Litestructures
It's probably no tragedy that Adrian Brooks decided not to pursue his college career to become a humanities teacher. Had he done so, the idea of sitting at the top of one of the most influential trussing and staging companies would undoubtedly have been the stuff of dreams.
The Managing Director of LiteStructures, Adrian Brooks (above) is also the brains behind the popular AstraLite trussing system, several staging systems and the growing set design and construction facilities at the Wakefield, West Yorkshire HQ. With a staff of over 80, including those at its branch offices in Nottingham and London, its overseas distribution centre in Emsdetten, Germany, plus a national and international network of distributors, LiteStructures has grown from a one-man truss supplier to one of the largest companies in its sector, boasting a turnover of more than £5m a year.
So what makes LiteStructures different? Maybe it's the fact that the company is able to offer the full service - from design and manufacture of innovative products to installation. Or perhaps it's the sale or rental option on all products, rarely offered by its competitors. Whatever the reason, it's certain that Brooks' eye for design has given LiteStructures a distinctive edge over the 20 year rise of the company.
Although he trained as a teacher, Brooks' first job was with Access Equipment Ltd. - a company that specialised in the manufacture of lightweight aluminium scaffolding towers. As a result of his good work, he was sent to work at the company's plant in Leeds, which also had a repair facility and a number of welders. In 1979, Brooks decided that instead of sorting out other people's businesses he should do it for himself and by 1980 he was trading under the name of Lightning (Tower Hire) Ltd. from beneath the arches at Leeds railway station.
Then in 1982 came a chance encounter with Mike Roberts, at the time technical director with Opera North. Roberts was putting on a production at the Grand in Leeds and Brooks was working on a scaffolding job at the Odeon next door. Roberts explained that he was taking an opera called 'The Peace' out to schools in the area. The opera was in the round, so Roberts needed trussing across the stage, from which to hang lights.
With no option to fly in the school halls it would visit, the truss had to somehow be self-supporting. Until then truss had only really gone in a straight line, so Brooks designed a 90¡ corner (swiftly followed by a three-way corner joint) to fulfil Roberts' demands, making history into the bargain. Pleased with this innovation, Roberts suggested taking the design to the ABTT trade show, then at the Camden Roundhouse.
This led to another chance meeting - this time with Neil Rice from Optikinetics. Rice was planning a lighting equipment roadshow with Mode Electronics and asked Brooks to design a square box of Astralite to stand on its own legs. The roadshow turned out to be just as much of a success for Brooks as it was for Rice, since many people were as interested in the trussing as the lighting products - and the pair struck a deal whereby Optikinetics distributed the AstraLite product range.
ON THE TUBE
By the end of the 1980s not only was the company (now called Astralloy) making a real name for itself on the trussing front, it was also distributing a moving yoke system called Colibri, possibly the first colour changing moving head system in the world. A combination of unreliability in the system, together with the operating system being analogue and painfully slow to programme, meant big problems for Astralloy. Many hundreds of units were sold in quick succession, including 36 units to 'The Tube'. The units weren't cheap and the warranty claims were coming in thick and fast, with Astralloy bearing the brunt, leading Brooks to appoint liquidators in late 1989 - just at the start of the recession.
A year later, having repaid the bank and creditors, LiteStructures was formed and in 1993 Brooks took a five-year lease on a factory, with the option to purchase. This was, without doubt, a supremely sensible move since, at the end of the lease, he bought the property for £250,000, selling it later the same day for £395,000 - "Probably the best deal I've ever done!" he says.
It was this that enabled the company to buy LiteStructures' current factory in South Kirkby. In a desirable location, close to all major motorways, and in the middle of Yorkshire, the company owns the freehold and plans are in motion for a complete renovation of the entire site. This includes, as part of the company's aim to provide the full gamut of services to the production industry, a large rehearsal space for touring bands.
