UK - Arena Structures has been awarded new contracts signalling a positive start to 2008, whilst also being recognised for last year's achievements.

The Company was awarded the Business of the Year award at the 2008 Performance Textiles Awards held this month. In presenting the award to Arena Structures managing director Grahame Muir, Colin Bryer, managing editor of Performance Textiles magazine, commended Arena "for showing significant growth and innovative development throughout the year following the management buyout of January '07."

Arena Structures also collected a silver award in the Project of the Year category for its input into the BCIC exhibition at the Sage Centre, Gateshead.

Grahame Muir commented: "These awards reflect the efforts of everyone at Arena Structures, who are continuously looking to improve the service we can deli

Germany - Prolyte will present five new products at ProLight & Sound in Frankfurt. Mark Hendriks, technical director, states: "Working on product and process innovation is a continuous process within Prolyte. We heavily invest in product improvement and the use of new materials and production techniques. The hard work and constant pressure is rewarded when it all comes together at the exhibition and we can enjoy the exposure this creates."

The new products from Prolyte will include the Mammoth Truss, Rotating Stage, Hybrid coupler, Stage DEX Easy frame C and the PRO-Wheels truss dolly.

(Jim Evans)

UK - For the third consecutive year, Stage Electrics supplied staging and lighting for the Laurence Olivier Awards, presented annually by the Society of London Theatre.

Stage Electrics provided crew together with 36 Source 4 lanterns, four MAC 250 Entours, 12 MAC 300s, 10 MAC 500s, six MAC 700s and 14 MAC 600s for the awards held on Sunday 8 March. Lighting design was by Matt Evered, the awards were project managed by Stage Electrics' Andrew Loveday.

Production Manager Andrew Loveday said, "This is Stage Electrics' third night in a row in the Great Room. We provided equipment for Revolution Awards, Variety Club Awards and the Oliviers."

(Jim Evans)

The Netherlands - XLNT Advanced Technologies has announced a strengthened distribution, sales and customer support structure for CyberHoist motion control products in Germany.

Sales distribution for Germany will be handled by Hagen-based CAST, headed by managing director Heinz Siller.

A new company, CyberHoist Germany GmbH, will become the country's CyberHoist Service Point, responsible for all service and rental support in Germany. The company has been set up by the team from current CyberHoist rental dealer Lightcompany of Neuss, Germany, and is headed by managing director Peter Nellen.

CAST and CyberHoist Germany GmbH will together form the complete team that will support all CyberHoist clients in the fast-growing German market, says the company. Meanwhile, Lightcompany will continue in its existing role as CyberHoist rental dealer, supplying full productions using CyberH

USA - Stage Technologies has confirmed its platinum sponsorship of the forthcoming North American Theatre Engineering & Architecture Conference. The two day conference will be held in New York 20-21 July 2008.

Based on the model of the London TEA conferences, produced by Richard Brett in 2002 and 2006, NATEAC promises to bring together many world-leading theatre consultants, architects, engineers, technicians and technical managers. The conference will offer a forum to address issues concerning planning, design, construction and equipping all manner of entertainment venues, from grand opera houses through to school theaters.

Stage Technologies' decision to become platinum sponsor of NATEAC, follows the success of the London TEA 2006 conference, for which it was the sole platinum sponsor.

Kevin Taylor, CEO of Stage Technologies Inc said, "By supporting the conference as

USA - A small, portable Saxis control unit and BigTow winch, from Stage Technologies, is being used to create effects for the touring production of Rapunzel. Following a sell-out tour in the UK, the Kneehigh Theatre's non-traditional production has opened at The New Victory Theater in New York.

Stage Technologies worked with production manager and lighting designer, Alex Wardle, on this project, and provided a simple, easy to use system, capable of flying a small platform carrying two performers. The red, oval-shaped piece of floor is flown to stage level during the show, to bridge a gap in two circular stages. The same oval piece is also flown approximately six feet above the stage and supports the two performers who use the platform as a swing.

