Happy New Year to you all!

As always, we have started the New Year with a flurry of meetings planning the forthcoming events calendar. The concert and festival roster for 2009 is shaping up to be a busy timetable and we are confident that Stageco will be playing its part in some great productions.

This newsletter showcases a range of the corporate projects we were proud to be involved with at the end of 2008. The corporate events sector is facing a challenging time at the moment with the global economic downturn putting increasing pressure on events budgets.

Along with everyone else, we are certainly witnessing cutbacks in corporate event budgets.

I believe this is the time when brands are really examining what they get for their money and it is a time where the events industry needs to present new formats to help clients stimulate interest in their products and brands.

At Stageco we are constantly seeking creative solutions to fulfil business-focused event targets. We are committed to working with clients to help them get best value for their budgets, delivering good value without compromising quality or health and safety.

We wish you all the best in the coming year and look forward to working with you on your events.

Best Wishes

Stageco President

Tom Bilsen Operations Manager Stageco (left)

Pieter Maes Event Manager
DE Entertainment Group (right)

Brussels recently hosted an international celebration of European unity, Stars of Europe, which saw Stageco erecting a structure in front of one of Belgium and Europe’s most symbolic monuments, the Atomium.

The event, which also raised awareness of UNICEF, featured a range of artistes including Sharleen Spiteri, Air Traffic and OMD, playing live to 20,000 people plus audiences in 15 European and African countries.

Now under the event management of DE Entertainment Group, Stars of Europe was held on a radically reorganised site from 2007’s inaugural event. Stageco was asked to install an open platform with a light, transparent canopy in front of the Atomium, the giant reconstruction of an iron crystal atom built in 1958 for the Brussels World Fair. The low-key stage showed off the spectacular Atomium to maximum effect, while providing an elegant platform for the performers.

Not only did the repositioned stage give the event a remarkable new backdrop, but its position at the top of the Atomiumlaan footpath gave audiences better sightlines.

“The Atomium is a symbol of international technological achievement,” says Tom Bilsen, Stageco’s Operation’s Manager, “so it was exciting that our stage was able to complement and enhance it visually. It was also a great privilege to deliver a celebration with such international appeal.”

When the launch of Toyota’s latest forklift trucks needed an extra lift, Stageco were ideally placed to provide it.

Toyota Material Handling (TMH) brought together 1,100 salespeople to an event in Berlin to inspire its teams to work together, selling two new products, The Toyota Traigo 48 forklift truck and the BT Reflex M-series reach truck.

Stageco provided seating for 1,800 people at an event, which saw the products unveiled to TMH’s entire European sales team before intensive working sessions and local sales meetings.

“TMH’s forklift and materials handling products are known for their tough reliability and our challenge was to demonstrate a similar level of logistical and technical dependability,” says Stageco’s Operations Manager, Tom Bilsen. “Happily we were able to meet the client’s demanding requirements.”

The Belgian fashion house Martin Margiela opted for the very best production expertise when it staged a 20 year retrospective in Paris last September.

Stageco provided the structural support for an impressive temporary venue which hosted an event attended by 1,000 movers and shakers in the fashion world.

In keeping with the industrial ethos of the label, the company constructed a grid with towers and trusses to create the framework for the temporary hall. This was finished off by the event production team with black cloth.

The main focal point of the hall was a Stageco spot tower construction in visible scaffolding, which created the Spartan atmosphere required by the client. The company also provided all the seating grandstands.

“The event was a great success,” says Tom Bilsen. “It’s always a challenge to work with the most inventive designers in other disciplines. We enjoyed meeting the company’s brief for a fashionably urban look.”

The Flemish group Clouseau may not be widely known in the English speaking world, but their popularity in Belgium and neighbouring areas saw them perform 10 shows in December and January, including one on New Year’s Eve.

The band has staged this successful run of concerts for seven years in a row, and Stageco Belgium has supplied staging and ancillary equipment for five of those years.

The concerts were at one of Belgium’s leading venues, the 15,000 capacity Sportspaleis in Antwerp. Stageco provided five trailers’-worth of materials including scaffolding and stage dressing.

“Clouseau always put on an exciting spectacle for their fans, presenting Stageco with a new challenge every year,” says Tom Bilsen, Stageco’s Operations Manager. “It is always a delight to be able to showcase our skills in our home country.”

