The Netherlands / UK - XLNT Advanced Technologies and Lift Turn Move (LTM) have announced an agreement for LTM to become the UK and Ireland sales and distribution dealer for CyberMotion, the world's first dedicated mobile stage automation system, and the DS8 Solid State motor controllers for standard chain hoists. The deal was announced at the CUE trade show in Rotterdam on 16 January.

Developed and manufactured by XLNT Advanced Technologies in the Netherlands, CyberMotion is the first system that combines automated hoists, automated winches and automated trolley/track systems, together with a user-friendly dedicated control desk - a complete solution for mobile and flexible applications including touring, one-off events and theatre.

LTM, owned by John Jones, David King and Dave Ward, has an established and dedicated sales and support team for the entertainment market. XLNT co

UK - Blackout provided bespoke heart shaped draping for this year's star-studded National Television Awards (NTAs) held at the O2 Arena, Wednesday 25 January 2012.

Broadcast live on ITV1, the annual event was hosted by Dermot O'Leary and saw stars from across the TV world commended in 14 categories.

This year's set design was the brainchild of Nicoline Refsing of Rockart Design and featured a stunning giant heart framing the stage and surrounding a projection screen for the show's graphics.

Blackout were contracted by NTA Producers Indigo Television and have provided extensive draping for the NTAs for the last five years. This year the five-strong team installed a custom made black wool serge drape 60m wide with a 24m drop , with a heart shape cut out to perfectly fit the set's design and allow flawless rear projection.

Chris Brain, Blackout's installation director led a t

UK - Airing live last Wednesday The National Television Awards was as glitzy and glamorous as ever before. For the third year running, Le Mark's StudioTak studio flooring played a key part in its lighting setup and set design. Le Mark's high gloss black StudioTak studio floor was the base of the stage design, decorated with a second gloss red layer to give a visually stunning set.

Constructed by London based Blackfriars Scenery, the set uses the latest technology combined with StudioTak flooring to make a stage bigger and better than ever before. Project manager Perry Judge says, "We've used Studiotak for the last three NTA's and a host of other awards shows over the past few years, it's a great floor and works really well with the studio lighting."

Le Mark's Leanne Baker says, "It's always a great feeling to see our floors on TV, especially when they're used on

UK - LS-Live developed and delivered a dynamic stage set to accommodate lively performances from mainstream hip hop's man of the moment, Tinie Tempah.

Known for his energetic fusion of pop and hip hop, the rapper embarked upon his first UK arena tour in 2011 with a stage design that was both edgy and futuristic, blending elements of live performance with the intensity of a club show.

Tour manager JP Firmin brought his partner at The Tour Group, Antony Randall, on board as show producer and together they created a production team capable of elevating his career to new heights in the touring arena.

In turn, Randall recruited designer Willow Perron into the mix to help shape a creative look for the show and produce video content for the screens. Together they collaborated with LD Andy Hurst, and stage and set suppliers LS-Live.

The latter's journey with Tinie Tempah began in

UAE - Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) hosted the 2011 Dubai International Motor Show and to help support this they have invested in 40 500kg CAT-A LoadGuard hoists from LTM. These have been added to the in-house hoist fleet now standing at over 120 chain hoists.

DWTC rigging manager Matt Kirby commented, "I have known the guys from LTM for years and I trust their opinion on rigging and lifting. We've bought hoists from local suppliers in the past, but we felt the LoadGuard offered by LTM was the best way to push the site forward in terms of safety. LTM delivered the hoists and Guardian Hoist Controllers in super fast time as we needed the new hoists for the Dubai International Motor Show.

"Over 700 load points needed to be rigged throughout five halls so it's been a really busy period for us, so having the new hoists helps as they are really small in weight and due t

UK - Unusual Rigging has announced that, with immediate effect, all its NRC assessments will take place at the company's facility in Bugbrooke, Northampton, including any originally scheduled for Earls Court.

Robin Elias, technical director at Unusual , explains, "Earls Court is out of commission for several months this year, as it's one of the Olympic venues, and this made the booking system difficult. We felt it was easier for all concerned to move assessments to Northampton. We're easy to reach from most parts of the country, the facilities here are excellent - and we lay on a pretty good lunch."

