February was a month of awards ceremonies for Stageco as it demonstrated its continued ability to support the most prestigious events with the highest production values.

The annual Mastercard Brits ceremony at Earls Court in London welcomes the highest echelons of the world’s music industry, while guests and performers this year included Sir Paul McCartney, Mika and Kylie Minogue.

The project called on all Stageco’s key areas of expertise, including engineering challenges, logistical challenges and attention to detail. The company worked with show producers MJK Productions to build three separate projects, turning the blank canvas of the empty Earls Court floor into a world-class venue:

• The Main Stage: an intricate and beautifully finished structure designed by legendary set designer Mark Fisher, which had to combine enormous visual impact with access for television crews. The 80 x 22 metre scaffolding structure included ground supports for the video systems.
  
  
• 5,000 square metres of tiered restaurant mezzanine which supported the tables of the many VIP guests – one of the few events in the world to present their guest seating in this way.
  
  
• Two banks of tiered restaurant seating elsewhere at Earls Court for the after show party, again highly finished in a “Punks and Glam” theme.

Although this is the 12th year Stageco and MJK have worked together on the Brits,   the event always presents new challenges. In 2008 the venue had a split tenancy with another event, offering late access to parts of the hall, meaning much of the work had to be organised into two highly intensive shifts of 25 hours each.

“We had to get this right first time,” says Stageco’s project manager Dirk de Decker. “The logistics of the schedule were planned well in advance, with technical drawings, structural calculations and certification presented before Christmas. In spite of the long shifts, we insisted on the most professional working practices and attention to health and safety was second to none.”

“Stageco are the best at what they do and I couldn’t imagine working with anyone else on the Brits,” says Mick Kluczynski of MJK Productions. “This ceremony always presents bands at a very special level and, as ever, Stageco has played its part in one of the world’s best pop awards shows.”

Earlier in the month, while the Brits’ infrastructure was being installed, Stageco won a respected industry award for its own work. It was voted Favourite Staging Company by readers of TPi magazine, which organises the live music production industry’s own version of the Brits.

This is where the unsung heroes behind the scenes of major live music productions get the chance for a few minutes of their own under the spotlights and Stageco were present at the Grosvenor House Hotel to pick up their TPi Award.

Like many children of the flower power generation who drove them (and still do), the VW Bulli, or camper van, turned 60 in October last year.

When manufacturers Volkswagen organised a birthday party for their iconic model 70,000 people turned up to celebrate. It was appropriate that a brand known for its excellence in engineering should team up with one of the world leaders in entertainment engineering.

With the programme headed up by The Who, the event needed a significant live music infrastructure, produced by German production company G+D Live: motive. Stageco installed two stages at the exhibition area in Hannover; Stageco’s Giant Arch and its Three Tower Stage, complete with ramps for the Bulli to get on and off stage.

“The special challenge was our giant arch roof where the vehicle presentation was held,” says Stageco Germany’s project manager Dirk Lauenstein. “We built ramps on two sides with another angled ramp centre stage so the vehicles could drive in a circle on the stage. The client proposed the design and it was our challenge to make it happen. It is always fun building new structures and solving creative challenges.”

Meanwhile, on the other stage, The Who’s performance was backed by archive film footage of the first camper vans rolling off the production line while, inevitably, the band’s classic track ‘Magic Bus’ was a hit with the crowd.

Stageco Germany delivered a high profile performance when it supported the MTV European Music Awards at the Olympiahalle, Munich, this November.

As one of the music industry’s highest accolades, the event required a spectacular presentation and Stageco provided the infrastructure on which to host all the show-business glamour.

It installed a scaffolding structure to support an enormous video floor measuring 18.5 by 10 metres and weighing 40 tonnes, which was the setting for a ceremony presented by rapper Snoop Dog, with artists including the Foo Fighters, Avril Lavigne and My Chemical Romance.

As well as this, the team installed a 750 square metre backstage floor weighing 50 tonnes plus a video support construction for a raised 20 tonne screen, so meticulous calculations and technical drawings were required in advance.

“The key challenge for us was to distribute the load on the floor which, as a sports arena with wooden floor and cycle track, could only support 750 kilos per square metre,” says Stageco Germany’s sales and project manager, Thomas Bartz.