Alex Wardle commented: "Part of the reason we chose the system is that the Saxis is simple to programme and operate. Dur

UK - An entire walk through experience for international brand, Hitachi provided Stage One with their latest logistical challenge. This extensive scenic build contract for their client, The Liquid Way, involved the total fitting out and masking of the QE2 Centre's third floor, to create eight distinct areas.

The walk through experience was entitled Inspire Life 2008 and was attended by top business executives, MEP's and Government representatives, amongst others. Products from across Hitachi's entire range were exhibited through the area.

"We had several challenges to contend with," said Simon Wood, sales director, Stage One. "Both of which are hardly unique; the first being access and the second, time. However, we worked hard to overcome both and delivered the project on time, on budget and to the high specification required."

The eight different

UK - 5 Star has supplied another flightcase solution for DJ equipment manufacturer Pioneer - this time for the new PRO-440FLT DJ console, launched at ProLight& Sound, Frankfurt last week. The new console houses two CDJ-400 players and Pioneer's DJM-400 mixer and follows on from the success of the PRO-400FLT launched in 2006.

5 Star worked closely with Pioneer's Paul Beardsall on the design of the new case which although identical in size to the 2006 version, includes some additional features.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Litestructures has been building Westlife's stage sets for seven years now, but their latest is the biggest yet. Designed for their 2008 Back Home tour, the three-tier stage is shaped in their signature 'W' format, and measures an impressive 72'(w)x40'(d)x12'(h).

Following an original concept by Alan MacDonald, it took the Litestructures design team just six weeks to complete the technically advanced structure.

Features within and around the stage's 55 LiteDeck platform modules included a new 3.5m high modular leg lift, constructed using LitePro 4 heavy duty truss. This lift passes through all three tiers. In addition, Litestructures built a 10m 'totem pole', also using LitePro 4, which sits centrally atop the highest tier, and which houses a laser feature.

Rollability for the lower tier was achieved using legframe snap-on bracing. Some 32m of handrails, with per

Czech Republic / Qatar - Trussing manufacturer Milos designed, manufactured and built a special trussing exhibition stand system for its client Digital Print Centre, which was supplied to energy multinational Shell for the Doha Natural Gas Conference in Qatar.

Digital Print Centre - with whom Milos has worked on many previous projects - approached them with a basic brief, explains project manager Milan Kolousek. They had a quick turnaround time and needed a fairly complex design to accommodate various graphics and AV displays along with some sound and lighting equipment. Above all, the client wanted a structure that looked aesthetically stunning.

"This was the challenge" says Kolousek, "Our technical department did a good job to deliver all the drawings from a complete blank piece of paper to the final product in so short a time". The initial design also un

UK - Abingdon and Witney College has enjoyed the use of Metrodeck staging for the last few years. Thomas Mindenhall originally approached Maltbury as he wasn't happy with the old fashioned wooden system the college had always used and wanted something safer, more versatile and easily stored and transported.

The college started with a straightforward package of Metrodeck in standard sizes. Thomas has returned to Maltbury over the years, ordering a few decks every time which slowly added to their collection as the budget allowed. "The great thing is that when I put the older pieces and the new ones together for a show there's no difference between them," he says.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Over 100 axes of automation control and machinery have been installed at the Royal Festival Hall, transforming the functional properties of the venue. ISG Interior Exterior, the main contractor for this project, contracted Stage Technologies to design, manufacture and install the over-stage suspension machinery and control system, as well as the control systems for the stage elevators and the variable acoustic elements.

The Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre is a busy venue with a wide variety of performances; many of which are just a few days long or even for one night only. This poses logistical issues for the production staff who must often do the 'get-in', rehearsals, performance and 'get-out' in a single day.

The major refurbishment carried out at the venue over the last few years presented an opportunity to add to the infrastructure to make this process easier an

UAE - Lifting and rigging sales specialists Lift-Turn-Move (LTM) - will show a range of its standard products at PALME 2008.

LTM offers an extensive range of lifting and rigging equipment including the Lodestar and Prostar electric chain hoists which are being highlighted at the show.