Unusual Rigging offers four assessment days each month, more than the other companies in the scheme, and last year assessed 55 riggers at Level 2 and 33 at Level 3.

With all the various events scheduled to take place in 2012, this year will be a busy one for riggers: Un

UK - Organisers of the first ever Stage Management Conference (Arts Theatre, central London - 12th Feb) have announced that speakers and sessions for the event have now been finalised.

"As well as being hosted by Barbara Eifler, executive director, and Rebecca Emery - chair of the board of the SMA - and featuring a keynote speech by Vikki Heywood, we also have two panel discussions taking place. The first focusses on Valuing Stage Management, and is chaired by the charismatic Ken Bennett-Hunter, with Jamie Byron, James Williams, Antonia Collins and Charles Evans, all established professionals in the industry," say organisers.

The afternoon will feature five break-out sessions: Social Media and the Stage Manager, led by Caron Jane Lyon who specialises in online communications and networking; A Look at Life After Stage Management, with Antonia Coll

USA - Reed Rigging provided production rigging support for a specially designed and constructed set for the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon television show broadcast from Indianapolis's Hilbert Circle Theatre. The Indianapolis-based broadcasts coincided with Super Bowl week for the NFL. Last year's Super Bowl set a U.S. audience record of 111m viewers, and this year's contest is expected to exceed that number.

The Hilbert Circle Theatre, home to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, was transformed from its 1916 historical splendour to a fully-functioning 21st Century television broadcast studio incorporating miles of cable, cameras, video walls, lighting and state of the art audio systems into its ornate and elegant interior.

"We are very pleased to provide our support to this outstanding production," said Michael Reed, founder and president of Reed Rigging. &quo

Norway - Mojo Barriers has appointed Norwegian security firm Vaktvesenet AS, making them an official distributor of its stage barriers.

The appointment of Vaktvesenet AS as an international partner gives live event and venue clients across Norway access to Mojo's products and expertise.

Frank Klaveness, operations manager Vaktvesenet said, "The partnership officially began on 1 January this year and was the result of strong demand from the local Norwegian market. We are very pleased to be working with Mojo Barriers, and bringing their products and experience to events in the region.

"Mojo is already well known in Norway as the leading stage barrier and crowd control company and many acts tour with their own systems, which we will now be able to supplement with additional barriers.

"To enable maximum market reach we have formulated our own partnership with gl

USA - Portland-based Hollywood Lights have taken stock of the full Dirty Rigger Gloves range as part of a new Northwest U.S. distribution deal.

Dirty Rigger's product manager Steve Marshall says, "For more than 60 years Hollywood Lighting Services has been dedicated to providing the customer with exceptional service and superior equipment, for us to be working with them in the US is a great step forward."

As well as distributing the range, Hollywood Lights has also worked with the Dirty Rigger design and production team to specifically tailor the gloves for the US market. Enhancing the gloves to work better under the various environments they're subjected to and making subtle but hugely effective changes to their design.

(Jim Evans)

USA - J. R. Clancy has announced the promotion of two of its top-performing employees: Bridget Cox is now the company's director of project management, and Patrick Finn has added product development to his responsibilities.

Bridget Cox joined Clancy in 2008 as a dealer project manager. In this position, she served as the project lead on some of the company's largest jobs, including the Palladium at the Carmel Centre for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana, and the massive Civic, Cultural & Retail Complex (CCRC) in Singapore. In her new position, she will oversee both the contract and dealer sides of the business, working with a team of project managers to ensure the success of all of Clancy's major projects.

Patrick Finn joined Clancy in 2009 as a dealer project manager, handling projects including the renovation of the Paris Theatre in Las Vegas, the new Pirates Voyage att

UK - ShowTex is sponsoring the 2012 TPI Awards which take place in London on 13 February. 2012 marks the second year in a row that ShowTex will sponsor this annual gathering.

The awards ceremony, hosted this year by BBC 6 Music's Stuart Maconie & BBC 5 Live's Danny Baker promises to be an entertaining show honouring the hard work of companies represented in the 30 award categories as well as a great opportunity to network in a relaxed atmosphere with some of the best in the industry.

