ASIS MIDDLE EAST 2022

AYM ENGAGES PICO TO DELIVER A TECHNICALLY COMPLEX SHOW FOR THE BIGGEST NAMES IN THE MIDDLE EAST’S SECURITY INDUSTRY.

Held in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, for the first time, from 16-17 November 2022, the 10th ASIS Middle East Conference and Exhibition saw around 5,500 participants including 90 exhibitors, 600 conference delegates and over 1,300 Opening Ceremony attendees descend on Dhahran Expo to discuss this year’s theme –‘security, enabling economic growth’.

Sponsored by Aramco, SABIC, SEC and SAFE, the event was produced by AYM Events, which also organised the previous iteration of the show in 2019 in Bahrain. “As a strategic partner, AYM Events worked closely with the committee to deliver the objectives of broadening the attendance levels and elevating content,” stated AYM’s Alain Marhic.

AYM managed all aspects of ASIS Middle East from marketing, to delegate and exhibition sales, conference programming and logistics, however, AYM’s main remit was to uplift the event to the level of Aramco’s largest expo – IKTVA. “We were keen to ensure the stage and opening ceremony reflected the importance of the event for the Kingdom and for the security industry in the region,” continued Marhic.

AYM engaged Pico to handle the design and build of the conference space. “It was an easy decision,” said AYM’s Solveig Leonard. “We needed a reliable and creative production company to bring our concept to life. We were keen to bring an immersive experience to our attendees, ensuring that they had a memorable and meaningful event. It was vital all the latest audio-visual techniques and staging solutions were incorporated in the show. I knew Pico was the right fit for the job.”

Leonard explained that the key moment in the show came right at the start, as Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Governor of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, opened the event using an impressive, simulated facial recognition system. “It had to be right and work first time – the pressure was immense. However, the all-important inauguration moment was a challenge due to the physical restrictions of the venue,” Leonard revealed. “It was a tight space to work in and we didn’t have much scope to hang equipment from the ceiling due to weightloading issues, so we were restricted in what we could achieve.”

However, helped by a great working relationship with Pico’s Ed Jarman – which dates back more than 20 years to when Leonard worked at ExCeL London and Jarman worked in rock ’n’ roll touring – the team came up with some smart solutions.

Pico engaged HAV Productions to supply rigging, audio, lighting, and playback; while Entertainment Solutions provided the set and scenic, plus the vast amount of LED used.

The lighting rig featured Claypaky A.leda B-EYE K10 and SuperSharpy fixtures, ARRI Fresnels and ETC Source Four Profile, controlled by an MA Lighting grandMA3. The audio supply comprised a JBL VTX line array with Crown VRack HD4MX amplification and beyerdynamic microphones as well as a Soundcraft Vi7000 digital mixer. The playback solution comprised a Barco E2 processor, Dataton WATCHMAX software, and Lightware Matrix switchers. HAV Professional also provided Sony PMW-400K cameras and Blackmagic vision mixer, as well as Eurotruss FD34 and Lodestar CM motorised chain hoists.

HAV Professional’s General Manager, Ian Hill expanded on the weight-loading issues the team faced. “The venue was basically two adjoined halls – one older than the other – and there was a great difference in the load-bearing capacity in the roof,” he described. “To overcome this, we flew a mother grid of truss and added multiple points to balance and spread the weight distribution. All in all, the event went very smoothly – there was a great synergy between our crew and the other technical providers.”

Summing up, AYM’s Marhic reflected on the success of the event. “We are very pleased with the result achieved – especially the quality of the agenda, the international participation and the presence of industry leaders headlined by Amin Nasser, Aramco CEO.”

Leonard added: “The combined expertise of the whole team meant that together, we achieved an extraordinarily good-looking, slick and well-attended event.”

Photo: Pico www.asis-me.org www.aym-events.com www.pico.com www.havpro.com