UK - The International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) has launched a Smart PAL Card (Powered Access Licence), available in different languages, which is machine-readable and can be used to ensure that only trained operators can use mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) on site. Standard PAL Cards will continue to be issued and accepted on site.

The Smart PAL Card looks the same as the standard PAL Card - the data stored on the card, such as the operator name, number and categories trained in, is also printed on it. The only difference is that the Smart PAL Card is marked by a wireless icon and has a chip embedded in it.

The data in the chip can be read by a card reader fitted to the machine. The reader can be set up to accept certain data which in turn will allow the machine to be operated. This data includes whether or not the cardholder (operator) is trained, to what lev

Italy - Rigging Services has acquired the entire rental stock of Prolyte Truss from Naples based, Italian production coming company, Eurostage.

Since its formation in the 1990's Rigging Services has been one of the largest stockists of Prolyte Truss and Staging for dry hire , and one of the UK's largest dealers of Prolyte for resale .

Italy has seen a general slow-down in live events since the global economic problems hit Europe some five years ago. Contrasting this global trend, the Rigging Services business model has stimulated growth over the same period of time and has doubled in size. "The need for constant capitalisation of rental assets to feed its growth has been a great consumer of cash. Therefore acquisitions of complementary, good quality stock are always welcome," comments Paul Fulcher MD.

Complementing its existing range of truss, the Prolyte B100RV ,

Germany - Dart Rigging GmbH has been handling rigging on Rammstein shows since 2005 and for the band's last two tours has been using Ron StageMaster wireless load cells by Eilon Engineering to monitor the large set up and any overload issues.

"Rammstein rigs continue to get increasingly complex," states Dart co-owner Martin Gehring, who served as head rigger on Rammstein's 2009-2011 Liebe ist für alle da tour, as well as the 2011-2013 Made in Germany tour, which ended in August.

"When you take into account the automation systems, custom set elements like the special bridge we had for the latest tour and the band's famous logo-cross, and then add in the lighting pods and sound equipment, it's a lot of weight to worry about and load cells were a must."

The Ron StageMaster system's extremely long battery life gives continuous operation for up

UK - The organisers of the International Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference (ITEAC) report that Stage Technologies is the major Sponsor of the 2014 conference.

Stage Technologies' continued support of the event by taking the principal Platinum sponsorship role for the third consecutive conference, illustrates the tremendous reputation that ITEAC has established over the last 12 years.

The launch of ITEAC 2014 recognises the demand for this major event, which seeks to investigate the developments that have already been made, and the innovations that will be required, in the ever-changing world of live entertainment.

The quadrennial three-day event, which will take place from Sunday 8 June 2014 to Tuesday 10 June 2014, brings together the world's leading theatre technicians, architects, engineers, consultants, acousticians and production managers, plus theatre mak

USA - Tomcat understands the importance of not only having the best truss and hoist/rigging equipment for your support structures, but also having the experience and knowledge to use it correctly and safely.

With this in mind, Tomcat is reintroducing its popular Tomcat U for newcomer and veteran riggers and hoist technicians in the entertainment industry.

The 2014 Tomcat U takes place from 17-20 February in Knoxville, Tennessee, home to the Tomcat factory and epicentre for the education of riggers and hoist technicians.

"The schools give extra value. I've been to three Tomcat schools and have used this training in practical applications. The knowledge and hands on experience from TOMCAT U have given me the confidence to handle situations when they turn nasty," says Kurt Jaeckel, Quickbeam Systems.

Tomcat U is an annual all-inclusive four-day hoist and rigging sch

USA - Prolyte has introduced a new TwinPin feature for its H series truss, in response to specific feedback from the North American marketplace.

Prolyte partner A.C. Lighting Inc. was instrumental in examining the market and identifying the advantages of developing the TwinPin format.

TwinPin offers build-up benefits whilst capitalising on the exceptional speed and performance of the internationally renowned conical coupler truss format pioneered by Prolyte in the early Nineties.

The TwinPin format enables truss grids to be built on the floor as one set of the holes sits horizontal to the ground negating the need to lift the truss to insert the pins. The other set of holes enables this TwinPin truss to still mate with existing Prolyte H Series truss. The excellent load bearing capacity of the truss is not affected by the extra hole. However, the 4-sided orientation will be r

UK - Case manufacture the 5 Star Group - parent company to 5 Star Cases Ltd. and Mossman Trunks Ltd. has launched an exciting new brand line - ProTect Bags & Covers.

