must see" event in Las Vegas. PRG built the massive stage and supplied the lighting for the show, which was televised live over the Fox network from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

"Billboard's awards command attention throughout the music industry," said Jere Harris, chairman and founder of PRG. "They really went all out this year, and we were glad to help them set the stage for these exciting performers."

Designed by production designer Leroy Bennett and art director Anne Brahic, the show's stage measured approximately 160 feet wide by 80 feet deep. The structure, which was fabricated by PRG, was covered with inlaid laminate flooring. The stage also featured a custom-painted performance area and two lighted platforms covered wi

France - Blackout, alongside ETC Audiovisuel, G-LEC and Lumison won the Most Creative Stand Awardat Heavent 2006. This award was judged by press, events and television professionals at the show that was held between 21 - 23 November, 2006 at the Hippodrome de Longchamp in Paris.

"At Heavent, all individual companies combined their resources to create a large amount of wow factor and enjoyed welcoming many visitors to the stand. All individual companies work together on a regular basis to supply the equipment and know how that supports some of the most creative events in the industry and we are delighted to receive industry recognition," says Dominic Peissel, Gerant at Blackout Paris.

(Chris Henry)

Norway - Le Mark Group, leading producers of specialist floors we chosen by NRK of Norway to provide 1100sq.m of stage flooring for the recent Nobel Peace Prize Concert. Recognised as the largest annual Norwegian production, the programme will be shown in over 100 countries. Le Mark's 175 micron thick super high gloss black StudioTak was selected.

"StudioTak has an excellent pedigree for this type of production," says Donna Wilson, Le Mark's export project coordinator. "The Scandinavian market is showing strong growth for Le Mark's decorative and performance floors. Clients had the opportunity to see StudioTak in regular use this year as the same super high gloss black was used for the complete series of ITV's Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Take Away."

Wilson continues: "Having recently taken on a new position within Le Mark's Export Sales department, it w

UK - SPS, one of the UK's largest live event companies, is extending into the IT rental market with the launch in January of its 'Event IT' division. In the build-up to the launch, the company has invested significant financial resource in the latest technology which it believes will enable it to compete aggressively against those currently leading the field.

To head up this new division SPS has appointed Robin Fell from Hamilton Rentals, where he was instrumental in helping develop the company to become the current leader of this sector. Fell will become head of Event IT and will responsible for devising and implementing a sales strategy that will meet the company's considerable sales target assigned for 2007.

Fell is highly well known within this sector, working for Mircorent before moving onto become PC/AV sales team leader at Hamilton Rental.

The new division has been se

UK - Blackburn-based HSL has purchased a 16-way Kinesys automation system, including 15 1-tonne Liftket vari-speed motors, converted to work with the Kinesys kit and Elevation 1+ hoist controllers, which went straight out on the Snow Patrol pre-Xmas UK arena tour.

Lighting designer Dave Sherwin wanted to move some of his trusses, while video director Blue Leach's design was based on having five differently shaped moving high resolution video screens (supplied by XL Video), so HSL decided it was the right time to buy a system.

"We'd been looking into this for some time," says HSL's technical director Howard Dean. "We explored the options and reckoned that it's the best automation system on the market, so it was really just a question of 'when?'."

Kinesys, complete with its proprietary PC-based Vector software, seemed to be the most flexible and user-friend

UK - Drapes specialist J&C Joel has completed the installation of a set of motorised acoustic drapes for the new Music School and Concert Hall at Millfield School in Street, Somerset. Millfield is one of the UK's most famous independent schools. Set in the fabulous undulating Somerset countryside overlooking Glastonbury Tor, it's renowned for the sporting achievements of many of its pupils.

The opening of the new Music School and Concert Hall demonstrates Millfield's ongoing commitment to the Arts, and incorporates a 350-seat concert venue, rehearsal areas for all their ensembles, six classrooms, 25 teaching/practice rooms, recording studios and specialist percussion rooms.

J&C Joel was consulted by main contractors Cowlin, who were working directly for DK Architects. The new main performance space has been designed to offer both acoustically correct music or drama performance

UK - SPS, one of the UK's largest live event companies, is extending into the IT rental market with the launch in January of its 'Event IT' division. In the build-up to the launch, the company has invested significant financial resource in the latest technology which it believes will enable it to compete aggressively against those currently leading the field.

To head up this new division SPS has appointed Robin Fell from Hamilton Rentals, where he was instrumental in helping develop the company to become the current leader of this sector. Fell will become head of Event IT and will responsible for devising and implementing a sales strategy that will meet the company's considerable sales target assigned for 2007.

Fell is highly well known within this sector, working for Mircorent before moving on to become PC/AV sales team leader at Hamilton Rental.

