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

World - European trussing manufacturer Milos has launched its new corporate website.

This features "a cool, contemporary design and a fresh new, intuitive user-interface, slickly optimised for fast, straightforward navigation by product, market sector and application".

A number of special features have been developed to ensure that Milos clients and users have access to a powerful, constantly updated online portal, containing a wealth of information to make purchasing or planning for upcoming projects and investments quick and simple, says the company.

A new Shopping List feature soon to be activated will dispatch the customer's 'Shopping List' directly to one of Milos' sales consultants to streamline and prioritise the ordering process.

www.milosgroup.com will include all details on Milos's comprehensive range of aluminium trussing products including QuickTruss,

UK - Smoke Factory UK, the London based distributor, are launching their new range of LED Fixtures at PLASA Focus Leeds, where they are exhibiting for the first time.

Alongside the new Kandolite LED range will be the full range of Smoke Factory haze and fog machines.

On show for the first time in the UK is the Kandolite range of LED fixtures. These Chinese manufactured units have been built to rigorous European specifications and to a high build quality, says the company. On view will be both 36 and, a 60 LED 3 watt Par fixtures. RGBAW 3 watt Battens and Cyc Lights, outdoor 1 watt and 3 watt LED IP67 Wall Wash units and a powerful moving Wash Light complete the range.

The Smoke Factory catalogue will feature the ever dependable Tourhazer 2, the original industry standard for haze machines. Alongside will be the CaptainD, Data2, Scotty2 and the rest of the Smoke Factory colle

Europe - Award-winning set fabrication company, Brilliant Stages, which was recently voted Staging Company of the Year at the Event Production Awards and Favourite Set Construction Company at the TPi Awards, has designed and fabricated four main staging elements for Rammstein's Made In Germany 1995 - 2011 tour, the re-vamped second leg of which is currently touring Europe.

Production and lighting designer, Roy Bennett, worked closely with long-term collaborator, Peter Aquinde, to create an urban set with focal points including a 3.9m diameter industrial theme 'Mega Fan' comprising seven blades on a central cradle. This is driven by a geared slew drive with a top rotation speed of 15rpm.

The central hub is supported by four structural frames and the outer casing fabricated to break down into eight sections assembled with truss connections. These pieces have been welded together

UK - JTE's new innovative Low-Prow pre-rigged moving light truss is currently on tour with Snow Patrol supplied by HSL.

This new versatile truss is made from high load capacity 6061 T6 aluminium and allows lighting to be pre-rigged inside the truss. The 'roll on, roll off' ability dramatically reduces the load in and out times. The trusses with the dollies are on castors and are stackable while being transported and during shows the dollies can be folded and also stacked.

HSL's managing director Simon Stuart states, "The new truss has caused a stir to say the least! It's the best truss I've seen for a long time and I would love to exchange all our other options of moving light truss to this one. In my opinion this will put JTE back in the game, I can see a lot of our clients using this product in the future."

(Jim Evans)

Canada - William F White International Inc. has become official distributors for the full Dirty Rigger gloves and accessories range.

With six offices across Canada, their industry knowledge and high company profile is a great addition to the Dirty Rigger distribution network which is rapidly expanding across the whole of North America, says the company.

National expendables manager Vicki Brown says, "The Dirty Rigger products are well made, innovative and useful and as they are made especially to meet the unique requirements of our market, they will certainly be a perfect addition to our existing line-up of sales products and expendable goods."

Dirty Rigger's product manager Steve Marshall says, "To have Whites see the quality and durability of our range and be so keen to work with us is fantastic. I'm really looking forward to hearing their customers response

The Netherlands - With over 5,000 visitors, the 13th edition of the Cue Exhibition in Rotterdam was a major success for Le Mark Group and their Dirty Rigger range. Supporting RL Sales, one of Le Mark's leading distributors in The Netherlands, the show hosted RL Sales' expansion of Le Mark stocked products.

Already stocking the full Dirty Rigger gloves and accessories range, the addition of Le Mark's MagTape Professional Gaffer Tape, SlipWay Cable Tape and PAL Road Case Labels gained "unprecedented levels of interest and resulted in key show stock selling out, only two days in".

RL Sales MD Ruud Lansman says, "I was delighted with the interest shown to the new products during the show, as well as the continued growth in the sales of Dirty Rigger."

Export manager for Le Mark, Matt Every adds, "The show was fantastic and the response from visitors to bo

UK - The law has come to J&C Joel in the form of qualified solicitor Oliver Marns, who has joined the company as sales office manager.

Marns joins J&C Joel after six years working as a commercial litigation and sports lawyer. He has also worked as a UK area manager for a major international supermarket chain.

A decorated sportsman, Marns has played professional rugby for the Halifax Blue Sox during their time in rugby league's Super League and has represented Great Britain at junior level. He currently plays semi-professional rugby union for Hull Ionians.

Marns will manage J&C Joel's UK and export sales teams and brings a wealth of legal and human resources knowledge and experience to the role.

(Jim Evans)

UK - J&C Joel manufactured and installed nine bespoke fabric swags for the 2012 TPI Awards ceremony.

The drapes were used to mask the ceiling within the Novotel London West Hotel in Hammersmith and were manufactured from Blue Jomeleon (JOM604B), a sheer two-tone Trevira CS voile with fantastic iridescent qualities, particularly when backlit.

J&C Joel also sponsored the award for Favourite Set Construction Company, which was awarded to Brilliant Stages who stood out for the judges in an extremely competitive field.

The 11th annual TPI Awards were held on 13 February 2012 and celebrated the leading lights within the live production and events industry.

