- WorldStage has marked the one-year anniversary of its acquisition of Tekamaki, LLC with a growing staff roster, expanded inventory and recent projects such a The Presidio Visitors Center and the Rally HealthFest with Kevin Hart.
WorldStage acquired Tekamaki, an event technology firm specializing in complex technical solutions, in February 2016. WorldStage San Francisco operates in the former Tekamaki warehouse in San Carlos now an expansive hub providing audio, video and ancillary technology for conferences, retail, live events and fixed installations. The company’s Mixed Reality Open House last fall gave guests a close-up look at Augmented Reality solutions for the live event marketplace.
“Rolling Tekamaki into WorldStage San Francisco has been great for all of us,” said Christopher Burdett, General Manager of WorldStage and former Partner at Tekamaki. “WorldStage really welcomed us onto the team, and we’re now a larger entity with a lot more resources. The company is very interested in fostering the inventive culture here in the Bay Area. We are strengthening our ability to take on bigger jobs while maintaining the creativity we’ve been known for.”
WorldStage San Francisco has boosted its staff with four recent new hires: two field technicians, an operations specialist, and a systems integration project manager. The enhanced staff enables WorldStage San Francisco to enhance the level of installation and integration work performed by Tekamaki in the Bay Area.
In addition, Tekamaki founding member Matt Ward has assumed the role of Chief Technology Officer for WorldStage and continues to spark creativity as part of his new role.
WorldStage San Francisco has promoted technological innovation by investing in and developing WhiteSpace and BlackBird displays for its rental inventory. WhiteSpace55 and WhiteSpace80 comprise a family of remote polarizers that can be customized to create surprising viewing environments. BlackBird is a 55-inch High Definition transparent LCD display.
“We’ve seen a lot of interest in WhiteSpace and BlackBird from both the East and West Coasts,” said Burdett. “They are very good devices for catching people’s attention – they really get people to stop and step into a particular space at a trade show, retail environment or live event. We have deployed them for multiple shows, including Dreamforce 2016, BMW’s meeting in Hollywood, and other high profile events across the country.”
Burdett says the company plans to make additional investments in new equipment through the spring. WorldStage San Francisco also continues to develop its own leading-edge products.
“Tekamaki spent a good deal of time and effort on R&D for video display equipment, and WorldStage has embraced that,” said Burdett. “We have created a space for R&D for displays and playback devices.”
WorldStage San Francisco also houses the company’s new Sx3 (Self-Contained Show System), an all-in-one AV solution preconfigured in a 30x30-inch case. Sx3 rolls into presentation rooms at conferences replacing the cluttered tech table. All components and connections needed for most sessions are fully integrated for rapid and easy set up.
