Hoist UK News

ABTT 2011 – Stand of the Year

June 18th, 2011

On their first joint showing the Hoist UK / Truss UK stand bagged the “Stand of the Year” award at the 2011 ABTT Show for their imaginative use of product, which showcased the new range of truss products perfectly, with the group promoting “British Engineering at its best” with innovative product development for the entertainment industry offering “Quality at Every Stage”.

Tony Dickson, Director of both Truss UK & Hoist UK commented: “This was the perfect outcome for the launch of Truss UK’s new product range, as they were very well recieved during the shown, with the icing on the cake being this award”.

“We are excited about the new products, particularly the TT series of truss and Universal Load Corner (ULC), as these are very unique products only available from Truss UK”, adds Paul Jordan, Director of Truss UK & Hoist UK.

Truss UK’s new sales engineer Richard Mangham also made his debut at the trade show with the new products. Richard comments: “These are really great products and now they have been officially launched, I will be initially following up on the leads generated during the show and then be visiting you all in the coming months”.

For more information on the Truss UK range, visit: www.trussuk.com and for more information on the Hoist UK products visit: www.hoistuk.com

Remember: “Safety Above All” and insist upon “Quality At Every Stage”.

Niscon to provide Concerto system to Avalon Nightclub Group

June 4th, 2011

Niscon Inc. returns to the nightclub scene and Singapore with an installation of Concerto VSL500 variable speed chain hoists at Avalon Nightclub Singapore.

The Installation will feature 18 VSL500′s, 6 Stagemaker Configuration C hoists, 1 Raynok CH-800, a SIL3 Safety System and a Raynok MK2 Console at the helm.

The Avalon Nighclub will be housed in the Crystal Pavilion at the Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino on the bay in Singapore. The club features a spectacular view of the bay and the Esplanade Theatres

For the full story, please click here

For more information on Raynok motion control products: http://hoistuk.com/entertainment/raynok-motion-control-system/

Hoist UK at the International Motor Show, Bangkok

April 4th, 2011

Hoist UK have recently provided top aerial artiste Valerie Murzak with a custom performer cube for an aerial routine which won the best performance at the recent International Bangkok Motor Show for Toyota.

The cube was designed and manufactured to the latest Eurocode for aluminium structures, namely BS EN 1999-1-1, and was proof load tested and certified in our manufacturing plant prior to shipment to Valerie.

The cube was designed for use in a routine with three performers, which is quite unique for cubes of this type and therefore was designed specially for this purpose to her specific requirements.

During the show the specialist aerial act was performed by Valerie Murzak, Natasha Rayne Hibbitt and Louise Gibb pictured.

For more details on our custom manufacturing facilities please contact our sales team on:

+44 (0) 151 334 7682

For more information on Valerie Murzak and her work, please visit:

http://www.valerie-murzak.co.uk

Remember: SAFETY ABOVE ALL

Sales Engineer position available

January 15th, 2011

Due to our increased growth and expansion, Hoist UK Ltd urgently require an experienced Sales Engineer to develop new business and support existing clients within the UK theatre, touring and event industry.

The ideal candidate will have an engineering background and experience in selling to the theatre, events arena and concert entertainment sectors. A thorough knowledge and experience of hoist, truss and rigging systems is preferred although not absolutely necessary as full training on our products and serviced will be provided. The candidate will work directly under the leadership of the company directors and must be hard working and conscientious in their efforts to promote Hoist UK as the leaders in their field.

The position will require the candidate to be an organised, self motivated, team player and a “people person”. The majority of the time they will be working away from the office at the clients premises and will be responsible for keeping their own diary, making their own appointments and preparing their own quotations. They will be in constant touch with the main office and will be required to report on a regular basis directly to the company directors.

Job Title: UK Sales Engineer – Hoist, Truss & Rigging

Location: National UK

Salary: Negotiable based on experience with benefits and target-led bonus scheme

Start Date: May 2011

Skills and Qualifications required:

Sales experience and the ability to identify new markets and opportunities for our products
Proven ability to close deals
Experience within the UK entertainment Industry in particular hoists, truss and rigging
Good IT skills including Office (Word and Excel) and ideally some basic understanding of CAD
Ideally an ability to read and understand electrical and/or mechanical engineering drawings
Knowledge and understanding of LOLER regulations
Full UK driving license

An attractive remuneration package with company car + bonus will be offered to the right candidate

Applications will be accepted up until 14th March 2011 with interviews commencing on the 21st March 2011 and a starting date of 2nd May 2011

All applications and your CV should be sent to: jobs@hoistuk.com and will be kept in the strictest of confidence.

