When Sainsbury’s needed AV technical support for its All-Hands Tech Team Event and called on us at ATC, we were only too happy to assist.

The Brief

Held at the NEC Birmingham, the event hosted technical teams from Sainsbury’s and business partners who install and manage point-of-sale systems, self-service tills—essentially any technical systems found in its stores.

The three-part event comprised a Plenary stage, a demo area, and a trade fair showcasing new products.

Equipment Used

The event began with an introductory Plenary session on the main stage. For this, we built an 11m triangular stage with seating on two sides. The layout required a triple-screen projection system. This comprised one central 24′ x 13′ 6″ front projection screen flown at the rear of the stage, and two 12′ x 6′ 9″ front projection screens flown at 45-degree angles from truss above the first rows of seating.

One Panasonic PT-RZ21K Laser Projector and two Panasonic PT-RQ22KEJ 4K 20K projectors fitted the bill perfectly to display PowerPoint and video content from Sainsbury’s. We chose a Barco PDS-4K switcher to manage all video inputs and outputs.

The layout also meant specific requirements for the PA system. Our d&b Y and T series were ideal for this, and we created a design using Y8, Y12, Y10P, Y-Subs and T10s for the main system, with E3 speakers in support. d&b D20s and D40s provided amplification, with a Yamaha QL5 desk in control.

First-class presenter mics are crucial, and we chose the Shure AD4Q Axient system with DPA headset mics, and Audio Technica AT935 mics on the lectern.

Stage and lectern lighting came from Chauvet Ovation E-910FC LED profiles and Ayrton Diablo-S LED profiles. We chose SGM Q7 LED floods for room lighting, and Robe Robin 150 Beams gave us super-bright, dynamic movement as our stage floor package—all controlled by an Avolites Pearl Quartz desk.

Following the Plenary, two groups of delegates visited the Demo Area and Trade Fair, while a third group stayed in the Plenary Area for further conference sessions. Due to ambient noise from the expo, we used Silent Disco headsets for those wishing to block out the noise and focus on presentations.

The Demo Area and Trade Fair gave suppliers the opportunity to exhibit new products to Sainsbury’s, and we supplied sixty 43″ Panasonic TH-LFE8E Series screens for exhibitors to run content.

Following a final Plenary session, the event closed with thanks and handshakes all around from the Sainsbury’s team to our ATC team on site.

Thanks to Sainsbury’s for choosing us to support the event!