CHICAGO, IL. – The show must go on. And in Chicago recently, Pirtek was working behind the scenes to ensure it would. Pirtek’s work for Stageline helped Lollapalooza run without a hitch from July 28-31. Lollapalooza is an annual music festival that goes on world wide with acts that include alternative rock, punk, metal and comedy. The Chicago event featured more than 170 bands, including Radiohead and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
More details from PIRTEK (www.pirtekusa.com):
The event was in setup mode on July 25 in Chicago when crew members noticed the loading dock to the stage was a foot too low. The hydraulic mechanism that raises and lowers the loading dock had a hydraulic leak and wasn’t functioning.
Montreal-based Stageline, the company that was setting up the temporary stages in Chicago, began scouring the area for someone to replace the hydraulic hoses. “They called a repair company up, and those people said the job would take three days,” said Bert Banaszak, branch manager of Pirtek O’Hare in Elk Grove Village, IL. “So the customer did an internet search and found us.”
Pirtek is the only franchise of its kind in the United States, providing hydraulic and industrial hose replacement sales and services. There are58 Pirtek Service & Supply Centers and a fleet of Mobile Service Vehicles throughout the United States. Globally, Pirtek has more than 400 locations and 2,000 Mobile Service Vehicles in 23 countries around the world.
As soon as the call came in, one of Pirtek O’Hare’s Mobile Service Vehicles made a beeline for the venue on Lakeshore Drive. “Even with the Chicago traffic, we arrived onsite within an hour to do the work,” said Banaszak, adding that the city’s safety inspector was onsite when they got there to oversee the process.
Banaszak and his technician, Eric Hooten, performed the work efficiently and quickly. “We were in and out in 20 minutes,” Banaszak said. “The job was done perfectly,” said Frank Perron, stage technician for Stageline. “They were super-fast, they did the job in no time and it was done professionally – no leaks.”
Stageline builds mobile hydraulic stages and deploys them at major concert venues throughout North America. Their products are in use at over 20,000 events in more than 50 countries every year. Perron said he plans to call a nearby Pirtek USA location if any other stages in the United States need hose work in the future. “The job was awesome,” Perron added. “And the guys were super cool.”
