CHAUVET® welcomed 30 DJs on July 22, 2010, for a tour of their new facilities and an exclusive sneak peek of four new products. The DJs are part of a group, formed of 40 different DJ companies, which meet annually for a 3-day-long “think tank” series of discussions, product reviews and tours.

“It’s a chance to meet with like-minded professionals,” said Joe Hecht, owner of Time of Your Life Event Entertainment in Westlake Village, Calif. “and discuss industry trends. The group formed in 2003 and we meet up in different parts of country, like Chicago or L.A., every year.”

This year’s DJ Think Tank Seminar was hosted by Jeffrey Greene of Party Time DJs, Inc., in Davie, Fla. . They chose to celebrate this year’s seminar with an event held July 21^st at Tikki Beach, Miami’s best-kept secret place to party. Docked at Bayfront Park, Tikki Beach is a charter vessel that tours around the Venetian Islands (Star, Hibiscus and Palm Islands), famous movie filming sites, Port of Miami, U.S. Coast Guard Station and Flagler Memorial Monument. And CHAUVET® was there to light up the festivities. “We were very excited for the sun to set and see how the lights look,” said Greene.

The LED PAR 38 TRI-B and LED PAR 64 TRI-B fixtures washed the whole second floor bar area with monochromatic colors. All the fixtures were programmed with ShowXpress software. The Xpress 512 Plus controlled the lights via the soon-to-be released Xpress Remote. Making sure that all the fixtures were synchronized, CHAUVET®s wireless D-Fi™ PLUS was used all over the boat.

The tour of CHAUVET® headquarters marked the end of this year’s DJ Think Tank Seminar. The group took a walk through the entire operation, from the sales department to quality control and ended in the showroom for a lighting presentation. Just before it began, owners Albert Chauvet, president, and Berenice Chauvet, vice president, greeted the crowd.

“We try to keep ahead of the curve,” said Albert Chauvet, “in terms of product design and new fixtures. And we work hard to stay one step ahead of our competitors. Part of this comes from garnering input from the people who use the lights, like you. We value your opinion and input on how we can improve our fixtures or operations.”

The fixtures the think tank group saw were highlights of the CHAUVET® line for the Club and DJ markets: Q-Spot 260-LED, SlimPAR™ 56, Scorpion™ Storm FX, Scorpion™ GBC, COLORstrip™, 4PLAY™, LED PAR 38 Tri and Sparklite LED™. Four new products were shown as well: Satellite™ D-Fi and D-Fi™ PLUS, Intimidator™ Spot XYZ and a fixture so new, it has yet to be named. The group was solicited for ideas on what to call the new fixture as well as any wish list items they might have.

The group enjoyed their visit to CHAUVET®, meeting the team and talking lights.

“I’m a lighting geek,” said Mike Salone, DJ with H.Y.P.E Productions in Lynwood, Ill. , “and the tour did not disappoint. It was awesome.”

The new facility, open just under one month, is a 65,000 square-foot-building situated on 3.69 acres. It houses the company’s worldwide headquarters and includes technical support, sales, marketing, sourcing, quality control and shipping operations.

The eco-friendly facility includes a number of “green” features including LED and motion-sensor lighting fixtures, a paperless accounting system and an extensive skylight system to optimize natural lighting for considerable energy savings. In the warehouse and shipping area, a state-of-the-art inventory control system decreases turn-around time while increasing efficiency in processing orders.