Hoist UK at “The City of Dreams” in Macau

January 14th, 2011

Hoist UK have supplied the Franco Dragone Entertainment Group with standard and custom manufactured products for the world’s newest most spectacular extravaganza “The House of Dancing Water” at The City of Dreams, Macau.

More than $250million was invested in the production of this show, which is performed in a purpose built 270 degree “in the round” theatre surrounding the world’s largest commercial pool, which is over 48.7 metres in diameter and 8 metres deep holding more than 3.7 million gallons of water and larger than five Olympic sized swimming pools.

For this production, Hoist UK provided a motor and control system package with thirty eight Stagemaker electric chain hoists each fitted with a secondary brakes and encoders. The hoists were controlled by a “Raynok” motion control system from Niscon Inc, using their fixed speed programmable CH800 controllers linked together with a main / backup computer housed in one of the CH800 flight cases.

Hoist UK also provided two motorised performer platforms on different grid levels of the theatre to allow the performers to be tracked out into the void above the main stage / pool, so they can be connected to winches and access scenic elements, such as the Human Chandelier, so they can be lowered in on cue.

The design of the tracking system was particularly out of the ordinary as the platforms had to be certified for man riding and each of the platforms measured 5.7 metres by 4.3 metres and had to track out at a height of 36 metres above the pool with up to twenty performers on board. The platforms each ran in 30 metres of longitudinal tracking beam manufactured from a lightweight aluminium alloy with longitudinal motion provided by two variable speed electric trolley units for a smooth and quiet operation.

As well as the programmable hoist system and performer tracking platforms Hoist UK designed and manufactured three curved aluminium trusses, each one more than 40 metres in linear length and just under 60 metres in diameter. The three trusses were powder coated black, dead hung from the grid and fitted with motorised curtain track systems to obscure the quadrant of the theatre containing the rear stage areas.

HSE advice on the use of 13mm Long Link chain

October 26th, 2010

In 2007 the Health and Safety Laboratory on behalf of HSE conducted tests on two types of 13mm, Grade 8 Long Link Chains, One manufactured by the Columbus McKinnon Corporation (with the trade name ‘Special Theatrical Alloy Chain’ (STAC)), and the other thought to have been manufactured by The Crosby Group.

As of October 2010, HSE and the Health and Safety Laboratory, Buxton have been made aware that Crosby Group USA, and Crosby Europe did not manufacture 13 mm Long Link G8 Chain in 2007, or prior to that.

HSE is also aware that there is currently a degree of uncertainty and confusion about the status and acceptable uses of long link chain in the theatre and events industries.

HSE is currently considering this issue with a view to providing clarification to the industry in due course.

The current position, as required by the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 which implements Directive 2006/42 on machinery, remains that when chains with welded links are used for lifting, they are to be of the short link type.

Hoist UK announces the global launch of the Concerto hoist

October 18th, 2010

Hoist UK is pleased to announce the formal international launch of the Concerto series of Variable Speed Concert Hoists from Niscon Inc.

The Concerto has been designed and engineered using a Stagemaker^® hoist body and with the support and assistance of R&M Materials Handling of Springfield, Ohio, and Verlinde SA, France.

The Concerto is conceivably the most concise and safety conscious variable speed chain hoist on the market, meeting and exceeding some of the worlds strictest legislation for chain hoists both in Europe and the Americas.

In addition to the usual heightened design factor of safety and double brakes required in this type of hoist there are two sets of safety limits each with independent functionality and different activation methods (one rotary and the other direct struck) to prevent accidental over-travel of the hoist. The rotary switch is monitored for rotation using an encoder which also functions as the backup to the main encoder.

A third encoder is attached to the load wheel to ensure the chain has travelled to its exact position. The values from each encoder are constantly compared against the others for errors with encoder data stored and saved even when the power is turned off to the hoist.

Niscon Inc.’s president, Joseph Jeremy says, “This hoist is simply the best I have seen on the market. In comparison to other chain products, the Stagemaker^® body was the only choice that could deliver the performance we were looking for along with consistency and accuracy throughout the manufacturing process. Our goal was to develop a variable speed chain hoist that was safe, practical and would complement the Raynok line of motion control solutions. In order to achieve this we added additional features to enhance safety and performance of the overall product, including a rotary limit switch, load cell and not one, but three encoders.”

The first public showing took place at the PLASA 2010 trade show in London, on the Hoist UK stand forming part of the central display which also showcased the Raynok motion control system. “I have been working with chain hoists and control in the entertainment industry for the last 18 years and have been involved with several motion control systems in the development stage, touring and in fixed installation applications.

