PROMAG Vol 22 no 2 | Page 3

upfront Second Quarter 2014 Volume 22 Number 2 PROMAG is published quarterly by Electrosonic SA and distributed to the professional audio, video and lighting industry. © PROMAG and Electrosonic SA. All rights reserved. Trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Editorial and subscriptions Managing Editor – Terry Bourquin 011 770 9800 or [email protected] Editor - Khuboni Communications Design and production - Minesh Juggan Cover Image - Durban Christian Centre's Jesus Dome Printing - Seriti Printing – 012 333 9757 Electrosonic SA - JOHANNESBURG 33 Lily Avenue, Northcliff, Johannesburg PO Box 73515, Fairland, 2030 Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] www.electrosonic.co.za e-mail: [email protected] 24 hour AV Systems Support 0861 AVHELP / 0861 28 43 57 24 hour Lighting Technical Support 0860 MARTIN / 0860 62 78 46 DURBAN – Electrosonic SA KZN Units 5/6, 80 Rinaldo Road, Durban North PO Box 401130, Redhill, 4071 Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] Crestron House 279 Weltevreden Road Blackheath, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA 2195 Tel: [phone] E-mail: [email protected] Useful Links ADB Lighting - www.adblighting.com Compulite - www.compulite.com Crestron South Africa - www.crestron.co.za CM Lodestar - www.cmrigging.com Electron - www.electron.gr Elite Screens - www.elitescreens.com Green Hippo - www.green-hippo.com InfoComm (ICIA) - www.infocomm.org Kramer - www.kramerelectronics.com Kinesys - www.kinesys.co.uk Litec - www.litectruss.com Martin Professional - www.martin.com Milos Structural Systems - www.milosgroup.com NEC Displays - www.nec-displays.co.za PLASA - www.plasa.org Screen International - www.screenint.com SACIA - www.sacia.org.za Sierra Video - www.sierravideo.com SIM2 - www.sim2.com NETWORKING IS EMPOWERING CONTENTS I recently attended the Marketing Indaba, at The Maslow Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg. An electrifying energy filled the room as the enthusiastic speakers shared their modern-day marketing tips. While the conference was in process, delegates constantly tweeted quotes from the speakers. I love social media and our networking world today: people connect, share knowledge and work together. Gone are the days where knowledge was kept to oneself. Engaging and communicating with total strangers have become the norm. In the AV and Lighting industry this trend is also evident. Companies, each with its own expertise, work together with one shared goal - to ensure the project is a success. Canal Walk Shopping Centre decided to upgrade their Centre Court and approached Brent Thompson from Eden Electronics. After Brent designed a solution, he called in Electrosonic SA to demo the products he suggested. All were convinced and a great solution was put in place. Nolte Productions is one of the companies who lead the way in empowering others through sharing knowledge. Since 2009 Dawie and Lana Nolte have organised the annual Music Production Seminar to assist culture teachers into producing, not only interesting, but also, professional musical productions. This year teachers from 32 schools were inspired by expert guest lecturers. Another successful installation in the educational field took place at Hillcrest School in KZN. Steve Maree from Natal Video worked closely with the school’s IT & AV Departments to provide high-tech cutting edge technology for their pupils. Our cover article tells how the biggest free standing aluminium dome structure in Africa, Durban Christian Centre (DCC), acquired a world-class Lighting, Audio and Video system. Nik Fairclough of Northwind was approached with this tall order, and the first thing he did was use his network, to put together a strong team with lots of experience to draw from. Needless to say, there were challenges, but ultimately this unusual and interesting project had a very successful outcome. DIARY 2 Shows and events worldwide - CEDIA, IBC2014, PLASA London, Integrated Systems Europe. NEWS 3 Test-drive the Home Theatre Room at Crestron House, Green Hippo fever spreads across Southern Africa, No more average high school musicals, Canal Walk begins upgrade, Keystone – SA Premier Business Awards, Kramer conference 2014, Hippotizer Chipmunk Live design projection product of the year, First technology scores a first for SA Home Loans, New staff at Electrosonic SA, M6 Controller takes home the PIPA Award, Hillcrest goes hitech, Yellow Bunny adopts Green Hippo Rackoon, The Venue gets a revamp, Electrosonic SA forms reseller partnership with Kinesys UK COVER STORY 12 DCC – Centre of Excellence FEATURE 14 Electrosonic - 50 Years as an undisputed heavyweight in the AV Industry In the feature article we share with you how Robert Simpson of Electrosonic in the UK, together with his co-founders, started the business from Michael Ray’s home. That was 50 years ago. The initial dream grew into one of the World’s biggest AV systems integration companies, all the more reason to celebrate their 50th anniversary! SA Home Loans approached André van Heerden of First Technologies to implement a full audio-visual solution for their headquarters in Umhlanga Ridge, KZN. Not only did they impress SA Home Loans with the installation, but André and his team also received many accolades for their after sales service and training on technical and user levels. The success of the SA Premier Business Awards Ceremony could also be attributed to the collaboration between Christopher Bolton of