Let's face it - while it's a necessary fuel for modern living, there's just not a whole lot that is exciting about coal. The DBT Group is a supplier of complete system solutions for underground coal mining and is one of the market leaders worldwide in the area of longwall equipment. It's a dirty job, but DBT is set to do it.

As lifeless as coal may be, DBT felt there was no reason why their booth at the 2004 MineExpo in Las Vegas had to be dull, too. Although they had produced an engaging video, they wanted a way to draw more attention to it and spark the curiosity of attendees. They partnered with AVW-TELAV and together we got the job done.


With a DATATON unit acting as electronic maestro cueing the whole show, our team incorporated an impressive cascade of light and sound. AVW-TELAV pulled out all the stops in providing the DBT booth conventional and advanced intelligent lighting system, with studio spots, colors and multiple washes. We also installed four 42" plasma screens, a 7.5'x 10' screen with Barco R8 projection, and a 12' centerpiece waterfall screen that illustrated images from a Sanyo 10,000 ANSI lumens projector.


Over the four days of the tradeshow, there were nine shows per day. Each show had 60 lighting cues within the 2 minute, 32 seconds time slot. While the video played, DBT roof supports were operated amid three different types of special fog effects (including CO2 jet cannons mounted inside trashcans). To complete the whole experience, an EAW300 Audio System was transformed into a 5.1 surround sound system and installed into the booth.

Each show drew about 100 curious and excited onlookers. A live interview session with the DBT experts followed each showing, all backed by a two-camera IMAG video shoot. If there was doubt before, there is none now: yes, you can have fun with coal.