(Jim Evans)

Germany - ProLight + Sound 2012 will be the scene of a major celebration for MDG and cast C.Adolph & RST Distribution as the two companies celebrate a long-standing association. The show marks the 20th anniversary of MDG's appointment of cast C.Adolph & RST Distribution GmbH as its distributor for Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

"Twenty years in Germany in association with the same people and the same company is a real cause for celebration," says MDG's Martin Michaud. "Cast has been fantastic in support of MDG products and the team, led by Heinz Siller, have worked tirelessly to bring MDG to a wide range of customers. Prolight & Sound is an opportunity to celebrate the journey so far and to look forward to the next twenty years."

MDG will be displaying the latest version of its dual mode Digital Atmospheric Generator, theONE complete with its adaptable t

Germany - d3 will introduce its software only version, d3 Designer, to press and public during ProLight + Sound 2012.

d3 was previously only available as a software/hardware bundle. The new d3 Designer is a software only solution that has all the powerful features of d3 but with the outputs water marked. Made specially for show creators, content designers, projectionists, project managers and other video production professionals, d3 Designer is billed as "the most advanced integrated production platform in the market".

Shows created on d3 Designer are transferable to both 2U and 4U d3 production systems. d3's real-time stage simulator also allows for pre-vis of moving screens and props, "giving full control of your show - on the train, or the plane, or even in your hotel".

(Jim Evans)

UK - Harting's new Ha-VIS preLink(R) interconnection system offers a new installation concept for data network cabling according to ISO/IEC 1180.1, and is suited to heavy-duty applications in theatre backstage and upstage areas.

The new connection technology simplifies cabling, saves installation time and enables extensions and conversions without incurring significant interruptions to existing operations.

With the Ha-VIS preLink(R) system, the data cable is first assembled in the preLink(R) termination block, which then simply snaps into the preLink(R) standard RJ45 jacks or optional Harting plug modules. The preLink(R) cables can be either terminated in the field or factory supplied pre-terminated in a reliable, performance-guaranteed, pre-tested state.

Installation flexibility is enhanced by easy replacement and 'drag through' in narrow ducting of the small cross-section

South Africa - On 20 January, Gerriets offered its second Technical Presentation on the Latest Overseas Entertainment Technology in Johannesburg. Organised by its South African distributor, Gerriets South Africa /AVL Distribution, the session was held at Radio Park within the Auckland Park headquarters campus of the SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation). SABC Radio Park was a perfect venue for this event, as it is equipped with Gerriets curtains, track systems, and roller screens that were installed in late 2010.

Andreas Gause, Gerriets GmbH director of sales and marketing, travelled from the company headquarters in Germany to present a comprehensive introduction to the full scope of Gerriets products. Lasting two-and-a-half hours and addressing more than 170 current and prospective customers, the presentation focused on projection screens, textiles, and rail syst

USA - Jon Weingarten, president/CEO of Dazian LLC has announced today that DreamWorld Backdrops will become part of the Dazian family of businesses, effective 27 February 2012.

Since 1842 Dazian has been the premier company in the Entertainment, Worship, and Event Industries for Theatrical Fabrics, Custom Fabrication and Rental Drapery. Dazian has full service facilities in CA, NJ and FL. supplying a full range of products, fabrication, and install services to its clients throughout the U.S. and abroad.

DreamWorld has been a force in the air brushed, hand painted and digitally printed backdrop business in the US since its inception in 1999.

Bev Parmensky, president of DreamWorld Backdrops, states, "By joining the Dazian family, DreamWorld Backdrops will now be able to offer a full complement of products and services to its wide range of customers."

Weingarten add

UK - The Inaugural Event Production Awards held at the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane and hosted by the comedian Mark Steel saw Star Events Group win overall 'Supreme Supplier of the year' and less than two weeks later they picked up Rigging Company of the Year at the Tpi Awards.

"To receive both awards and to be recognised for our achievement in the industry was a great honour," says Jane Russen.

(Jim Evans)

UK - The PLASA 2012 free registration offer ends in just under 48 hours! Over 9,000 people have taken advantage of the free registration offer for this year's PLASA 2012, taking place at Earls Court in London from 9 - 12 September. Register before midnight on the 29th February and save £20 on the standard ticket price.

All previous PLASA Show visitors have been sent this special offer via email, and free registration for new visitors is live at www.plasashow.com

(Claire Beeson)

South Africa / UK - Two female members of the South African Roadies Association (SARA); Nomsa Ndlovu (26) from Zola, Soweto and Nonhlanhla Bonongo (28) from Emdeni, Soweto - will join SARA president Freddie Nyathela in attending The National Skills Academy Creative & Cultural (NSA) Annual Industry Conference 2012, which takes place at The Lowry in Salford, Manchester on 6-7 March 2012.

The Conference will bring together professionals from the Creative and Cultural industries from all over the UK, to discuss how to work better in collaboration with young people and education, and explore the real return on investment in skills, and what impact this is having on the sector. John Hayes MP (Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning) will be the keynote speaker, and he will be joined by some of the most influential figures from the creative and cultural se

UK - Backstage Academy has announced the last few remaining places on its Stage Pyrotechnics course on Monday 5 March.

The one-day course is one of a few approved by The Association of Stage Pyrotechnicians and completion of the course will assist with membership of the association, by allowing one year's free membership upon joining.

The course, which provides an overview of different pyrotechnic devices, their uses and the relevant health and safety, is delivered at Backstage Academy in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. The day culminates in students helping to produce a pyrotechnics display in the LS-Live studio, a 17,500sq.ft space that is normally used for the production rehearsals of internationally recognised touring artists.

Backstage Academy will also be running the following courses in March: ProTools 101 course - 5 March; Vivien Basic - 15 March; Vivien Advanced - 16 Mar

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