This will specialise in the design and manufacture of tough, hard-wearing and practical bespoke padded bags, covers and associated products that will complement the vast range of case and trunk products offered by the 5 Star Group.

Manufacturing for ProTect is based at the existing 5 Star site in Cambridgeshire in a separate production unit recently acquired to help facilitate a general increase in business throughout 2013.

Being in a dedicated space will keep a separation between the case and the bag divisions and ensure maxim efficiency for the ProTect production process, which is headed up by operations manager, Andy Hudson, who has worked for 5 Star for over 23 years.

ProTect's products will bear all the h

South Africa - AV Unlimited was again appointed by Mela events to supply full technical for the South African leg of the Samsung Note3 World Tour launch. The event was held in Cape Town at the CTICC on September 26th where invited guests were flown in to the beautiful mother city to attend the launch of the Galaxy Note 3.The technical set up included over 240 moving lights and a truss count of more than 800m.

Earlier this year AVU provided the full technical at the Samsung S4 Launch and their new brief was clear: To create something absolutely different from the S4 Launch as the same press and celebrities would be in attendance.

With a background in interior design, AVU's In-house Creative Designer, Garrith Castelyn, worked closely with colleagues Victor Vermaak (Project Manager) and Renaldo van der Berg (Lighting Designer) to come up with a concept that would work in that ven

UK - It promised to be the most spectacular British Military Tournament to date and it didn't disappoint. In front of an audience of thousands and HRH the Duke of Cambridge, the Tournament presented dramatic re-enactments, nail biting high speed chases and daring stunts. And as show organiser Nick Mattingley of IMG explained, none of it would have been possible without Unusual Rigging on board.

"We have a somewhat historical relationship with Unusual Rigging. Four years ago, IMG approached Earl's Court as we wanted to stage a reincarnation of the Royal Tournament and Unusual Rigging was recommended as a company that would oversee the project from the technical stunt side of things. We have worked with them every year since and as the technicalities behind our stunts become more complex, we are certain that none would be possible without the Unusual touch."

While the

UK - The Great Hall is a stylish, professional-level theatre within the school grounds of one of England's premier independent schools, The Leys in Cambridge.

Designed by local architects Bland, Brown and Cole, with consultation from theatre consultants Charcoalblue, the Great Hall comprises a 337-seat theatre with retractable seating that transforms into a 600-seat Assembly Hall; a Drama Department incorporating three classrooms; a 120sq m drama studio with its own technical gantry, control room and backstage area; a 100sq m dance studio; social areas including a coffee bar and art gallery; and three science laboratories.

Working alongside lighting specialist White Light, Doughty Engineering supplied vital electrical and rigging components including internally wired bars and all facility panels, with the team from White Light overseeing the integration of power distribution a

UK - Jay-Z's current Magna Carter world tour has been wowing audiences across the globe since its first gig at Manchester Arena on 3 October. Wakefield's one-stop-shop stage, set and studio rental facility, LS-Live, was therefore a convenient first stop on the schedule for the US superstar.

For his first solo headline tour in almost four years, Jay-Z wanted to pull out all the stops, so his production team led by production manager Bobby Schneider enlisted LS-Live to design and build what was to become one of the company's biggest projects of 2013; an enormous set of internally lit cubes both on a rolling house stage and hung overhead, encompassing 17km of aluminium and 400 Pulsar LED ChromaPanels.

Schneider had worked with LS-Live on the successful production of Jay-Z's one-off show for the BBC Radio One Hackney Weekend in the summer of 2012, so he knew it would be an

USA - Sommer Cable and Hicon have named Danny Woodlief as representative and general distributor for the USA.

Danny is CEO of Wiring Solutions & Interconnect, a successful distributor for electronic components and cable, located in Fuquay-Varina, Wake County, North Carolina. Danny is not only a successful business man but also developer of electronics controls and an enthusiastic musician - the perfect match to Sommer cable and Hicon!

Wiring Solutions & Interconnect has a sales forces of more than 70 agents and has established state-of-the-art cable production. This Know-How will enable Sommer cable and Hicon to develop and produce the best possible products for the US market, says the company.

