What exactly has happened?

  • From 1st Jan 2011, our three rental brands, PRG Lighting, Essential Lighting and Summit Steel are being renamed to Production Resource Group.  All of the points of contact within the company, at its four UK locations, remain unchanged.

But you previously said you operated as a network of specialist brands.  Why has this changed?

  • We need to be able to operate either as a specialist single discipline supplier OR now provide a combination of technical disciplines.  We are increasingly being asked to provide a combination of services, Lighting / Rigging / Video / Audio to our clients. Our name says exactly what we do. We are a Group of specialists who provide technical equipment, services and Resources to key Production markets: Corporate, Theatre, TV /Event and Concert Touring. We are no less specialist and all of the experienced and skilled teams within the group remain unchanged.

I’m a customer of Essential & Summit and it won’t be the same without the Essential & Summit brands?  They stand for a lot and surely this will be lost forever?

  • The people, equipment, service levels and market experience that made up the Essential & Summit brands remain unchanged.  The decision to change name is not to lose anything, it is to be able to offer something additional, alongside what we have always done and stood for under our previous names, in a clearer way. This really is not the end of what we were, it is protecting and developing what made the previous brands so special, in a market where customer requirements have broadened.

So you’re becoming a “One Stop Shop” then?

  • Absolutely not.  That conjures up an impression of being specialist in one area and trying to add the other disciplines on.  The difference with us is that we have industry recognised specialists in each area and can combine these teams, experience and services, if the customer and production wish.

Why should I get more services from you?

  • We believe that we can truly offer better value for money to our clients by combining services and reducing the cost of installation and costs during a run.  We can also introduce better pre production and coordination of infrastructure, logistics etc as part of our offer.  These efficiency and cost savings can be passed on to our clients.  

Will you be cheaper? What about pricing?

  • Pricing will remain unchanged for the markets that we operate in and the services that we supply.  Each market requires equipment to be prepared and presented in a particular way and our teams of Account Managers and Project Managers are focussed on this.  We believe that by combining services, we can offer better value for money to our customers and that this cost and efficiency saving can be passed on.

Is the quality going to be different?

  • No.  The equipment preparation teams, warehouse & operation are still focussed on equipment quality and in testing, presenting and packaging equipment as required by our customers in each market. We would like to welcome customers, crew and industry professionals to visit our locations and see first-hand the standards that we work to.

Can I continue to buy only Lighting / Video / Rigging / Audio from you?

  • Yes and we imagine that this will still be the largest part of our business, where we are providing a single discipline to a customer, as one of our specialist teams.  The opportunity to combine services is additional to what we have always done, not in place of it.

Do you have video equipment in the UK now?

  • Our 50,000sq ft building at East Molesey, SW London, is base to our UK video offering.  As a group, we move equipment around between our European & Global bases as it is required. We are investing further in video and LED equipment currently for UK projects and markets and are incorporating new skills and resource on the ground in the UK.

Can I use one of your group local bases for a show in Europe? What about Procon?

  • Procon has not existed since Jan 2010 and was renamed Production Resource Group at the time that it joined our group.  We are able to draw on our European equipment stock, experience and local resources, to fulfil projects for UK customers.  We can offer the benefits of a familiar UK Account Manager, with the equipment delivered from the most appropriate of our locations and combine with using local crew and resources.

What about phone numbers and e-mail addresses?

  • The direct dial phone numbers for all team members remain unchanged.
  • The main phone number for each location remains unchanged.
  • E-mail addresses will take the format initialsurname@prg.com (eg John Smith = jsmith@prg.com). Previous Summit and Essential e-mail addresses will continue to forward to these addresses.

What about logos / web sites etc.

  • Our new web site can be found at www.prg.com/uk from Jan 4th 2011.
  • We are adopting a new logo and branding across all of our locations during 2011.