Rigtec is a company dedicated to producing inventive projector rigging solutions well suited for all areas of professional entertainment and production. These are designed BY AV professionals FOR AV professionals.
The Rigtec Airframe will be launched at InfoComm 2019 — replacing the original unnamed frame product — complete with new features. Also prominent on Booth 566 will be the original Rigtec Atom Grip.
Who is Rigtec?
U.K.-based Rigtec started in 2011, when Matthew “Max” Boyse, managing director of leading event technical production specialist CPL, needed rigging frames for some newly purchased Panasonic PT-DZ110 projectors. Max had a chance meeting with a mechanical design engineer from the automotive industry, and several conversations later, the first prototype projector staking frame was built and tested, after which CPL handcrafted just enough frames to accommodate their own DZ110 rental stock at the time.
Further projector investment saw more frames produced for single and three chip machines, as well as the truss clamps, which are now sold as Rigtec’s Atom Grip products. As CPL used these on more projects and sub rentals, news initially spread organically and by word-of-mouth, and the street-vibe became that these were the cool tools to have on your job.
CPL’s diverse portfolio of technical production clients includes supplying conferences and presentations for some of the largest brands in the business to shows for exciting and cutting-edge music artists, dance and festival events.
As the projector frames idea gained traction, other people started to ask CPL to build frames and clamps for their own projectors. When the enquiries started coming in from Europe and further afield, Max and the team realized that there was a gap in the market and a demand for practical, robust and well-engineered products related to projector rigging.
With a commercially viable product and potential to roll out ideas for several other scenarios, Max decided to amass a dream team to make this happen. In 2017, when Rigtec was formally incorporated, a manufacturing process was established and rigtec.com went live to channel and deal with online sales.
“Right from the get-go, the idea was to manufacture product designed by those at the front line of AV and video production” says Max, adding that it all sounds very quick and simple when you recall the journey in a few sentences, but “it’s been an extremely complex undertaking, it was essential to have the right people involved for the right reasons. I needed a team who were invested and passionate about the industry and specifically about Rigtec and what it stands for. I also wanted good personality dynamics and a long-term commitment from everyone involved to make this a premium brand.”
The Team
Max heads Rigtec and is heavily involved in the product R&D and bringing new ideas to the table, informed by his 25 years’ in the industry. He’s joined by a talented and enthusiastic team of four other industry professionals.
Mechanical design engineer Vilario Fernandez has a Bachelor’s Degree in engineering and his Masters in mechanical engineering, giving him a huge understanding of solid mechanics, dynamics and control, material science and thermodynamics. He designs and tests Rigtec’s products from conception to completion and ensures they are applicable and safe for use. Vilario is also always looking at how to improve products aesthetically and in terms of efficiency and safety.
Sam Thomas is sales manager and based at Rigtec’s HQ near Birmingham, U.K. He is the main contact for customers, offering advice, pricing and availability. He’s worked at Rigtec / CPL for close to eight years, starting as an AV technician, working on events then moving into the office as a hire coordinator, before project assisting in the events department and now heading up the Rigtec sales department.
Sam is still involved with events — producing the 3D visuals and designs — and this dynamic mix of roles has resulted in a lot of know-how and an acute awareness of the roles of both the equipment and the creative processes. All of this enables him to provide a unique standard of excellence in supporting Rigtec customers. Sam has seen the products evolve from their original purpose, designed and manufactured for CPL’s own use, to now being sold by the pallet load to distributors worldwide.
Thomas Bazeley is Rigtec’s business development manager, and before that, he worked as a live event technician. He is identifying new business opportunities, cultivating and maintaining relationships with existing business partners, spearheading new sales and developing effective sales and marketing strategies, plus assisting with general brand marketing and administrative support for the sales team.
Richard (Dick) Burrow is the company’s business development director. He has been part of the CPL/Rigtec family for 15 years, working across all areas of the business, delivering imaginative live events and outstanding rental solutions. For Rigtec, Dick is primarily engaging with new and existing customers face to face, from technology manufacturers to rental houses, and also involved in getting valuable feedback on products from those working in real event scenarios.
Input from customers and end users has been forthcoming on all aspects from the design and function right down to packaging. “Listening to professionals is a smart and intuitive way to ensure we are constantly innovating, improving and that the products stay relevant” confirms Dick.
The Products
Rigtec’s Airframes are currently available in three sizes to cover projector manufacturers like Panasonic, Epson, Christie, Digital Projection, etc. and have mounting positions that can be modified to accommodate different projector chassis. The latest Airframes are an all-new design that is functional, practical and look great! It has integrated floor and portrait mounting points for the Atom Grip plus a removable front bar for fitting super short throw lenses like the Panasonic ET-D75LE95. Pitch, roll and yaw control are all integrated in the frame.
Rigtec’s Atom Grip (currently there are four variants) are all available with different Doughty clamps for full flexibility. The Atom Grip is a 360-degree gimbal-type truss mount. It’s rugged, ergonomically designed and is black to match the frame. In addition to snugly fitting the Rigtec Airframes, Atom Grips can be utilized with several frames manufactured by Barco and with Panasonic’s proprietary frames.
Product designs are constantly evolving, utilizing the vast collective knowledge and experience of the team in rigging projectors in all imaginable scenarios.
Rigtec is exhibiting at InfoComm for the first time to consolidate its early successes and gauge interest from American markets. “We’ve had very positive feedback,” says Max, “and the time feels right to make some new contacts and hopefully start establishing a distributor network in North America, so that’s one of the primary objectives for being there as well as to generate more business generally in the products.”
Expectations of InfoComm include meeting new customers and projector manufacturers with the aim of forging alliances and close working links to enhance and increase future product ranges.
Company Snapshot
Rigtec
Origins: In 2011, CPL MD Matthew “Max” Boyse saw the need for custom-fabricated projector frames. CPL formerly launched the Rigtec brand in 2017, and the projector frames became Rigtec’s Atom Grip product line.
Headquarters: Honiley, U.K., near Kenilworth and Coventry in Warwickshire, England. Part of Central Presentations Ltd (CPL)
Team: Along with Boyse, the Rigtec team includes mechanical design engineer Vilario Fernandez, sales manager Sam Thomas, business development manager Thomas Bazely and business development director Richard “Dick” Burrow.
Products: Projector Frames, Flying Adaptors and Portrait Adapters, marketed with the Rigtec and Atom Grip brands and tailored to the needs of popular projector models.
More Info: www.rigtec.com