Danny will be supporting the Sommer Cable team at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, California, USA, from the 23-26 January 2014. He looks forward to this event meeting active and new Sommer

USA - PLASA Focus: Nashville 2014 is set for success with organizer PLASA Events confirming new exhibitors and seminar speakers. The event is taking place on 18-19 February 2014, at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium.

The latest exhibitors to sign up include AC Lighting, Apollo Design Technology, Doug Fleenor Design, ETC, LSC America, Philips Entertainment Lighting, Show Sage and Link. They will share the show floor with other industry leaders including; Aeson, ETC, Bandit Lites, Group One, Chauvet Professional, Lightronics, Elation Professional, Creative Stage Lighting, and Applied Electronics, to name a few.

Three new sessions have been added to the PLASA Focus: Nashville 2014 Professional Development Programme, a two-day programme of free educational seminars and workshops running alongside the event.

Ben Jumper, the owner of Soundcheck, will present After the Flood

UK - From gaffer tapes to stage floors, Le Mark's professional products have played a starring role throughout this years series of ITV's smash hit show The X Factor.

Le Mark's gloss black StudioTak professional stage floor has once again been installed on the set for ITV2's Xtra Factor, and also used on parts of the main X Factor stage and props.

Ideal for temporary sets, StudioTak is removed just as easily as it's installed, minimising setup and breakdown costs, whilst offering a stunning high gloss visual effect.

Dirty Rigger, MagTape professional gaffer tape, and a huge selection of supporting products have also played their part over the 10 years the prime time show has been running.

(Jim Evans)

Russia - Luc Lafortune held a lecture of great cultural interest, called Art and Poetry in Stage Lighting, on 5 December 2013 in Saint Petersburg. This exclusive event was held on the modern 'New Stage' in the Alexandrinsky Theatre by the theatre's managerial staff itself, with the cooperation of TDM Stage Equipment and Clay Paky. The event media partners were the Evening Petersburg newspaper, the main Russian media and state television.

Lafortune is considered one of the most creative lighting designers of the last 30 years. He is the author of several prestigious lighting design projects, including the shows of the Cirque du Soleil, the Turkmenistan Independence Day celebrations, the musical The House of the Dancing Water, and Peter Gabriel's Growing up tour.

In Saint Petersburg, in front of an audience of professionals, Lafortune spoke about his

UK - LSi Online has learned the sad news of the death of the veteran theatre consultant Richard Brett. Richard had suffered from mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer, for over a year, and died peacefully at home on 9 January.

A partner in the theatre consultancy Theatreplan, Richard was also known as the conference director of the International Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference (ITEAC), which is due to hold its fourth event this year.

After studying engineering at University College London, Richard was trained by the BBC, and went on to work as managing director at Richard Pilbrow's Theatre Projects Consultants from 1967 to 1985, before forming his own professional practice. During his career, Richard was responsible for more than 50 major theatre projects and a large number of more modest performing arts schemes worldwide. He led the development of countless inno

Belgium - Belgian-based automation engineering specialists Wicreations designed and created five major automation elements for Mylène Farmer's highly visual 2013 Timeless tour, using a combination of bespoke and standard Wicreations products.

Mylène Farmer is one of the most successful French recording artists of all time. She has sold over 30m records worldwide and had 13 number one hits in the French charts eight of them consecutive, as well as working as a model and actress during a prolific and successful career.

Wicreations, renowned for their innovative work in the entertainment industry, were approached by the tour's production manager Didier Gaume and technical director Pascal "George" Meley, who have worked with them before on a number of projects, and asked if they could provide a number of solutions to help stage this spectacular show.

Timeless'

UK - Former European sales manager at City Theatrical, Alex Cowan, has taken up a new post in the sales department at staging equipment, set construction and studio hire company LS-Live, in Wakefield.

He brings to the role a wealth of experience in sales and new business development, having secured big wins in previous posts for a variety of entertainment industry companies such as HSL Group, Pixelrange and City Theatrical.

Said Cowan, "I visited LS-Live to discuss business and couldn't believe this top of the range facility. I've been all over the world and there is nothing else like this out there.

"As soon as people understand that they can get everything from under one roof, from set design to final construction and rehearsals in the studio, they won't use anyone else.

