IBC 2011

In the weeks leading up to this years IBC we were frantically running around building demo systems, getting literature printed and liaising with our stand designers. We set off towards Harwich with vehicles full of Mac Pros and a hundred other things that we would never need but packed "just in case".

The drive around the M25 was actually rather painless and if it wasn't for the camper van flipping in front of us covering the road in pots, pans, suitcases and small china dogs we would have made the ferry in record time. We were slightly worried when we arrived at the port to be nearly blown off of our feet by a howling gale but were assured that the boat had the latest stabilisers and we would not notice the force ten winds. Within the hour we knew that the people in the booth at Harwich must be bent double in laughter as our ferry bobbed up and down like a cork in a jacuzzi.

A few sleepless hours later we arrived at the Hoek and within the hour were at the Rai. We took the long walk to hall 7 the new home of GB Labs. The lights were dimmed and we could see the pink glow of the Avid stand and there just to its left was the shimmering blue Space logo high above our stand. We were all delighted with the build and even had many competitors coming along and complimenting us, I think a few of them were shocked at how far we have come so quickly.

The first few days were a blur of worldwide resellers and distributors desperately trying to secure the rights to sell Space within there region along with a huge amount of end users who wanted to see just how good the Space offering is. We launched our SSD range as well as Avid compatibility so were swamped with inquiries. On Sunday evening we had chartered a boat to take fifty of our resellers on a few hour cruise along the canals of Amsterdam, we had a very nice meal washed down with some very welcome beverages, the entertainment was provided when the boat nearly got stuck under a bridge and myself and Duncan were directed to hang off the side of the boat as ballast to enable it get through.

The show seemed to fly by, perhaps that was due to the vast quantity of energy drinks and coffee consumed by us all. The event was a huge success in securing resellers and distributors in new territories and demonstrating the systems to the cream of Europe's broadcast community. Our manufacturing division has been working all hours in a bid to satisfy the orders ever since.