Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products GmbH at Showtech 2013, Hall 2, Stand C70 (18 to 20 June, Berlin)

Pfaff-silberblau brings musicals onto the stage across Europe

Modern stage technology from Kissing ensures show effects and safety at Europe’s most successful Musicals venues

Kissing (Germany), 14 May 2013 – Today’s Musicals offer everything from rousing music, spectacular dance interludes and impressive stage scenery right through to atmospheric lighting effects. The technology that makes these shows so exciting in the first place and, as such, also so successful, is supplied for example by Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products GmbH from Kissing/ Germany. Its wire rope winches of the Pfaff-silberblau brand, such as the powerful electric wire rope winch DELTA, go to ensure that even stage props weighing several tons are secured seemingly effortlessly in the upper-stage machinery of theatres. The stage technology from Pfaff-silberblau is associated with a high level of performance and safety. And the engineers from Kissing ensure that this technology is installed as a complete solution quickly and reliably in Musical stages right across Europe. Stage technology for “Rocky” and “Sister Act” Pfaff-silberblau can lay claim to a long list of performance venues and Musicals in whose conversion and technical realisation it has been involved. Be this for example in the successful production “Tarzan” at the Neue Flora theatre in Hamburg, in “Ich war noch niemals in New York” (I’ve never been to New York) at Hamburg’s TUI Operettenhaus, the classic “Dance of the Vampires” at the Theater des Westens in Berlin, the Musical smash hit “Mamma Mia” at the Teatro Nazionale in Milan or in “The Little Mermaid” in Moscow’s Pushkinsky Musical Theatre  – everywhere and during every performance, the versatile wire rope winches from Pfaff-silberblau can be found concealed on the fly-grid. The most recent projects by the stage technology specialists from Kissing were conversions for “Rocky” at Hamburg’s TUI Operettenhaus and “Sister Act” at the Stage Apollo Theatre in Stuttgart. Special stage technology for musicals As is often the case, also at these two Musical venues, the work by Pfaff-silberblau focussed on the theatre’s upper-stage machinery. It is necessary to take very special aspects into account for their stage technology equipment. By way of example, the bar hoist lines have to be fitted flexibly. So that it can be adapted when the programme changes to a different Musical, the bar hoist must be capable of being lowered fully into the stage below. Neither does the fly grid above the stage and audience correspond to the traditional design of a theatre with a proscenium bridge, lighting bridges and bar hoists. For special effects, such as for example performers flying above the heads of the audience or items of scenery that appear to move as if by magic, which are often crucial for the success of a musical, it is necessary to install special constructions in the wire rope run. Particularly when it comes to carrying complex suspended parts, which sometimes weigh several tons, whilst satisfying exacting safety criteria, special solutions from Pfaff-silberblau are in demand. In this regard, the distances between the bar hoists can sometimes be less than 100 mm – a challenge that is met by the engineers from Pfaff-silberblau with sophisticated and proven lifting systems. The control of the upper-stage machinery presents an equally demanding challenge. By way of illustration, it is frequently necessary to control complex, combined movements involving multiple bar hoists all at the same time. Pfaff-silberblau installs its flexibly adaptable stage controls together with a partner and, thanks to an easy-to-use, convenient control panel, also ensures smooth operation during every show evening. Further information on stage technology lifting equipment and system solutions from Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products is available online at www.pfaff-silberblau.com/engineered-solutions/stage-technology.

About Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products The company Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products GmbH, Kissing/Germany, has ranked with its brands Pfaff-silberblau and Alltec Antriebstechnik for many decades amongst the technology leaders in components and system solutions for mechanical motion and lifting technology. The portfolio ranges from sophisticated screw jack elements to innovative linear drives through to powerful lifting tables and wire rope winches. On the basis of these components, Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products also offers customised solutions for a wide range of different fields of application. Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products is a subsidiary of the listed Columbus McKinnon Corporation (CMCO), Amherst/USA, a leading supplier of lifting and materials handling equipment. Worldwide, the Group has around 2,600 employees at 18 production sites in seven countries and at 52 other company branches. Further information on Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products along with its brands Pfaff-silberblau and Alltec Antriebstechnik is available online at www.pfaff-silberblau.com.