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areas, 2 hospitality areas, the podium, a gaming
area and the e-village stage. Video turned to
Barco’s S3 and Luminex networking to
livestream to 140 screens across the venue
which required 19km of fiber to ensure 4K video
with less than 1 frame of delay. Lighting used
their new SGM P-10 and Clay Paky lights for the
E-Motion club and hospitality village.
Another mega event in Saudi Arabia that
Protec provided a complete package for was
the ground breaking of the new tourism
destination, Al Qiddiya. It is planned to be 334
square kilometres in area, dwarfing Walt Disney
World in Florida (110sq km) to become the world’s
largest entertainment destination. Based in the
desert with no infrastructure in place, Protec
were invited to supply the temporary structure
– their 36m x 88m Supa Dome with full technical
support inside the auditorium including audio,
lighting, 3D Video projection mapping, and
rigging as well as scenic, staging and automation
for this lavish, extraordinarily complex ceremony
attended by royalty and VVIPs to celebrate the
beginning of an estimated 2 year build project.
Protec are currently shortlisted for 3 Middle
East Event Awards in recognition of their
contribution to the event industry across the
region including ‘Best Technical Support’ for
BAO Festival in Dubai and the Al Qiddiya
Ground-Breaking Ceremony in Saudi Arabia,
and ‘Best Event Technology’ for their robotics
stand at GITEX 2018.
Bao Festival was the biggest EDM music
festival from a production standpoint in Dubai
in the past year with many of the world’s top
ranked DJs playing to an audience from one
of the most elaborate sets. Protec got the
opportunity to provide a fullsize MA3 and MA2
console along with over 200 moving Claypaky
& Robe fixtures. This was complemented by
L-Acoustics K1, V-Dosc and Kara PA operated
via a Digico SD5. Video used their Barco E2
along with 12 30k projectors and a large amount
of LED. It required some impressive processing
power to supply the 4k feeds.
creative and state of the art options.
Protec veteran and creative, Eddie Andradé will
join the team from Dubai where he currently
holds the position of marketing director, but
goes beyond that role to offer clients the benefit
of his diverse events background.
This expanded space also means job
opportunities. Protec have brought in some
new employees already to help the UK branch
make the transition but are opening up some
exciting opportunities for project managers,
senior riggers and senior audio, lighting &
video technicians. They will be looking for
ambitious people who share the bold vision
of the Protec group.*
These high profile live events speak volumes
of the trust Protec’s clients have in their service.
Instilling even more confidence in the upward
trajectory of the Protec group is the return of
several key staff members who have re-joined
the company bringing a renewed energy and
invigorating the team with their ambition and
creativity. Well known in the events industry
with decades of experience Protec welcome
back Rick Wade, Nick Groves, Simon Travis,
Abi Bates, Andy Cooper, Nina Badr, André
Opperman, and Jason Strange. Fulfilling roles
from project management to business
development these high calibre staff signify a
strong confidence in the Protec brand and have
people excited about what’s to come. Investment
in these strong, experienced professionals tells
us that founder & CEO Stephen Lakin has no
plans on slowing down and if anything, bigger
things are on the horizon.
Rapid UK Expansion Means New Premises
and Exciting Job Opportunities
Following Saudi’s successful expansion, focus
is moving to the UK based Protec European
Events. With access to the group’s massive
inventory of industry preferred equipment
already at hand, Lakin has now acquired a new
premises more than doubling the warehouse
space and offering a huge 68,000sq ft of storage
which he is planning on dedicating to a new,
comprehensive staging and scenic department
and storage for his growing inventory.
This new department will be led by the best
in the industry. André Opperman brings his
impressive background in film, theatrical set
building, and fabrication to the department
joining Jason Strange – also with decades of
experience in scenic and staging – to make
Protec European Events a very desirable option
capable of supplying large scale events with
Protec European Events have already made
impressive strides in their first year having won
an award for ‘AV Production Staging & Rental
Company of the Year’ and made the shortlist for
‘Event Tech of the Year’ at the EN Awards. They
turned heads at this year’s Event Production
Show with their stands showcasing advanced
technologies. Offering drones and robots, they
have their finger on the pulse of the current
event trend which is leaning more towards the
experiential. Their technology had the desired
effect on attendees with many taking out their
phones to share images and videos of the robot
playing darts or were delighted to be able to
engage in a hands on way with the technology.
It was also a great opportunity to find out about
the many ways drones are gripping the event
world, immersing audiences and enabling brands
and event professionals to tell their story in more
creative and unique ways. These are exciting
times for the Protec group. Already a trusted
name in the Middle East, they are now ready
to take the next step in the European market.
Expect big things in the coming months as they
increase their capabilities and bring on board
new staff, they will certainly be one to watch.
*See back cover for more details
www.productiontec.com