UK - Essex Sound & Light (ESL) has completed the acquisition of DPL Production Lighting.
AV integrator, ESL has been growing its rental and production business since early 2015. Since then, ESL has been providing full production support (including staging, sound, lighting and video) to numerous events and festivals throughout the UK. ESL has grown its rental stock, most recently with a large investment in IP-Rated LED video panels and processors.
DPL, founded in 1989 by Darren Parker, has offered professional lighting equipment, rigging and technical production services to the events and entertainment industries for over 30 years.
ESL managing director Mike Glover comments, "We are excited to bring the DPL name within the ESL Group. Darren Parker and DPL have an amazing amount of history and experience within the rental production market including suppling Glastonbury festival for the last 10 years. The acquisition will enable us to offer a larger range of in-house production solutions to both existing and new clients.
“We will continue to invest in new rental equipment, in fact I have already signed off our first major investment in new equipment. This includes new grandMA3 consoles, Color STRIKE’s and a batch of IP-rated moving head fixtures, as well as additional video equipment. As part of the expansion, we are also looking to grow the existing team with additional project managers, LDs and system technicians. I am really looking to future and what we can achieve with DPL”.
Darren Parker will continue with the company as senior project manager and continue to run DPL on a day-to-day basis. Mike Glover becomes managing director of DPL, with James Cobley also taking the role of production manager at DPL.
Darren Parker adds, “This is an exciting next step for DPL. Having worked with Mike, James and the ESL team on multiple projects, there has been a clear synergy in our approach to live event production. Myself and the DPL team are looking forward to this merger.”

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