Design Quintessence has been appointed the exclusive Australian distributor for Mode entertainment chain hoists. This brings the rapidly evolving hoist manufacturer and its latest Mode 611 D8+ range to the Australian entertainment industry.
For DQ, the decision to represent a new chain hoist brand wasn’t taken lightly.
The entertainment electric chain hoist market is mature and established. It is already populated by some of the industry’s best-known European and US manufacturers. DQ owner Ian Wood has been watching Mode develop alongside those brands for around 15 years.
“The entertainment electric chain hoist market is well-established and matured some time ago with several excellent European and US brands. I have watched Mode’s progress from the sidelines for around 15 years, from its early range of functional, if somewhat basic, hoists to the exceptional products it manufactures today.
In recent years, Mode’s development has accelerated dramatically. This reflects the advances we have seen in industries such as professional lighting and, dare I say it, motor vehicle manufacturing. I am incredibly impressed by the company’s product development, commitment to safety and focus on innovation. And, Mode is clearly leading the development of battery-operated entertainment hoists—a technology we believe will open many doors.”
That evolution ultimately convinced DQ that the time was right to bring Mode to Australia.
It is also the company behind the product that appealed to Ian.
Designed for the entertainment industry
Leading DQ’s Australian offering is the Mode 611 D8+. It is initially available in 250kg, 500kg and 1000kg capacities.
For DQ General Manager Steve Grimes, who has worked professionally with chain motors for 30 years, the appeal of the 611 is less about making a chain motor exciting. Instead, for him, it is more about Mode getting the fundamentals right.
“D8+ Chain motors are not exciting; they simply serve a purpose. They go up and down. They hold things safely overhead. When looking for a new product in this sector there were a lot of criteria based on my experience with chain hoists. The new range of Mode 611 D8+ hoists fits all the criteria I wanted as professional user of chain motors for 30 years. They have come a long way since I first used them even10 years ago. Their crisp, clean and condensed design makes them perfect for corporate production and permanent installation where aesthetic, size and weight are such an important consideration. The influence of the European designers is obvious in the aesthetic and the mechanical operation.”
That distinction — a hoist developed specifically with entertainment applications in mind rather than an industrial product subsequently adapted for them — was also immediately apparent to DQ Sales Executive Tony Peaker.
Tony has spent plenty of time working on the inside of chain hoists over the years. His assessment of the Mode range, however, is considerably less restrained than Steve.
“I disagree with Steve on one thing. These are sexy. My first visit to the factory where I saw IP65 hoists that were running from 8am to 6pm, every day, and staying out in all weather for over 2 months? That is sexy. The CNC machined bodies? Very sexy. The innovative design, the rigorous testing regime, the attention to detail. All very sexy. Mode is bringing a hoist to market that isn’t an adapted industrial hoist. It’s designed from the ground up to work in our world, for our jobs, and it shows.
As someone who has spent a lot of time under the hood of chain hoists, the thought and care in design is clear in these hoists. Anyone who works with hoists regularly, and especially those who have to maintain them, will agree, these are sexy hoists.”
Apparently, chain hoists are sexy now
It turns out Tony isn’t alone.
After almost 30 years of DQ supplying the less glamorous hardware that makes productions happen, Ian has reached a similar conclusion.
“I have always said that DQ’s staging products are not the “sexy” part of the entertainment and leisure industry, but with their sleek, compact design, it is difficult to deny that Mode hoists are pretty sexy. Perhaps, in our 30th year, DQ is finally becoming sexy too – you’re never too old!
Mode has not simply come of age; it is demanding attention.”
Beyond the aesthetics, it is Mode’s continued product development that DQ believes makes the partnership particularly interesting.
One of those developments is FreeHoist, Mode’s battery-operated entertainment hoist technology.
For Steve, its potential is particularly significant for the installation and integration market.
“The battery operated FreeHoist range represents a game changing opportunity for installers and integrators. I can think of a myriad of situations that the technology would have been a lifesaver for me in the world of production. It’s already taken off in the US and the rest of the world will likely follow suit.”
FreeHoist provides a glimpse of where Mode is heading. However, the immediate Australian focus is the Mode 611 D8+ range and establishing the brand locally through DQ.
With Design Quintessence now the exclusive Australian distributor for Mode, Australian production companies, venues, installers and integrators have local access to the Mode range. This is backed by a DQ team that has spent decades selling, using and maintaining entertainment chain hoists.
In a category where, as Steve says, the fundamental job is still to “go up and down” and hold things safely overhead, Mode has managed to get three long-term industry people unusually animated about a chain motor.
Apparently, they may even be sexy.
