As someone who has visited many offices through my time at TPi, it must be said there is something special about Adam Hall Group’s German HQ. Based in Neu-Anspach – a short drive from Frankfurt – the company’s campus houses all the brands under the Adam Hall Group umbrella and is set up to be not just a hub for the group but a place to inspire. From the opening foyer, which features several pieces of memorabilia including guitars played by some of the world’s biggest rock ’n’ roll stars, it acts as a reminder of both the foundations of the company, while the grand scale of the building illustrates how far the company has come over five decades.
“We started as a flight case company in the UK,” chuckled Adam Hall Group’s CEO Alexander Pietschmann. “One of our major achievements has been our ability to adapt, grow and reinvent ourselves, but our brand portfolio is something we are proud of.”
The brands currently under the Adam Hall Group banner include LD Systems, Cameo, Gravity, Defender and Palmer, not forgetting Adam Hall Hardware, Stage Equipment and Cables. While all operate under the same umbrella, each brand has its own identity. “That is very important to us,” emphasised Pietschmann. “It’s important for a brand to have differentiation so it can build trust with customers and create a unique identity.”
Despite all the brands working independently in their own markets, the CEO explained that having all these brands from different markets working under one roof was very useful – specifically when it comes to the sharing of knowledge between R&D departments. “We have a very integrated approach within our R&D departments, which enables us as a group to solve problems quicker. For example, we could have a mechanical engineer that usually works on flight cases helping the Cameo team with creating a mechanical housing. Innovations are not always in the obvious places.”
This thought process has led to Adam Hall Group investing in more “interdepartmental spaces” according to Pietschmann, who discussed some of the innovations that have taken place at the company’s German base recently, as well as its hubs in the UK, Barcelona and New Jersey. “Today we are acting in over 100 countries around the world with a 60% export rate out of Germany,” he stated.
Like the German HQ, all the other Adam Hall Group offices are dubbed as ‘Experience Centres’. Pietschmann elaborated: “We want to push innovation, creativity and collaboration internally and with our clients.”
TPi was keen to move the conversation on to Adam Hall Group’s lighting efforts with its Cameo brand. Founded in 2012, the brand has come a long way, offering a full array of high-end moving head fixtures.
“Cameo is a great example where we’ve built up a brand and trust within a sector,” stated the CEO. “We started small and now you can find our fixtures on some of the biggest shows such as Tomorrowland.” He pointed to one of the brand’s latest releases, the ORON – the brand’s hybrid phosphor-laser, moving head – as a demonstration of the innovation taking place adhering to market demand.
“Moving heads have a complex product development cycle where you must consider mechanical elements, software, hardware, and nowadays, you also must consider waterproofing. You don’t have the same timescale to develop as you do with an audio product. It’s not easy from a sales and marketing standpoint, but if you develop good workhorses and products that are not just a one trick pony, you can make an impact.”
He explained that much of the developments at Cameo had come from listening to the market demand and the creation of the community of end users – dubbed ‘Lumen Beings’. Pietschmann cited Cameo as an example of how the group creates solutions that are up to the task of working in the live events space – specifically the need for products that can withstand ever more extreme conditions for outdoor events, stating the “goal is to create products that can withstand or be easily repaired,” he remarked.
With it being the 50-year anniversary, it would be easy for the Adam Hall Group team to sit back and revel in nostalgia, but Pietschmann maintained that it is important to look forward rather than back. “It’s right to celebrate our heritage but we like to live in the future rather than the past. We’d rather use the celebration as a launch pad to our next chapter and our continued goal to be one of the leading German manufacturers by 2030.”
He continued to hypothesise how modern technology is going to help progress the overall group. “All companies moving forward need to lean into data analysis to make informed decisions when it comes to production development,” he stated, adding how AI especially will help drive this progress.
“On the product side, smart connectivity is an interesting development,” he said, further explaining how having a remote connection with solutions could ensure the ease of software updates and provide products a longer shelf life. In addition, Pietschmann highlighted that this posed an interesting debate around customers – specifically in Germany – not wishing to share information with manufacturers once purchased. Among the future of the group’s products, the CEO had an interesting take on the importance of the work that the Adam Hall Group is trying to achieve. “I believe in the live sector. You see so many articles about loneliness nowadays and the antidote is real human connection.”
Live events, according to the CEO, offer a solution and he sees the Adam Hall Group’s overall mission to provide the tools to facilitate these gathering. “What we are doing in our industry, and what our customers are doing, is creating magic,” he added, proud of the part that his company plays in this process.
It’s great to hear from a company – specifically one that works in a wide range of markets – where those at the top are aware of their place within the events space and that they are creating tools to enhance the experience of those in a crowd seeing their favourite band or artist. This is no doubt why even after five decades, the Adam Hall Group continues to grow and break new ground.
Words: Stew Hume
Photos: Julian Huke and Adam Hall Group