Stageco played an integral role in both the design and the build of an extraordinary replica of Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace for Dutch violinist André Rieu on his current world tour.

The artist’s production team asked Stageco Germany to examine a number of technical and logistical challenges after building a life-sized prototype of the stage for concerts in Toronto, where Rieu first performed his “One Night in Vienna” in December 2007.

The traditional scaffolding approach to stage building was too time consuming and impractical for an international tour so Stageco’s research and development teams in Germany and Belgium designed a slightly scaled-down version of the life-sized original. The dimensions of the new stage, 110 metres wide, 27 metres high and 30 metres deep, would fit into stadia worldwide.

International safety standards and touring logistics required a structure that could be raised and demounted in a matter of hours, rather than days. Stageco used its steel tower-based system to form the structure and shape of the “palace”.

The company developed a new tracking system for this tour which allows the elaborate décor to be raised and lowered swiftly. This speeded up the build and de-rig processes while allowing the scenery to be lowered rapidly in the event of high winds.

Werner Herbst, Managing Director of Stageco Germany explains, “The request to recreate a complete palace was a first for us, but we were able to draw on our wide experience of manufacturing structurally safe touring systems to meet the creative brief of the designers. This is the largest stage the company has ever built: larger than the rock and roll stages we’ve created.”

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel was guest of honour at the 250th anniversary of MAN Nutzfahrzeuge Group, the international truck manufacturers, who staged a celebration at Munich’s former royal palace, The Residenz, in November.

Stageco played an integral role in providing ground support to a temporary glass structure in the Residenz’s historic Kaiserhof courtyard, which welcomed 1,200 VVIP guests. Working for the client Pleon, Stageco and Veldeman Structure Solutions provided an extensive square substructure, 41m x 41m, with loadings of 500kg/m², including service tunnels, working areas and six custom-made stairways.

As well as the sub-structure for the temporary building, Stageco supplied the concrete foundations, a balcony and Eurotruss ground supports for the VIP and catering entrances.

“Working in this historic setting, our teams had to be extremely careful of the fabric of the palace,” says project leader Manfred Porschnitzer. “We adhered to a strict policy, keeping a fixed distance away from walls and features while erecting the structure.” Stageco co-ordinated precisely with a range of suppliers, Including audio-visual suppliers, electricians, temperature control specialists, broadcasters and marquee suppliers.

The evening celebrated the history of a company whose earliest business, the St Anthony Ironworks (founded in 1758), not only formed the core of the modern enterprise but helped launch Germany’s Ruhr region as one of the world’s economic and industrial powerhouses. The story was told in a film and music-based presentation led by by classical stars Cecilia Bartoli and Lang Lang.

Appropriately, for a client who has made an international name for itself based on its engineering expertise, MAN’s 250th anniversary was celebrated using some of the finest event engineering that the industry had to offer.

The highest production values and tightest schedules were part of the brief at the MTV Europe Awards in Liverpool this November.

Stageco demonstrated its impressive planning and technical abilities by helping MTV Europe’s production manager Maggie Mouzakitis build, stage and demount the event in exactly one week.

Designer Matthias Kublik created a “scaffolding cube” for the stage, complete with open performance spaces, floors for dancers and surfaces for projection. Stageco provided the expertise to turn this concept into a reality, using its engineering and logistical knowhow to ensure that studio and TV audiences enjoyed an immaculately finished, state of the art spectacle.

In addition to the stage, Stageco supplied a VIP viewing platform built into the grandstands over the venue’s emergency exit.

“The MTV Europe Awards this year were particularly intricate,” says Dirk de Decker, Stageco’s Project Manager. “The schedule was dictated by the availability of the venue, the Liverpool Echo Arena. There was 24 hours-a-day activity onsite throughout the week, with a shift system ensuring efficient and safe working. We were delighted to be able to deliver such a high profile and well-produced show in such a tight timescale.”

The celebrity television chat show ‘Ik Hou van Holland’ ( ‘I Love Holland’ ) employed Stageco throughout 2008 to design and build a complex set which provides a tongue-in-cheek celebration of all things Dutch.

The occasional Saturday night show, recorded in March and October for production company Talpa and broadcast on RTL 4, became so popular that a special New Year’s Eve broadcast was recorded.

Talpa, owned by Endemol founder John de Mol, presented Stageco with a challenging brief; to provide two public grandstands, space for a large orchestra, a curved, multi-level scaffold set (bearing 60 plastic cows) with as few structural supports as possible and absolutely no diagonal components.

