ESL

Mayhem interior shot

installation

esl

services, installation, june 2007, COMMENTS

Since launching Essex-based ESL in 2001, Mike Glover has been busy making a name for himself as one of the UK’s most talented installers. He now has numerous prestige installations under his belt - as diverse as Shea Properties’ BEDA Award-winning Mayhem in Southend and the 14,000 capacity Southend football stadium. Most recently he’s been kept busy by a French operator, Richard Bennett, installing sound, light and video in a Cuban-themed tri-scene nightclub across the Channel in Dunkerque. As the business has grown, he’s developed a reputation for intelligently integrated systems that exceed customer - and ultimately clubber - expectations.

“The integration issue starts with the premise that we want to make the system easy for light jock or the manager to use, because if we make easy to use they’ll get more out of it,” he says matter-of-factly. “When we first started doing it not many other people were interested in it, but it’s getting increasingly popular because it makes it easier for the operator to get maximum value of the products - if they can use them at the push of a button. And if the operator can use the system more easily, that leads to a better customer experience and, ultimately, to improved profitability for the club.”

ESL’s customer focus is one of the reasons for its rapid expansion, which to date has been driven largely by word of mouth recommendations. It’s also meant that Mike’s very busy with bar and club-work – as operators come into contact with his bespoke approach to system design and commission him to create solutions for their own projects.

The project-by-project approach that ESL has adopted, Mike tells NIGHT, results in a lot of variety – from the system capabilities to the products used. Company policy is to “never tie myself to any one manufacturer – we select the right products on a job by job basis, which means we get the right product for the specific requirements of that installation.”

“Nothing’s ever the same,” he confirms. “There’s always a new creative or technical challenge; often both, because our customers come to us with all sorts of unusual challenges to resolve. That’s what makes it so enjoyable.”

Perhaps the best example of this came in the shape of Mayhem, ESL’s involvement with a brand new project and the chance to really push the creative boundaries – thanks to owners who wanted the who wanted the best possible standards for the club in design and technology. The final system design featured an LED-illuminated spiral staircase, bespoke LED matrix Barisol ceiling, a KV2 sound system, BSS Soundweb London system controller (not only controlling the sound system but using BSS Soundweb remotes in the VIP pods to control both audio volume and video switching - all integrated with Showcad and Kramer video matrix switchers).

“We knew from the start that Mayhem would be a pretty special project to be involved with,” remembers Mike. “In total, from the initial site visit, we were involved with the club for eight months – and we’re in talks with the owners about developing things further still this year.”

During the time they were involved at Mayhem, ESL also worked on a 700-capacity three-room venue in Bishops Stortford and a multi purpose venue called The Ivory Rooms in Billaricay.

More staff were employed, enabling yet more work to be undertaken, including a second job for Shea Properties, Escape in Copford, described by Mike as “smaller venue but more complex” than Mayhem. “There were three PCs running the screens in the toilets alone!” Fundamentally, says Mike, he enjoys “doing stuff that’s outside of the normal – trying to move step forward with each project we do, to create something that’s appropriate for the venue and that might not have been seen before.”

At present ESL’s attention is focused on helping operators prepare for the smoking ban – simultaneously working on five separate outdoor spaces (for four operators), installing IP-rated LCD screens and speakers, as well as some more unique solutions that for now remain under wraps.
For the future, says Mike plainly, “we’ll continue growing and developing the business.” National and even international expansion is clearly on the cards as more operators discover the benefits of ESL’s midas touch.

From: June 2007 Issue

Subscribe to NIGHT magazine

www.esl-systems.co.uk

www.martinpro.co.uk