TMB was again at LDI 2006 with its renowned hospitality and some of its best products from around the world. In addition to all the TMB staple products, some new and interesting items included Falcon high-power, compact fixtures from Alpha One; FinnLight Film/TV lighting products: the new V3 software for the Hippotizer media server; Interactive Technologies' new CueServer playback processor; Kinesys object-based 3-D graphical rigging and motion control products; W-DMX; reliable and cost effective wireless DMX connectivity; DecoPAR PAR 16 and PAR 20 models; high and low resolution modules of the ColourPix range of LED display systems; ProPower RPD Rack Panel Distribution systems; ProPlex Arnold DMX Terminator; and the new ProTester compact DMX signal and cable tester and the new VMCT tester for video cables.

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TOMCAT USA announced the "graduating class" of its Hoist and Truss Workshop at the 2006 LDInstitute. More than 25 participants from more than 10 states, as well as Hong Kong, received top notch training from industry experts.

The annual TOMCAT Hoist and Rigging Workshop will be held in Midland, Texas February 21 to 24, 2007. The ETCP-recognized workshop has a reputation as the most comprehensive training course of its kind. The Hoist and Rigging Workshop is a unique learning opportunity for those new to the entertainment industry as well as veterans of the business. In addition, TOMCAT also will offer the Advanced Hoist and Truss Workshop on February 23 and 24. For more information regarding either workshop or to register, contact Lisa Jebsen at 432-694-7070.

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Sapsis Rigging, Inc. celebrated 25 years of business in October. Since 1981, Sapsis has installed stage equipment in hundreds of performance venues around the world including Lincoln Center, the White House, and a hay field on the outskirts of London. Bill Sapsis has conducted over 125 rigging seminars here and abroad, and the company's safety division has inspected over 1,000 rigging systems. The SRI production department has provided rigging for many special events like the televised Victoria Secret fashion shows and the opening of the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center.

"I started the company on Friday the 13th and have been petting black cats and stepping on cracks ever since," says Bill Sapsis, president and owner of Sapsis Rigging.  "We've come a long way since the early days of rolling reels of aircraft cable out of my basement and I'm looking forward to many years to come.  I still won't walk under ladders, though. That's just plain stupid."

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Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California, reopened to the public on November 3 after Auerbach Pollock Friedlander, performing arts/media facilities planning and design, and Auerbach Glasow, architectural lighting design and consulting, collaborated with the design team of Pfeiffer Partners Architecture on the Samuel Oschin Planetarium. The firm provided theatre consulting, planetarium lighting, audio systems design, and projection coordination elements for the project.

Since 1935, the landmark Griffith Observatory has been one of Los Angeles' top attractions.

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Leviton Manufacturing Company announced the promotion of Keith Mitchell to the position of technical sales specialist for the company's Lighting Management System Division. Mr. Mitchell joined Leviton in 2000 as a business development/specification specialist covering the Mid West's Great Lakes territory. He was promoted in 2004 to the position of lighting controls specialist for the company's Leviton Integrated Networks and Controls Division, where he covered the Saint Louis, Missouri area.

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Wybron, Inc., a leader of entertainment and architectural lighting technology, received the Best Debuting Product of the Year Award in the lighting category from Lighting Dimensions International (LDI) 2006 for the InfoTrace Control and Management System.

InfoTrace (IT) is a new lighting design system that uses Remote Device Management (RDM) to control and manage Digital Multiplex (DMX)-controlled devices such as color changers, moving lights, fog machines and dowsers.

"We are delighted to have been selected for the LDI 2006 Best Debuting Product of the Year Award," said Keny Whitright, Chairman and Founder of Wybron. "We are excited to have received both the LDI award and the PLASA innovation award in the same year for the second time."

In September, Wybron won the coveted PLASA 2006 Award for Innovation for the quality of design, concept and development of the InfoTrace System.

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Altman Lighting, Inc. announced that Victor Wittmann has joined the company as vice president of sales and marketing.

"We are very pleased to welcome Victor to the company," says Robert Altman, president of Altman Lighting. "I believe he will be a great asset to us; he brings with him a strong background in the architectural lighting market as well as a wealth of industry experience to our company. Victor's appointment is a key step forward as our company continues to grow both in our traditional theatrical market and our quickly expanding architectural market. I know all of our dealers, distributors, and customers will join us in welcoming him aboard."

Mr. Wittmann will oversee both national and international sales as well as help to develop Altman Lighting in new markets. Most recently, he was VP of sales and marketing for Heyco Products, Inc. He previously held the same position with JJI Lighting Group and was national sales and marketing manager with Genlyte.

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James Thomas Engineering, Ltd, in conjunction with James Thomas Engineering, Inc., announced the spin-off of the sales and distribution of the Pixel range of LED products in the United States.

PixelRANGE Inc. has been created to deal with the sales, distribution, and support of the complete range of Pixel products throughout the United States, Canada, and South America. The new company will be headed up by industry veterans Dave Thomas and Blaine Engle.

With Mr. Engle as head of sales, PixelRANGE Inc. maintains the key personnel who have been instrumental in introducing and building the brand in the States.

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