Polecam Sells 400th Rig – To Chris Evans' UMTV

UK broadcast equipment business Polecam has marked a milestone this month – selling its 400th camera crane system to DJ Chris Evans’ UMTV.
Evans’ company bought Polecam Starter Pack PLUS worth £6,000 from Polecam reseller CVP to go with two brand new Canon C300 video cameras worth £11,000 each.
UMTV will use the Polecam when it makes entertainment programmes with big-name broadcasters and, it’s hoped, at Evans’ CarFest event in August which he’s organising in aid of Children In Need.
From its Bedford base, Polecam manufactures lightweight, highly portable carbon-fibre rigs that can be mounted on a standard tripod – giving cameramen a reach of up eight metres with a pan and tilt remote-controlled head.
That means they can get shots that simply could not be achieved so quickly, easily or cost-effectively by any other system – Polecam camera rigs have been used at the 2011 Champions League final (2011) and by the team that made the BBC’s Frozen Planet series.
Steffan Hewitt, Polecam’s Managing Director, said:"We are absolutely thrilled to have shipped our 400th rig – especially to a high-profile customer such as Chris Evans.
"Since the Polecam went into production in 1997 we’ve gone from a turnover of less than £50,000 to more than £2m, with new products coming on stream during 2012 to further accelerate our growth.
"The first Starter Pack was sold in 2011 and it has helped boost sales tremendously because it is so versatile and adds such great production values for videographers and smaller companies.
"The Starter Pack is such a great solution for so many people with DSLR cameras that we are hoping to sell more than 200 Starter Pack rigs this year," he added.
"Maybe UMTV will get some brilliant crane shots with their Starter Pack for Chris Evans’ forthcoming Carfest festival in August, in aid of Children In Need – and if he needs help the Polecam boys are always willing to lend a hand!"
CVP is Polecam’s sole distributor in the UK. Account manager Glenn Lightbody said: "You can take a Polecam from its box in the boot of your car, assemble it and be ready to shoot in just 10 minutes - coincidentally, that’s the same amount of time it took UMTV to decide they wanted one!"
www.polecam.com