This refurbishment is due for completion in 2004 and will complement the company's existing services, which include a growing CAD team that works across all market sectors, from entertainment, exhibitions and conference to architectural. One of the company's main strengths is the design and construction of custom built products, utilising the skills of the design team, remarkable factory facilities and stringent quality control procedures. From an initial drawing, to 3D visuals to the final concept, LiteStructures works not just with the entertainment industry but also provides custom structures to markets as diverse as motor sports, cinema, engineering test facilities and property developers.
INDEPENDENT
As for the growing product portfolio, the most recent addition is a new range of flooring panels called ChromaDeck. A translucent panel with LEDs fitted behind it, ChromaDeck was developed in conjunction with Pulsar Light of Cambridge and can be installed wherever innovative floor-lighting solutions are required. It works in conjunction with LiteStructures' modular LiteDeck flooring and allows the installation of as many units as required together with the ability to create fixed, flashing or chasing colour patterns, and also available for hire or purchase.
Whatever and wherever the project, LiteStructures is customer led, and behind this mentality lies the infrastructure to deliver. The LiteStructures factory boasts all the high-tech machinery needed to meet some very specific and demanding requirements. The company has invested in CNC machinery to increase its manufacturing capacity and a programmable saw which auto-batches special extrusions and standard lengths. Meanwhile, all other saws are being fitted with digital readouts, allowing faster production with increased accuracy. A second ring rolling machine has also been installed for bending larger and heavier sections, which is proving invaluable for the production of custom structures and specialist equipment.
CURRENT BUSINESS
By diversifying and extending the range of products LiteStructures is able to offer, the company has kept its head above water in a post-9/11 climate that has seen this industry suffer so badly. Recent management changes see the company going from strength to strength, with turnover predicted to grow by more than 20% this financial year. It is this success through difficult times that has prompted LiteStructures to build on its reputation for professionalism and reliability with a new corporate identity and web site.
The new web site is much more comprehensive and user friendly than its predecessor. Operating on a two-channel system, it allows experts to go directly to the product and plan away, whilst the inexperienced can look at end uses and determine which products they might want. It has been designed to grow with the company and future plans include the addition of an online shop; it will also ultimately contain technical information on every item that LiteStructures manufactures, sells and hires.
Launched at PLASA 2003, the company's new logo echoes the philosophy of the company - streamlined and high-tech. It is still LiteStructures but the emphasis is on evolution. The truss edge represents the main company product and the key elements of the company: strength, simplicity and versatility.
The range was growing, with more complex corners - AstraLite developing into two, three and four tube systems, and circular structures being added. At this point Brooks was mainly selling his wares to the lucrative club and disco markets, but the Channel Four show 'The Tube' changed that. Set designer Tim Trout asked him to design and build a stage and he came up with a double decked structure, which could be built and dismantled in the studio every week. With its popular presenters Paula Yates and Jools Holland, and its cult following, the contract really brought home to Brooks the infinite possibilities of his company and his product.
Set design and construction also plays a big part in daily life at LiteStructures, with project managers Lou Hall and Chris Bridges working with the production teams of acts such as Christina Aguilera, Ronan Keating, Blue, Westlife, Iron Maiden and Massive Attack. To a large degree this dedicated facility runs independent of the company's traditional sales and hire departments, meeting the short lead times that are typical of the production industry.
Stage sets and exhibition stands are just two areas where custom products and the hire side of the business combine. Touring bands often take out a combination of rental standard equipment plus custom-made pieces, making full use of the fact that everything that LiteStructures produces is available for hire as well as outright purchase. Whether the customer wants standard decking or an outdoor stage, trussing or lighting - or even a sound system - LiteStructures regularly tailors package that's right for the job.
Today, LiteStructures, as the fourth largest user of aluminium tubing in the north of England, boasts an impressive product line up. AstraLite 'The Original' sits at the top of the table, but in its footsteps have come products such as LiveLite (aluminium truss with integrated power) and LiteDeck.