The new division has been s

UK - If you use or work for a small business which you think is worthy of an award, then the organisers of the British Small Business Champions (BSBC) 2007 would like to hear from you. And, if the business you nominate is selected as a regional champion you will receive a bottle of champagne.

To let BSBC know about the business you think is great all you have to do is e-mail: bsbc@fsb.org.uk or write to BSBC 2007 PO Box 335, Lymington SO41 6WJ giving the name of the business, its address, a line or two about why you think it is outstanding, and your name and address. An entry form for British Small Businesses 2007 will then be sent to the business.

The business you nominate must not employ more than 50 people and have been trading for five years or more. Closing date for entries is 31 January 2007.

The annual British Small Busin

USA - In a city known for great entertainment, The Pearl, the new theatre at Las Vegas' Palms Casino Resort, is destined to become an attraction in itself. Scheduled to open in the spring of 2007, the venue features innovative stage and seating designs and state-of-the art performance technology. PRG engineered the lighting, dimming and control systems and provided all the lighting fixtures for The Pearl and a nearby ballroom.

"When we set out to build the most advanced live performance space in Las Vegas, The Palms naturally turned to PRG, the world's leading entertainment technology company. Their expertise in theatrical lighting and rigging is apparent in The Pearl concert theatre," said H.C. Rowe, entertainment director at The Palms Casino Resort.

Flexibility was key in lighting The Pearl's stage, which will serve as a luxury showcase for top-flight events, rangi

UK - The first guests to the recently-opened Mercedes-Benz World at Brooklands have given the brand experience centre and its state-of-the-art interactive attractions the thumbs up. Mercedes-Benz World is the largest automotive development of its kind in the UK, offering a unique opportunity to appreciate and embrace the history, innovation, passion and values behind the Mercedes-Benz brand.

The central features within the stunning Mercedes-Benz World building include four star brand attractions, designed specifically to stimulate a variety of senses and encourage lateral thinking for visitors. Aptly named Build, Solve, Watch and Play, the attractions were brought to life through a close working collaboration between DaimlerChrysler, Stage One and brand experience agency LIVE.

'Build' is a 3D simulator ride, which takes guests along the production line of a Mercedes-Benz CLK-C

UK - Appointed by Jack Morton Worldwide, Summit Steel supplied 10 of their 10 metre high SmarTmast 1 masts and rigged a series of banners on catenary wires for London's 2006-07 New Year's Eve event. This was staged along the Thames, organised by the Mayor of London and Visit London, and attended by 200,000 enthusiastic revellers.

Eight SmarTmasts were sited in parks to the side of Victoria Embankment to provide sound coverage to the main viewing area between Westminster and Jubilee bridges opposite the British Airways London Eye. They all supported L-Acoustics V-Dosc line arrays at a suitable heights to throw over the shrubs between the gardens and the road. The sound system was supplied by Delta Sound and project managed for them by Jim Lambert.

An additional SmarTmast was erected at the north end of Westminster Bridge, complete with three different hangs of PA, pointing in t

UK - Jeremy Perkins, a key anchorman of De Boer Structures in the UK and internationally for many years, has joined the Arena Group as business development director.

With over 20 years experience in the live events and exhibitions industry, including managing director of De Boer's UK operation and special projects director of De Boer International B.V., Perkins joins the board of Arena with responsibility for leveraging the strengths of all Arena Group companies.

David Walley, Arena Group chief executive says: "We are absolutely delighted to welcome Jeremy on board. He is one of several key appointments we have made as the group moves from strength to strength.

"The stature, knowledge and experience that Jeremy brings to Arena will further reinforce our position and I know he will bring about substantial opportunities in new business and geographical areas."

UK - Summit Steel supplied two 10 metre SmarTasts for Fatboy Slim's Big Beach Boutique event, taking place in Brighton, between the city's Palace Pier and its Marina.

Twenty thousand people moved, grooved and kicked 2007 off at the fantastic New Year's Day event, Norman Cook's first public performance on the beach since his ground-breaking Beach Party of 2002. To avoid a repeat of the chaos caused when 250,000 people descended on the south coast resort, this time around, the audience was very tightly controlled, and ticket sales were restricted to people with a local BN post code.

Summit was asked to provide the SmarTmasts by audio suppliers Britannia Row. Brit Row's Roly Oliver and Summit's Jay Call co-ordinated rigging the masts and the main Outline Butterfly line array PA system that was flown from them. They were positioned either side of the stage, 16 cabine

UK - Britannia Row, Blackout, Creative Technology, PRG Europe and Avolites held their joint Christmas ball, for the second year, at the newly refurbished Victoria House in Bloomsbury Square on Tuesday, 12 December, 2006.

Delighted by the success of the black-tie and flamboyant themed evening, Bryan Grant, managing director at Britannia Row says: "Around 1,200 friends and clients attended the ball during the course of the evening. This was twice the number of guests who were present last year and everyone was expecting it to be at least as successful. Big stress, but our merry band of rascals pulled it off - it was twice as good!"