Also showing will be the compact CM Prostar hoists, with capacities up to 500 kg and speeds up to 10m/min. This higher speed version will lift at 6 or 10 m/min (increased from the industry standard of 4m a minute).

LTM started manufacturing hoist controllers in 2005 and has constructed systems for both direct and low voltage controlled hoists. The past 12 months has seen the range expand from standard units to more bespoke control systems to fit clients' exact and specific requirements.

To highlight this they will be demonstrating their latest custom products - a variable speed controller whi

Dubai - Green Hippo, creators of the Hippotizer Media Servers, will be spreading the HippoWord to the Middle East at PALME in Dubai later this month (27-29 April).

Exhibiting as guests of VenueTech, Green Hippo's training manager, Simon Harris, will be taking the Hippotizer V3 through its paces to demonstrate its full capability to this growing market.

"The increasing number of music tours and rock and roll shows which proliferate in this region make it an area of great potential for the Hippotizer," says Harris. "Many tours are already using Hippotizer and we have found the demand for it across the Middle East is expanding. The theatre and club scene are still small but developing and some our latest technology, due for release later this year, is aimed specifically at the architectural market."

Green Hippo's newest family member, the HippoPortumus, will

Germany - Prolyte Products Group reports that it enjoyed a successful Prolight & Sound in Frankfurt, with no less than five new products on show, including the Rotating Stage and the Mammoth truss.

"The show was very well attended. As well as meeting with our existing distributors, we also experienced much interest from new contacts. The movement of the Rotating Stage proved to be a real show stopper," comments Marina Prak, communications and marketing manager from Prolyte. "Presenting new products is always a challenge, but it is very rewarding to see and hear the response."

The launch of new products has had an immediate effect on sales, says the company. The Rotating Stage has already been sold to several customers including Kimix from Belarus and Prolyte distributor in Russia, JSA, who have both ordered a complete 6m rotating stage.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Bluewater Shopping Centre boasts 27 million visitors a year and an expansive complex of three shopping environs, each with its own "village." The centre makes a big impact, so it seems natural that they would want an equally impressive setting for the busy holiday season.

Working with Scena Projects, Tomcat UK created some larger than life Christmas presents for display on various roundabouts at the award winning shopping destination in Kent. All four presents were finished just in time to set the scene during the 2007 holiday season.

When Scena Projects were asked to build four 'Christmas Presents 20ft high' they turned to designers at Harriman Steel and Tomcat UK for help to achieve this vision. For its part, Tomcat UK manufactured the framework which consisted of a Tomcat One aluminum trussing system with counter weights for each of the presents. To complete

UK - A.C. Lighting's rigging division has announced its partnership with Out Board and can confirm it is now a full-line stocking dealer for their latest professional LV and DV chain-hoist controllers.

A.C. Lighting's rigging sales manager Adam Beaumont comments, "I am delighted to partner with Out Board and be able to work with such a leading brand, whose products fit together perfectly with our existing ranges. We looked at several options, but the products that distinguished themselves as the front runner and the only real contenders for us were those made by Out Board. We are looking forward to a long and successful relationship with them."

Out Board director Dave Haydon comments, "We have seen unprecedented growth in our motor controller sales since we re-launched with the new LV-Series and DV-Series just over a year ago, and we greatly value the substanti

Germany - Sommer Cable has introduced the Sideguider. Developed by Harry Ruf, a German inventor from Baden-Württemberg, it can be installed on a Schill cable drum GT310 simply and quickly. It automatically lets the cable wander from left to right during winding, thus distributing it evenly across the cable drum. So, the cable no longer needs to be guided manually.

The user can walk up to plugged in cable ends with the drum in one hand and simultaneously wind the cable onto the drum with Sideguider. This is practical and saves time, says the company. The Sideguider can be used for cables up to a diameter of 18mm.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Hoist UK's award-winning ChainRunner product is now available to purchase online from the company's website. They have recently added the ability to have your ChainRunners in any annodised colour and also personalised with your company logo.