The combination of Raynok motion control system and the Concerto hoist is by far the most precise, intuitive and safest system I have ever used” comments Hoist UK’s director Tony Dickson. “The Concerto is smooth, quiet and infinitely versatile and a great addition to our repertoire, it will be loved by riggers and LD’s alike” adds Hoist UK’s fellow director Paul Jordan.

An early version of the hoist can be seen in performance at Haze Nightclub at Aria in Las Vegas where Niscon Inc. installed 20 units for John Lyons Systems of Los Angeles, California. The Haze system uses 20 hoists to manoeuvre 5 lighting trusses over the dance floor to enhance the effects of the light show for the club’s guests and patrons.

Niscon Inc.’s VP, Peter Sinkner says of the Haze installation, “John Lyons wanted smooth fluid motion on the Haze dance floor. He wanted to give the patrons something different and really WOW them. On his first visit to the club, John asked me to show him what the system could do. I took control of one of the trusses with the Raynok MK2 Console joystick and rolled the truss on pitch and yaw while also flying it up and down. When I stopped and looked at John, the smile on his face said it all. Niscon Inc. had delivered what he was looking for and then some.”

REMEMBER: SAFETY ABOVE ALL

Hoist UK moves and expands with a manufacturing facility

October 16th, 2010

Hoist UK Ltd, the UK’s leading lifting and mechanical handling equipment manufacturer and supplier have recently moved to larger premises.

This is the third move in Hoist UK’s lifetime and again has been necessary due to the outstanding growth of the company since their last move only three years ago.

“Thanks to this relocation, Hoist UK and our sister company AJB Precision Fabrications can now be housed under one roof, this will allow us to offer seamless integration of our own manufactured products and those of our internationally renowned suppliers to our clients” says Hoist UK director Tony Dickson.

The new Hoist UK & AJB Precision Fabrication facility is located at:

Unit 2, Wrynose Road, Old Hall Industrial Estate, Bromborough, Wirral, CH62 3QD.

“Our sister company AJB Precision Fabrications are a steel and aluminium fabrication company, with in house CNC machining facilities. The directors of AJB are Phil Williams and Mike Nicholson who like Tony Dickson and Paul Jordan are both ex Tomcat, as they were head welder/fabricator and head CNC programmer/machinist respectively. Our aim is to keep manufacturing alive in the UK” says fellow HUK director Paul Jordan.

“Although AJB manufacture all the HUK engineered products we have developed our own client base for fabricated products and offer sub contract manufacturing facility for small / large batch work and custom fabricated structures” says AJB director Mike Nicholson.

“AJB and HUK complement each other perfectly, as ex Tomcat employees we all completely understand the entertainment and touring events industry with regard to short timescales and costing. The design facilities provided to us by HUK give us access to structural analysis packages and full 3D solid modelling of components using AutoCAD Inventor software” adds fellow AJB director Phil Williams.

And finally Tony Dickson has the following open invitation, “We are currently expanding our office layout in the new premises, and plan to have a fully functional showroom housing all of our lifting and control equipment, once this is completed we will welcome all of our existing and future clients for either formal training sessions, familiarisation sessions for clients or simply welcome you for an informal meeting to discuss future projects, but please let us know you are coming so we can organise the tea and biscuits!”.

REMEMBER: SAFETY ABOVE ALL

Flying High with Hoist UK at PLASA 2010

September 17th, 2010

Hoist UK have been flying high this year at PLASA 2010 demonstrating their capabilities in the production services sector of the entertainment industry.

One area of their production services capabilities is in the performer flying sector and this was showcased at Hoist UK‘s own PLASA 2010 stand at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London. At hourly intervals throughout the day exhibitors, visitors and industry professional’s packed the aisles around the “HUK” stand to watch aerial artiste Isabel Woywode perform a stunning, graceful and heart racing silks performance to various pieces of music, her polished act complimented and showcased the products available from Hoist UK and the services currently available on hire from their production services division.

Hoist UK are looking to work on future projects with the vast production experience on offer from their production services division to compliment the design and manufacturing capabilities of Hoist UK, which will prove to be a formidable force within the entertainment industry.

Although based in the UK, the HUK production team have worldwide experience in solutions ranging from engineering design, technical hardware and crew to custom circus products, artistes and event coordination.

For further details on the Production Services, please contact:

info@hoistuk.com

Click on the following link:

http://hoistuk.com/entertainment/production-services/