Jim Baggott used his creative and directorial talents to design the party. Lost Vagueness provided the live entertainment which included Santa's Grotty, The Laundrettas, Dynamo Rhythm Aces, The Fat 45s, Gurlesque and Anna Piana.

Special th

Malta - The opening of the Malta Fairs & Convention Centre (MFCC) represents a further success for Arena Structures' award-winning TFS temporary venue. The company was presented with an internationally challenging project, which it delivered on time and on budget.

Ruben Caruana, managing director of the Maltese events company Sign-It, was impressed by the TFS when he saw it in action, hosting concerts of up to 10,000 fans, when it was used as the temporary Wembley Arena Pavilion venue during the refurbishment of Wembley Arena, London. At the time he was researching solutions for a large exhibition, conference and concert venue in his Malta.

Arena's account director, Simon Marsh, supervised the removal of the TFS from Wembley and its delivery in Malta. At the same time, Arena dealt with the arrival of 20,000sq.m of temporary structures' equipment from other clients, including t

USA - Once again Total Structures will be helping one the largest motor manufacturer's promote their products at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) being held in Detroit in January. Hot on the heels of last year's massive Ford corporate structure (a total of 1.5 Miles of truss was supplied) the company has just finished the production of additional equipment for both the Ford and General Motors booths.

For NAIAS 2007 the Ford Motor Company made some changes to the previous year's enormous 110,000sq.ft. ceiling structure, with the entire ceiling moving 15ft. upstage to allow lighting troughs to be repositioned over the new floor layout.

One of the cross stage trusses now fell under an air-wall and the top of the truss at trim sat above the low position of the air-wall track. Total Structures had to make a 240ft. dummy truss 2" thick (essentially a ladder ly

UK - Tower Productions, with locations in Edinburgh and Oxford, have recently added a number of new products to their hire inventory, including: Chroma Q Color Block DB4 units, SGM Palco 3 LED washlights, and the Jands Vista T2 console.

Chroma Q Color Block DB4 units satisfy the increasing demand for LED fixtures in both compact and batten formats and are available with either five way or 30 way Controllers/PSUs and a full range of rigging accessories.

SGM Palco 3 LED washlights fill the requirement for a lightweight, versatile, wash fixture that also benefits from an IP65 rating and a built in scheduler for standalone architectural use.

The Jands Vista T2 console heads the line up of existing Jands consoles including desks from the Hog, Event and Stage ranges. The Vista features timeline based programming as well as extensive networking functionality and a highly visual use

UK - The Midlands branch of Rigging Services has re-located to larger and more central premises in Birmingham. The move of the business from its previous premises in Dudley, took place over the Christmas break and now offers an improved service, with easy access, more space, more Rental and re-sale stock immediately on hand.

Located directly on Junction 5 of the M6, the ease and speed of transport to the local venues and beyond to the motorway network was a major factor determining the choice of site.

Director Paul Fulcher states: "The re-location was an inevitable and overdue requirement for the Midlands branch which is an excellent local service provider but will also prove to be a 'hub' location for further planned Rigging Services branches in the NW and SW of the UK, complementing the main office in London."

The new contact details are: Rigging Services, Unit E

UAE - This year's PALME Middle East expo takes place on May 20-22, at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre, set within five halls and hosting three distinct vertical exhibitions. Organisers IIR Entertainment & Installation Technology Group have embraced a wide universe of technology applications, spanning architectural lighting and audio visual contracting, live event technology and staging, home automation and musical instruments.

Install @ PALME will be staging the inaugural Middle East Lighting Design Awards (MELDA), which represents a unique opportunity for the region to recognise and celebrate the achievements of the world's leading lighting designers. Winners of MELDA (which includes the Middle East Lighting Designer of the Year), will be presented at an extravagant Gala dinner held at the Al Murooj Rotana Hotel in Dubai on May 21.

MELDA is endorsed by the world ren

USA - ESTA's Technical Standards Program has announced that three draft standards have been posted on the ESTA website for public review through to March 12, 2007. The draft standards, BSR E1.22, Entertainment Technology - Fire Safety Curtain Systems; BSR E1.35-200x, Standard for Lens Quality Measurements for Pattern Projecting Luminaires Intended for Entertainment Use; and SR E1.36-200x, Model Procedure for Permitting the Use of Tungsten-Halogen Incandescent Lamps and Stage and Studio Luminaires in Vendor Exhibit Booths in Convention and Trade Show Exhibition Halls, can be accessed atwww.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php.

BSR E1.22 - 200x, Entertainment Technology - Fire Safety Curtain Systems, describes the materials, fabrication, installation, operation, testing,

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