A.C. Lighting's Special Projects Division have supplied and installed a permanent trussing and chain hoisting system for the Marine Hall live performance venue in Fleetwood, Lancashire.

The venue, which sits proudly on the sea front on Fleetwood's Esplanade, opened in 1935 and is virtually unchanged from its original design. The hall has been the premier entertainment venue for the Wyre area for almost 70 years, with top international performers and independent local groups using the facilities for a diverse range of shows and events - including live music, dance, comedy, folk and drama.

A.C. Project Manager Adam Beaumont was approached by Marine Hall Senior Technician, Tony Mitchell, when he needed to bring the venue's Auditorium rigging system up to date.

The existing system of using portable scaffold towers to access the rig's static lighting bars was adding an unnecessarily long load-in and load-out time to performances, and becoming increasingly hazardous due to the heavier and heavier weights of fixtures being manually handled whilst working at height. The venue therefore wanted to replace the system due to issues of ergonomics and health and safety.

Tony approached several companies with system requirements and awarded the contract for supply and installation of the system to A.C. Lighting.

A.C. specified a combination of CM Lodestar and Prostar electric chain hoists alongside Litec QX30 (standard duty) and QD30 (heavy duty) truss products. A series of custom rigging brackets were fabricated and installed in the ceiling void of the hall, allowing the chain hoists to be permanently located and hidden from view.

"The Litec truss was an ideal product for the job", stated A.C.'s Adam Beaumont. "It's a high quality truss that doesn't cost a fortune, meaning the client's budget constraints could be easily met."

Venue Senior Technician, Tony Mitchell, commented: "A.C. Lighting have done a first class job, completing the installation on time and to a very high standard. We tested it during a local drama festival the following week, where it proved to be a godsend."

Litec truss is distributed exclusively in the UK by A.C. Lighting.

For further information on the A.C. Special Projects division please contact A.C. on 01494 838392 or email projects@ac-et.com.