Sponsoring the awards is also a fun and easy way to support the live production industry that ShowTex is an integral part of, says the company. The drape, tracks, and motion systems specialist supplied custom manufactured stage curtains and one of a kind flameproof fabric constructions over the past year for performances of Take That, Iron Maiden, Prince, Sting, Batman Live, designs by Es Devlin a

UK - With their new album Mylo Xyloto having already hit the number one spot in 19 countries, Coldplay are promoting it with live dates through 2012. Hire company Wigwam Acoustics is providing a DiGiCo SD7 mixing system and three XTA DP548 processors, which have been specified as part of the sound system.

Unlike many bands, Coldplay aren't playing a conventional 'tour'. While there are strings of dates arranged, the band is apt to play one or two dates at different places in the world at comparatively short notice. As a result, a close relationship with their audio supplier, Wigwam, is vital to the smooth planning and execution of the shows.

"It's fairly fast and furious with Coldplay at the moment, they jet off here there and everywhere," says Wigwam's Alex Hadjigeorgiou. "They do a pretty good job of moving their kit around, but they do get to the point

UK - Drapes and rigging specialist Blackout provided extensive draping across five areas of ExCel for the Cisco Live! conference, 30 January - 3 February 2012.

Over 6,000 IT professionals from across the globe attended the event, with prestigious speaker sessions being staged back-to-back across the venue.

Blackout was called in by event agency George P. Johnson for the fifth year running, using drapes across the venue to create bespoke areas for the conference's popular Breakout Sessions, including the creation of three rooms in Capital Hall and a further eight in the South Hall.

The South Hall alone consisted of over eight tonnes of white voile drapes backed with black wool serge, used to create eight equal sized rooms all with a height of over 10 meters.

Chris Brain, Blackout installation director, said: "The key aim for us at Cisco Live was to create comfortable a

USA - J. R. Clancy has announced the promotion of Marilyn Larsen, a 25-year veteran of the company, to Marketing Services.

Larsen came to Clancy in 1987 as a receptionist, and quickly moved up to office manager. In 2001, she went to work for Mike Murphy in engineering and project management, and most recently, she added marketing services to her responsibilities, supervising all advertising, public relations, and marketing activities for the company. She is also the principal liaison with Wenger Corporation, Clancy's parent company for marketing needs.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Touring in over 50 theatres per year, The Scottish Opera has a most demanding tour schedule. Being a national opera company and the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland requires exceptional organisation and logistics.

Le Mark's PAL road case labels support them every step of the way, offering clear visual information, permanently secured to their road cases.

Instantly accessible details showing where cases are heading, its weight, touring dates and most importantly what equipment is inside is essential to any touring company. Scottish Opera's Fiona Gauld says, "The labels are great, absolutely spot on and do exactly what we require."

(Jim Evans)

UK - The 2012 Laureus World Sports Awards were held on 6 February at Central Hall Westminster, in the heart of London, the first time the UK has hosted this event.

With an audience of some 1000 international stars from the worlds of sport, entertainment and fashion, plus a global TV audience, these glittering awards demand a glittering setting and once again this was staged by production company Done and Dusted. Helping to build that set was Unusual Rigging, under the watchful eye of Robin Elias.

"There is very little flat floor in the Great Hall, so the stalls area was utilised for the stage, but this meant we had very few hanging points because the area is directly below the dome," says Elias. "However, we were able to utilise the existing house points to hang a 10m diameter truss above the stage for the lighting and the sound, and put in six or eight ground s

UK - Pharos Architectural Controls has announced the appointment of Paul McLean as sales manager for Southern Europe and the Middle East. McLean will be the main point of contact for our distribution partners and key specifiers in these regions.

McLean has over 20 years experience in the industry and spent over a decade in Greece with Telmaco, Telvin and later EVC providing design and project services for many major installations in Greece and the Middle East and product support for a wide range of manufacturers including Flying Pig Systems, High End Systems and ADB, as well as design and programming for several live events and high profile TV productions.

"I've been a huge fan of Pharos Controls products since day one and have taken every opportunity to get their products into any suitable job that I've been involved in. I'm very happy to be to be joining a simply excell

UK - Newly formed installation business, Push the Button Ltd (PTB), launched in January 2012, is the brainchild of Nick Ewins.

