Pfaff-silberblau at Showtech 2009, Berlin (Hall 2, Booth 370)

Pfaff-silberblau Makes Stage Scenery Dance in Milan

Southern German stage technology specialist quickly installs safe, high-performance stage technology in the “Teatro Nazionale Milano.”

Kissing, Germany, 6 May 2009 - Pfaff-silberblau Hebezeugfabrik GmbH of Kissing, Germany, will be represented by its stage technology business unit at Showtech from 16 through 18 June 2009 in Berlin. Even before the trade show begins, the company has been attracting a good deal of attention through its contribution to the complete remodeling of the “Teatro Nazionale Milano.” In an international bidding process for the design and installation of the new stage machinery for the Teatro Nazionale Milano, Pfaff-silberblau was able to prevail over its competitors with sophisticated technology and outstanding engineering. As is so often the case, the crucial factor in this project is rapid implementation combined with reliable safety – one of the specialties that the stage technology engineers from Pfaff-silberblau have to offer. Stage machinery ready to use by the end of May 2009 The company placing the order for the renovation of the Teatro Nazionale is “Stage Entertainment,” one of the leaders in international live entertainment. For this company, Pfaff-silberblau also recently equipped the “Operetten-haus” in Hamburg, Germany, with the latest in stage technology. The Na-tional Theater at the heart of Milan is Stage Entertainment’s first fixed venue in Italy, and it is currently being completely remodeled. Among other changes, the auditorium is being redesigned and the stage area is being enlarged. In the course of this general overhaul, all the stage mechanics were re-planned by the Düsseldorf office of the renowned Theatre Project Consultants of London. Pfaff-silberblau was appointed at the end of De-cember 2008 to install and commission the stage machinery. The tight schedule calls for the project to be handed over to the customer at the end of May 2009. Powerful and safe Among other pieces of equipment, Pfaff-silberblau is delivering and install-ing 20 DELTA-series electric wire-rope winches. Each of these winches can hoist a load of 900 kg with five wire ropes, and they can do this at speeds of up to 1.5 m/sec. On a stage used for performing musicals, these features are particularly important for rapidly and smoothly exchanging scenery and set superstructures. With installations of this type, the safety of the people on stage always has top priority. This safety is ensured by load measuring bolts for accurate acquisition of load data, a dual-channel encoder system, as well as a computer-based central controller for all actuators in accor-dance with Safety Integrity Level 3 (SIL 3). Furthermore, Pfaff-silberblau delivers the multi-sheave head-pulley blocks, guiding blocks, wire ropes, and load bars that are needed for the construction and also implements the corresponding steel structure in the area above the stage. Premiere in autumn 2009 Currently, installation of the new stage system “made by Pfaff-silberblau” is running at full speed in Milan. At the end of May 2009, the technical special-ists from Pfaff-silberblau will complete their work. Then, upon completion of the integration tests and of the inspection and approval process performed by an expert, they will hand over their work to the customer. The overall renovation project for the Teatro Nazionale Milano is scheduled for comple-tion in the fall of 2009. Then, “the show must go on” at the Teatro Nazionale Milano with new technology from Pfaff-silberblau and with the musical “Beauty and the Beast.” Pfaff-silberblau to showcase challenging projects At its booth at the Showtech trade show in Berlin, Pfaff-silberblau He-bezeugfabrik (Hall 2, Booth 370) will be presenting its outstanding stage technology along with numerous demanding projects that have been com-pleted successfully in recent years. This includes extensive remodeling of the “Tbilisi Center for Music and Cul-ture” in Tiflis, Georgia. The stage technology specialist from Kissing, Ger-many made significant contributions to that project. One of the goals is to provide the concert hall with unique capabilities for variable acoustics. This is being accomplished with a highly integrated controller and newly devel-oped wire-rope winches from Pfaff-silberblau that move and individually ar-range the heavy, 30-ton replica of the ceiling ornaments (which affects the acoustics) along with the speakers, microphones and spotlights. Pfaff-silberblau has already completed the first phase of the work on this extraor-dinary construction. The second and final phase of construction will soon begin in parallel with the installation of the media technology.

About Pfaff-silberblau The Pfaff-silberblau Group with headquarters in Kissing, Germany (near Augsburg), is part of the Columbus McKinnon Corporation (CMCO). Pfaff-silberblau Hebezeugfabrik GmbH is a technological leader in the areas of lifting and materials handling, and actuator technol-ogy. The Pfaff-silberblau Group, which includes ALLTEC Antriebstechnik in Heilbronn, Germany, and Pfaff-silberblau Verkehrstechnik GmbH & Co. KG, in Kissing, Germany, has over 300 employees worldwide and is represented internationally by numerous regional agents. Further information about Pfaff-silberblau is available at www.pfaff-silberblau.com.