The Award Winning ChainRunner has been designed to provide a safe, off-the-shelf solution to the cable management problems faced every day within the touring event industry. The ChainRunner is used to manage power, control, audio and data cables associated with moving truss applications and thus eliminating the necessity for very expensive spring driven cable reels and eradicating the home-made gizmos that abound in the industry, say Hoist UK.

The ChainRunner range is available to fit the Verlinde, CM and Liftket chain hoists used in the entertainment industry. It is simple to fix, with no need to remove the chain or hook from the hoi

UK - Milos UK has announced an Open Week on 21-25 April to celebrate the expansion of its Design & Distribution centre near Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, which has seen an extra 8,000sq.ft of warehouse space added.

The extra space enables a dramatic increase to the standard stock inventory of trussing and roof systems, ensuring even quicker and more immediate delivery throughout the UK sales network. Milos is renowned for its fast deliveries worldwide in the entertainment business.

The Milos Group portfolio has increased immensely over the past 12-18 months, and "too much space is never enough," says Glen Brown, UK sales and marketing director.

The Open Week will enable customers to visit the new facilities and see a whole range of Milos products close-up, including the latest specification MR1 curved Roof System, the MT1 and MRT1 PA Towers, plus various other products

Germany - Sommer Cable's multipair SC Transfer Highflex was especially developed to be suitable for tough outdoor applications, but is also suitable for use on stage and in permanent installations.

Its special notch-free 'Master Blend' jacket (a PUR jacket with the flexibility of PVC, the company says) is resistant to soiling and easy to clean and is also resistant to cold temperatures down to -40°C, warm temperatures up to +80°C). A thin paired wire insulation made of 'Special-TPE-Hytrel', plus the tight stranding of the 18 x 0.1mm copper litz wires guarantee outstanding audio transmission properties, say Sommer, while the use of oxygen-free or low-oxygen copper also ensures high bending cycles and consistent performance. The paired copper spiral shielding, in conjunction with the tightly-braided overall shielding made of tin-plated copper braiding, also help to prevent

UK / UAE - Unusual's presence at the forthcoming PALME exhibition (Dubai, 27-29 April) marks the launch of the company's new Middle East operation, scheduled to open in Dubai in the autumn of 2008.

Replicating the service in the UK, Unusual says the new office will offer a specialist rigging and engineering service, supported by a comprehensive range of well maintained and up to date equipment. Operating to European standards, all equipment will be stored locally in Dubai.

Alan Jacobi, MD of Unusual, commented: "This is a significant investment and development in the life of Unusual. The decision to open up in the Middle East has been made as a result of numerous requests for comprehensive technical rigging solutions, backed up with a proven track record. The marketplace is expanding so fast that it became a logical decision to take up the challenge."

Presenting th

UK - London-based theatre consultancy Theatreplan has to fit its latest project, at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, around the theatre's commitments to the World Snooker Championship. The Crucible is the main producing house in the Sheffield Theatres Complex (which also comprises the Lyceum Theatre and The Studio), and is well respected for its theatrical performances as well as the annual televised snooker championships.

Built in 1971 and seating 980 in a thrust-stage configuration, the theatre has just completed the first phase of its current refurbishment project - to replace the stage with a versatile system that allows the stage level to be easily and safely changed for different functions, including the forthcoming snooker championship.

Theatreplan's Clive Odom says: "The stage system was developed using Steeldeck Easydeck platforms which are the 'industry standard' s

UK - Audiovisualbay.co.uk is a new web-based sales resource that has been launched by Hertfordshire event production company Universal Event Production (UEP). It is designed to help companies of all types all around the world sell equipment they no longer use or need.

UEP's Steve Butcher comments: "We had bits of kit here collecting dust for ages which we always meant to sell on, but never got around to doing anything about it for a variety of reasons ......and I kept encountering people in this exact same situation. A major reason no-one was selling their unwanted kit was that they didn't have the time to get it together - it was always last on the agenda and something that no-one ever got around to. Also, until now, EBAY was the only serious option to reach a wide audience."

Butcher has decided to take advantage of this gap in the market with Audiovisualbay, making

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