“The weight was carried by four towers, creating 1,200 square metres of flooring on the main stage and another 600 square metre floor for presenters.” In addition, the company provided around 30 additional structures including cable bridges, front of house spot towers and light platforms.

“The time schedule was really tight,” says Thomas, whose team was about 30 people strong. “It was our international touring experience which ensured we planned the logistics and delivery with pinpoint accuracy.”

On eve of America’s greatest sporting event, the SuperBowl, its organizers the NFL traditionally invite team owners, its own executives and other VIPs to a pre-kick off celebration.

This year the event was produced by the international promoters Live Nation, who had spectacular plans for the party, involving specialist staging providers Stageco US. It was an ambitious project which needed a carefully prepared contingency plan in the case of bad weather.

Live Nation’s original plan was to hold the event in the middle of a lake in Tempe, Arizona, close to the University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, where the game was to take place. As a desert state, Arizona is not known for its water-borne culture and Stageco had to source large modular barges from Missouri, Texas, Utah and Atlanta on which to build the stage.

At the back of everyone’s mind, however, was the possibility that heavy rain might jeopardize the plans, as the lake at Tempe forms part of Arizona’s watershed, linked to a sophisticated system of dams which prevents the state’s reservoirs from overflowing. Remaining in constant touch with the Salt River Project (the authority which monitors the lake system) Stageco continued to build on the imported barges.

However, bad news was in store and it was at this point that Stageco demonstrated its flexible approach and its ability to adapt swiftly to changing conditions.

“The Salt River Project’s forecast model was showing them that they would have to release the dams further upstream from Tempe Town Lake,” says Jeremy Shand, Stageco’s Project Manager. “This would cause us to have to evacuate the lake. We continued to work while forming a plan B with the city and our client.

In the end their forecasts were correct and we were given 24 hours to remove our stage and barge from the water. We were approximately 80% finished when the call was made. What took us nearly 20 hours to install was removed in only seven hours during a driving rain storm. We then came back the next day and re-built the stage at the new location on dry land.

“For Stageco this project helps to solidify our relationship with the Live Nation Special Events group,” says Mary Lou Figley, Stageco’s Vice President of US Operations. “Once again we have shown that we can create any look they want and then handle the punches as they come, to ensure that the show goes off as they require. It has also helped us to further solidify our reputation and relationship with the NFL.”

The WWE’s Wrestlemania this March was dominated by enormous frames with bulging limbs . . . and then, of course, there were the wrestlers.

Stageco US was the team responsible for installing one of the most dramatic structures ever built at an event not known for its understatement. Held at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, the company built a remarkable roof over the ring in the shape of an 80 foot (25 meters) eight legged spider. The structure was designed by Jason Robinson, Designer with the organizers WWE, in close collaboration with Stageco US.

“The designer drew on our creative engineering experience and extensive stock to create this structure,” says Mary Lou Figley, Stageco US’s Vice President of US Operations. “Because of the way the legs curved we had to fabricate a range of new parts with customized angles and bends.

The engineering was very challenging and we had four welders working intensively on the structure in the three days before the event. Ultimately the production team was able to hang 33 tons of lighting, audio and video, with screens projecting out from the ring about 45 feet (14 meters) from the ground.

“As well as the spider, Stageco built the impressive entrance structure through which the wrestlers emerged. “The entryway structure was 113 feet (35 meters) tall,” she continues. “It was a large stage with a ramp descending into the ring. The whole imagery was designed to look like a Miami Beach hotel – glitzy entertainment with lots of neon.

We had a crew of 10 people on the build with a local crew of 40. In terms of equipment we had four cranes working on site with four containers from the Belgium office, plus gear from Colorado Springs and Nashville.

“We’ve had a good relationship with WWE for many years and worked on their last major outdoor event in Seattle, 2003. Working with us they have found that Jason Robinson can broaden his ideas and push the creative boundaries. Whatever he can sketch, we’ll find a way of putting it together. Wrestling is grandiose and they’re always looking to go bigger and better!”

Wrangler Jeans are basing their current marketing campaign on “honest workmanship and dependable values” – a corporate ethic which chimes very closely with that of Stageco Netherlands, who provided the structure for a major marketing event in Barcelona this January.