"My job is to ensure that when anyone thinks about touring and live events, whether th

UK - Drapes and rigging specialist Blackout returned to Olympia creating a large pristine arena for the London International Horse Show, 16 - 22 December 2013.

For the 12th consecutive year, Blackout worked with organisers Innovent to transform the venue for the prestigious equestrian event. The team utilised 2,500sqm of drapes to enclose the ground floor auditorium and create the entrance tunnels to the seating blocks.

The brand presence of sponsors was maximised through a wall of advertising on the outside of the arena for which the team constructed framework scaffolding to attach the banner wrap.

Chris Brain, installations director at Blackout, commented, "We also installed a backdrop of starcloth above the main competitor tunnel which we used to enhance the iconic golden galloping horse statue.

"Our draping package enables us to completely enclose an area for

Europe - Luc Peumans from Belgian creative lighting design practice Painting With Light sprinkled his fair share of fairy dust whilst crafting a provocative and emotive lighting design for the Music Hall Events arena production of Peter Pan.

The show is characterized by an all-action narrative that includes free flying (wireless courtesy of a massive sub-stage wind turbine), dramatic visual effects, pyro and stunning fully 3D mapped digital scenery.

Peumans has worked on many previous projects for the producers, and once again he has imagineered a careful mix of spectacle and visual style to match the vibe, energy and magic of the show.

The concept for this version of Peter Pan was developed by creative director Luc Petit and Music Hall's Geert Allaert. Peuman's brief was to provide epic arena style lighting to suit and highlight the action within the fast flow

UK - Models in Vogue's annual fashion extravaganza in Manchester, Fashion Night Out, were set in motion on the catwalk by four travelators from LS-Live, which were hired by Maynineteen Entertainment and Events Ltd for the fashion show production at Manchester Arndale. The event involved the city's luxury shops and brands like Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, H&M and Mulberry, and was attended by fashion VIPs and designers.

LS-Live's staging equipment rental stock at its headquarters in Wakefield includes a large number of automation machines, from travelators and scissor lifts to turntables and toasters, so they can quickly respond to hire orders. The machines can also be built into their standard stage decking for a seamless look.

Said Ibrar Haque, Maynineteen production manager, "We would like to express our thanks for all the hard work that you and your team put in t

USA - ETCP provides evidence of your technical proficiency and professionalism in the industry, so seize the opportunity to distinguish yourself by becoming ETCP Certified!

Having ETCP Certification demonstrates that you are in the top third of the industry professionals in North America; furthermore, to maintain your certification, you must accrue continuing education credits which shows your employer that you are current with industry developments and practices. ETCP has issued almost 1750 certifications! Don't get left behind, submit your application today!

The ETCP Examinations will be given at USITT in Ft. Worth TX. All three ETCP examinations will be given in one session the morning of Saturday, 29 March, 2014. Candidates who wish to take more than one exam should contact ETCP. Members and employees of members of USITT receive a $100 discount on examination fees. Interes

The Netherlands - Thousands of delegates and guests passed through a newly launched Intellitix RFID enabled Mojo Barriers Gatekeeper access gate at Eurosonic Noorderslag last week.

Two of Europe's leading event suppliers revealed the results of their collaboration, with the integration of Intellitix market-leading access control software into Mojo Barriers' Gatekeeper system. Audiences scanned their RFID wristbands, passing through a four gatekeeper system on the way into the 700-capacity temporary 'Cathedral' concert venue. Mojo's project manager Jasper Caldenhoven liaised with the Intellitix technical team leading into the global launch to achieve the seamless integration of their software and scanning technology into the Gatekeeper.

Mojo Barriers' managing director Cees Muurling, also a speaker in the conference programme, states, "With the rise of RFID cashless paymen

Canada - Scapin Staging, a company which specialises in the sale and rental of staging equipment, has announced the acquisition of Show Distribution, a company also specialising in the sale and rental of staging equipment and electric hoists. This will allow Scapin Staging to reach new markets and to better serve its clients with the addition of new and exciting products.

This acquisition doubles Scapin's number of employees. It will also enable Scapin to offer its products in new markets such as the Maritimes and the US where Show Distribution maintains a distribution centre and has a significant market share. This will broaden Scapin's reach, which began when it moved into Ontario, opening its Toronto office in August 2011.

Under the new administration, Show Distribution's activities will continue at its Quebec City location with its current team while its rental department

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