Trade shows such as Prolight and Sound are getting increasingly important for our industry here in South Africa as it affords distributors, rental company owners and retailers the opportunity to put a face to the brands that they stand behind. Pro-Systems journalist Greg Bester caught up with some key South African attendees at Frankfurt 2013 to get their perspective and comment on this year’s show. Here’s what they had to say.
Nic Britz – Director, DWR
Nic Britz, along with DWR owner Duncan Riley, attended this year’s Prolight and Sound.
DWR is one of South Africa’s largest distributors of lighting and staging products with such brands as Robe, Avolites, Clay Paky, MA Lighting and Prolyte so the expo was a perfect single locale for them to make contact and strengthen ties with their brands.
Nic shares what DWR hoped to accomplish there.
“The main goal was to touch base with all of our suppliers. We knew that there were a lot of South Africans going, including some of our customers, so we needed to make sure we looked after them and introduced them to our suppliers.’
Given the size of the show, the impact it has on the professional audio and lighting industries worldwide is significant and Nic feels that it is a window into the future and an opportunity to keep abreast of current trends. He feels this is a great thing that benefits DWR on the whole.
“It’s good for us to keep in touch with what’s new, what’s up and coming and to have a look at what other companies are doing as well as to have a look at other potential products for us to distribute. It’s also very nice for us to be able to introduce our clients to the people who run the companies who manufacture the products we distribute. They like to know who they’re dealing with and it puts a face to the company.’
Nic has been to Prolight and Sound three times previously and he says the growth of the show is evident.
“Every year I go to Prolight and Sound more and more people from South Africa are there – which indicates to me that it’s becoming more popular . I haven’t been to PLASA but Prolight definitely seems to be the show where you strike the deals and do a lot of business.’
Mark Gaylard – MGG Productions
Mark Gaylard, owner of rental company MGG Productions, attended Prolight and Sound for the second time. This time around was a big eye opener for him, coming from the rental and rigging side.
“It’s always nice to see how the rental companies there work, from their trucking; to their rigging and to how they generally run things. They have a very efficient way of working in Germany. From the expo point of view, one thing I really like to do is go see the PRG stand. They are the largest rental company in the world and when you go back stage it’s just amazing to see how many fixtures there are. It’s just a massive rig in there. They’re so big they manufacture their own moving light!’
Meeting with suppliers was a great opportunity afforded to Mark while attending Prolight and Sound. He comments: “I got a chance to talk to a lot of the suppliers. You can make some suggestions, which is great. They let us know what they’re planning to do and keep us informed of updates. For instance, the update to the Yamaha Stagemix for the iPad was launched there so it’s nice to just take a mental picture of these kinds of things and take it back with you.’
The quality of the show also impressed Mark.
“The sheer quality of the show is of a very high standard. All the halls are labelled and all the information is presented well. Also, the exhibitors spend a massive amount of money on really beautiful stands. Every manufacturer has really gone to town.
“One thing I would like is to see more workshops presented in English. Most of the workshops were presented in German. But if you just think about the pro audio hall and just how many products were there a lot of the products you don’t even get here, so that’s nice to see. So, you can go to distributors and let them know, look, I think you should bring this in.’
Dave Livesey – The Case Connection
Dave Livesey, owner of the Case Connection, was the single representative of his company that attended Prolight and Sound.
The Case Connection, based in Honeydew, is a manufacturer of a large range of high quality custom casing solutions, including aluminium, wooden and polyethylene flight cases, cordura nylon padded bags and covers, and fitters of bespoke foam interiors to any case. Given his unique but crucial market, Prolight and Sound was the perfect place to scout new materials and fittings, and to make sure his company was up to scratch with the rest of the world.
“My goal in attending Prolight and Sound was to make sure the Case Connection is on track with offering a quality product in South Africa and to see if there are any changes in fittings or materials that they’re using in Europe since they are one of the biggest markets. We’ve started using the new PVC foil on the wooden cases, as they do in Europe. It’s a lot more water proof, stronger and it just looks a lot more professional.’
Speaking to manufacturers in order to get suggestions on how to case their products was also a valuable aspect of the trip along with being a great opportunity to spend time with his clients.
“Often what happens is that the distributors will go to other shows like that, when I’m not around, and by the time they get back after they’ve made their orders they forget about ordering their cases which puts us under pressure to get the cases manufactered in a very short time. Whereas, if I go with them I get a better idea of what they’re looking at and what they’re planning on buying, which keeps me in the loop.’
On the importance of Prolight and Sound to the South African industry, Dave says: “Prolight and Sound sets the bar. It’s like a wish list. There are some fantastic products there and you can see how technology is moving. So you can see, are the new products better than your exisiting equipment and are they worth spending the money on it. Also, in the South African market guys seem to be working together in that one guy will buy a certain amount of lights to compliment a competitor’s stock in case there is a big show. Our market is small and we need to work together. It’s about relationships at the end of the day.’
Kevin Glover – Sound Stylists
Kevin Glover, owner of Sound Stylists, along with Colin Loock and Clint Fowler were the three company representatives who attended Prolight and Sound this year. Glover is a veteran of the event and has attended it fourteen times so he has a pretty good idea of what to expect.
He says: “We go there to pick up ideas, to see what trends are out there, who’s doing what and why. In a way, it’s probably one of the shows that offers you the most diversity, you know, everything from the MI side right the way through to lighting, pro audio and AV. Saying that, I found that due to the economic climate that this year there was a little nervousness. The guys on the stands were quite edgey, for want of a better word. So I think there’s definitely a strain on the industry worldwide.’
Kevin’s view on the show, given his long spanning experience with it, is a bit guarded, which is understandable. His opinion is that the industry is effectively treading water due to the fact that budgets are drying up and, to him, this was evident at the show.
“I think the market is just hanging in there. There isn’t a lot of money flying around that you can throw at products. The thing you have to understand about Frankfurt is that it’s aimed at the German market. All of those stands are put up by the German distributors, which, for one country, is quite amazing.’
However, in terms of products, there were some shining lights for Kevin and according to him, the show was positive on the whole for Sound Stylists. In his words, they “got a lot done’.
“There’s some new Coda stuff that’s coming out such as the Viray and additions to the LA12s. There’s a new bass bin that’s basically a bass extender that you can hang or stack, which is something that we’ve been asking for. The Viray is very stunning sounding for a small eight-inch array. I’ve been really impressed with Coda, full stop. Lighting wise, the Robe Pointes were nice. We’ll probably get some of those. AV-wise? There wasn’t anything that caught my eye as with staging. Prolyte has a nice smaller stage that we’re probably going to look at.’