The brand’s Dutch agency WINK worked with Stageco to develop an experiential display for events in Stockholm and Milan during 2007, which was adapted for a new event in Barcelona in January 2008.

The three tier structure had originally been erected as a stand alone experience in Stockholm and Milan, but needed to be adapted to be installed at the brand trade show, Bread and Butter, Barcelona. The structure hosted a bar and catering area on the ground floor, an exhibition of Wrangler jeans and clothing on the second floor with a chill-out area on the top level.

The challenge for Stageco was to adapt the structure and reduce the number of bracing struts, after the client revised the initial version without any bracing at all. “They did this both for aesthetic reasons and to save space,” says Eddie Slotboom of Stageco Netherlands.

“We had worked with WINK on the previous Wrangler projects and we were the only company who could carry out the work to the client’s high safety specifications. We used the in-house design and engineering facilities in the Belgian head quarters to verify that the adapted structure was sound.”

Eddie feels that, with clients such as Red Bull and G-Star jeans, corporate work is an ever growing sector of the Dutch office’s business. “We can provide corporate clients with a higher level of finish at their events,” he says. “We are very aware how important the brand image is to the client and we can help them present their product to their public in the most professional way.”

An elaborate mock airliner provided the setting for Austrian Airlines’ 50th anniversary celebrations recently, as 8,000 employees of the company were treated to a spectacular re-telling of the company’s history on plasma screens in the themed venue.

Installed in a hangar at Vienna International airport, Stageco’s latest products were deployed to create the duplicate airliner. The company’s Austrian team used 18 arches – the first ever use of the Micro Arch Type 5 – to create a fuselage shaped venue 70 metres long.

Working with the Austrian production house 3D Company, Stageco Austria’s project manager Peter Fuchs faced both technical and administrative challenges. “We had 45 people working on the site from crew managers to stage hands.

From order to delivery the project took just six weeks, with the structure discussed and designed in a four week period before a 48 hour build in the hangar and a 36 hour load out.

“It was the sort of challenge I love,” says Peter. “As well as the structure we installed a stage at the end, with a multi-level orchestra stand and various towers for projection. At one point we had to use a crane to lift the structure onto three trusses.”

For Stageco Austria this was one of the most important corporate events in the calendar. “It’s always exciting to work on a major corporate project,” says Peter. “This was one of the biggest industrial events in Austria this year.

The client had the vision to create a unique experience for their guests. We had the technical and logistical expertise to make it a reality.”

Stageco’s logistical expertise proved essential when it came to offering Celine Dion the tour support she needed in South Africa.

The size of the country and the tight itinerary meant that nothing could be left to chance when the French Canadian star hit the 1,000 mile road between Cape Town and Johannesburg (and further afield besides). Stageco is represented in South Africa by Gearhouse SA, which owns two Stageco roofs with PA wings.

The company’s stock of Stageco products was fully deployed on the eight date tour which took in five separate venues in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.

“As a strategic partner of the European company we understand the responsibility of the Stageco name,” says Ofer Lapid, Managing Director of Gearhouse SA. “We source all our staging equipment from Stageco internationally and Chris Loeijs, formerly from the Belgian branch, is in charge of the Stageco operation.”

For the Celine Dion shows Gearhouse SA invested in further equipment allowing them to provide three stage bases or “base details” which allowed it to install much of the infrastructure in advance, while two roof systems “leapfrogged” venues such as Monte Casino in Johannesburg, Loftus Stadium in Pretoria and the Vergelegen Estate in Cape Town. The stage itself was 20 metres wide, supported by 12 towers with six metre wide PA wings.

According to Senior Project Manager Bill Lawford, the logistical strain of providing the staging and additional production was carried by the enormous “Interlink trucks”, double articulated lorries with both six and 12 metre trailers. “These, effectively, are a truck and a half each,” he explains. “We had eight for the roofs and four for each base detail, meaning 20 trucks could carry the load of 30 European-size lorries.”

In the run up to 2010 Football World Cup the events market in South Africa looks exceedingly healthy and Gearhouse SA has plans to expand its Stageco stock significantly.