"PTB's full time staff members, alongside our team of skilled specialist electricians and engineers, bring a friendly, expert approach to the demands of entertainment installation projects. Whether it's a top West End theatre, a cruise ship or a multipurpose arts venue, PTB understands the client's needs and has the ability to respond productively and positively every time," says Ewins. "This philosophy has brought work to our doors from the moment we opened them for business."

Push the Button's mission is "to bring an intelligent and sympathetic approach to its clients' projects". The business covers the fields of electrical design, installation, project management and test & inspection.

Although PTB is effectively a st

UK - As part of their 2012 sponsorship package, Coca Cola Enterprises (CCE) were given permission to stage an event for 3,000 of their employees at the newly constructed Velodrome, one of the first Olympic venues to be completed. Designed by FPP and produced by Rocket Science, the event was based on the theme of 'Creating the Extraordinary', and took place on 5 January 2012. Paul Hutton, managing director at Blitz, worked closely with the event team as technical consultant for the project.

Staged in the in-field area (inside the track), Blitz provided the video, audio and lighting equipment for the production. Fulfilling the video requirements, the presentations and entertainment were relayed to an audience of 3,000 via two 20m2 9mm LED screens, sourced from a digital video playback system, and a combination of fixed and radio HD cameras, all controlled by a Barco Encore switchi

UK - Specialist live events insurance broker, Doodson, is working with Backstage Academy at the LS-Live rehearsal studios in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, to provide support to students taking the Live Events Production foundation degree course.

Backstage Academy is an industry-led training facility, and is the first institution in the UK to provide the new Live Events Production degree course. The course has been developed to provide real-world training for graduates and professionals looking to work in the live entertainment industry.

In the spirit of providing support and investing in emerging talent in the live events industry, three executives from the Doodson team based in Stockport, have offered their expertise and experience of the industry - specifically in the insurance and risk management aspects of live production.

Industry brokers Ryan Waring, Naz Bazeghi and event

UK - Retford-based rigging accessory supplier Rope and Rigging Ltd is the latest addition to the Dirty Rigger retail team in the UK. Currently stocking the full Leather Grip range they have plans to offer the entire range on their new website and in store later in the year.

Dirty Rigger's head of UK sales Leanne Baker says, "It's great to get Rope and Rigging on board with the Dirty Rigger range, they're a great team to work with. Their years of hands-on rigging experience and direct knowledge of the market will be of huge benefit for the development of new and existing Dirty Rigger products."

Rope and Rigging MD Jacqui Hilton adds, "The Dirty Rigger gloves are already so well known for being a great quality glove, it comes to no surprise we've already had excellent feedback from our customers."

(Jim Evans)

USA - J. R. Clancy has announced the return of Andrew J. McArthur to the company in the position of sales manager.

McArthur brings extensive project management and sales experience in his return to J. R. Clancy, where he served as a senior project manager in the 1990s. For the last 11 years, he has been the president of ECCS, Inc., in Las Vegas, where he served as principal consultant on projects including the showroom at Beau Rivage Hotel & Casino in Biloxi, MS; Copley Symphony Hall in San Diego; MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in LasVegas, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Roman Catholic Church in Las Vegas, Val A.Browning Center for the Performing Arts in Ogden, UT, and many other projects.

His professional experience also includes sales and consulting with Pelton Marsh Kinsella, Trizart Alliance US, Inc., and Mountain Productions, Inc., a major touring concert staging contractor. McArthur

Serbia - ShowTex supplied all new stage curtains for Studio Berar's total upgrade at Palilula Cultural Centre and theatre in Belgrade.

Studio Berar is the region's exclusive dealer for some of the most trusted brands of professional audio, lighting, video projection, LED, staging construction, and trussing systems equipment. ShowTex partnered with Studio Berar for the custom manufacture of durable black flameproof stage Molton backdrops, borders, and legs for masking the stage at the Palilula venue.

The backdrop, measuring nearly 200m2 is certified M1 according to the strictest European flame retardant standard. Molton theatre fabric is one of the most common materials used for fixed theatre installations and temporary staging applications. Manufactured from an opaque, brushed cotton cloth, stage Molton is an economical alternative to wool. High quality in house sewing, quick

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