With up to 60 personnel working at any one time, Pinnacle Crew recently provided an essential service for the fourth consecutive year towards the smooth running of the five-day Country Living Magazine Christmas Fair, held at the Business Design Centre in Islington.
Central to Pinnacle’s role in the Fair, was its handling of the challenging de-rig. The company had three-and-a-half hours to pull out all 400 exhibitors. This was achieved by having 60 crew on site, divided into teams with four team leaders – an overall co-ordinator in the loading bay and three leaders on each floor. With the team leaders in radio contact, they were able to work together with the show’s production manager and meet new requirements as they arose, moving crew around the venue on demand.
Explains Pinnacle’s managing director Heath Freeman:
“We had to have well-organised crew that remained calm and met the requirements of both the organisers and exhibitors. Key to this was our ability constantly to evaluate the de-rig operation, and be aware that if areas were falling behind schedule, manpower had to be reassigned to those areas. As always, however, we got all of the exhibitors out of the venue in time.”
Paying tribute to Pinnacle, Fiona Abbotts of the Fair’s organising team says:
“Pinnacle Crew always provides us with excellent service on these Fairs. They remain calm and collected throughout the job, and work well both with us as the organisers and with our exhibitors. To see what is involved in the de-rig one would not think it was possible to achieve what Pinnacle does in such a short space of time.”
In addition to the de-rig, Pinnacle worked on the Fair for five days before the opening with crew on hand to assist the organisers and exhibitors to set up the show. This included installing a 25-foot high Christmas tree on the mezzanine level. As Heath Freeman says:
“This is always particularly difficult as we need to take care not to damage either the tree or the venue. Numerous other Christmas trees also have to be brought in and set up. Overall, our work on this show is very varied and our crew need to be on hand, willing and able to get involved in anything that needs to be done.”
This includes laying carpet, setting up the exhibitors’ storage area and helping exhibitors get all their products into the venue and on to their stands.
Pinnacle has been involved with the Country Living Magazine Fairs for the past four years, and has provided crew for four Christmas and four Spring Fairs.
Adds Heath Freeman:
“We really enjoy working with Upper Street Events. The company understands the on-site operation carried out by our crew and the pressures they are under at these Fairs.”
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Notes to editors
About Pinnacle
Pinnacle Crew (formerly Pinnicle Solutions) was founded in 2001 by Heath Freeman and Mark Mower following several years experience in the live events industry. They saw a gap in the market for crew who could multi-task and bridge the gap between those crews who purely carry equipment, and technicians. This means that Pinnacle crew are more technically aware than many other crews in the industry. The company also puts a great emphasis on health and safety, ensuring that all their crew are fully trained and familiar with typical scenarios and equipment.
About the Country Living Magazine Christmas Fair
Taking place annually at Business Design Centre in Islington over four days in November, the Country Living Magazine Christmas Fair attracts more than 400 exhibitors from all over the UK showcasing their unique products and providing visitors with the opportunity to do all their Christmas shopping under one roof.