Stageco US was at the heart of the production team putting together the enormous celebratory concert welcoming President Barack Obama into office in Washington DC.

Stars including Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, Mary J Blige, Stevie Wonder, U2 and Elvis Costello feted the president elect, while hundreds of thousands of people attended the free concert.

The event footprint was 2.5 miles long, stretching from the Lincoln Memorial in the west, around the Washington Monument, to the Capitol Building in the east, with a main stage and an extensive system of delay and video towers running the entire length of the site.

The stage-building team installed a 166 ft x 60 ft multi-level stage including two audio/video support structures, two lighting support towers and two 122ft x 80ft audience viewing platforms with video support platforms built at the rear.

In one of the biggest event-building operations ever, Stageco shipped in nearly half a million tons of scaffolding on 28 flatbed trucks from all over the USA. For logistical efficiency the site was divided in two, each with its own crew of eight Stageco supervisors plus 20 - 30 local laborers.

The tower crew was responsible for the installation of 27 audio and video delay towers down the mall, which were used for the inauguration ceremony itself on Tuesday 20 January to project sound and images to the record crowds attending the swearing in of President Obama.

Stageco was working with production company C3 Presents, known for its work on events like Austin City Limits, Lollapalooza and the Chicago election night rally for Barack Obama.

The company also liaised with the US’s National Parks Department, which runs the National Mall, who insisted that all the necessary documentation was in place before the build could start. Stageco’s staff worked through the Christmas and New Year’s holidays to complete the planning process.

On site, the teams handled numerous challenges. Creative decisions changed frequently due to the short timescale in which the event was put together. Stageco demonstrated its flexibility by adapting to these efficiently and effectively. “The teams also had to battle the weather during the construction process,” says Mary Lou Figley, Stageco’s Vice President of US Operations. “When they arrived it was raining. Within a few days, temperatures dropped to lows not seen Washington DC for about 13 years.

“This is one of the United States’ most historic presidential elections,” says Mary Lou. “It is an honor and the highest privilege for Stageco to be involved in the events marking this day. We are all proud of the work we have done and this event will stay with us as we move forward.”

Tarzan, known for his ability to fly through the air with the greatest of ease, needed the support of Stageco to pull off his spectacular stunts for the Walt Disney stage version of the popular film in Sao Paulo, Brazil, this winter.

The show, staged for Disney by production specialists Projects of Interest, required a state of the art rigging grid, from which performers were able to perform their remarkable stunts.

Stageco US provided an eight post grid, which supported a well-known theatrical effect, the Foy Track System, allowing actors to fly over the stage area. The project had both technical and logistical challenges. To achieve the flying effects the grid needed to be 47’ (14.5m) high, bringing the structure to within 6” (0.15m) of the venue’s roof beams. As a result, the towers had to be manoeuvred into position with fork lift trucks rather than by the more usual method of mounting by crane.

The company’s recognised international logistics skills kept the client’s transport costs to a minimum. The materials were packed into three 40’ (13m) open top containers, while bulky ballast material was sourced locally to cut down on unnecessary container costs. International shipping to Brazil was assisted by Stageco’s administrative team, who handled the coordination of personnel visas and manifests for the carnets required to move material internationally.

As a longstanding client of the company, Projects of Interest’s Tom McClain was able to design a production with Stageco products in mind and so the final version of the production required very little revision from his initial plans.

“For Stageco this was an exciting project to work on during the traditional low season,” says Mary Lou Figley. “It was an opportunity to remind an existing client that we are still around with the best product and the best team!”

Stageco France provided expanded winter entertainment facilities to the city of Carcassonne this season, installing a larger ice-skating rink in the city’s central square, Place Carnot, as well as a sledging slope at a separate site opposite Carcassonne train station.

The city’s ‘Magie de Noël’ event has been developed steadily since its inception three years ago, and this year the decision was taken to use real ice on the sledging slope, rather than the synthetic materials used in previous years.

Stageco deployed four trailers of scaffolding for the slope and “patinoire”, using a total of 70 tonnes of materials. Two Stageco supervisors managed a team of 10 local technicians during a five day build.

“The facilities were very popular with the people of Carcassonne,” says Stageco France’s Project Manager, Thierry Nataf. “After three years developing the event we feel we achieved the perfect result this year. The client, the Mairie de Carcassonne, was delighted.”