Beating its own path

Founded in 1985 by Mujdat Konuralp, previously an account manager at a construction company, Atempo’s transition to its current level of service and professionalism has mirrored Turkey’s development over the past two and a half decades. The company started life on a small scale in Ankara, employing a total staff of just six people including three partners. Initially acting as a dealer for other distributors, the company sold products such as musical instruments, loudspeakers, amplifiers and microphones to the MI market, handling brands such as Electro-Voice and Yamaha.

Just two years after inception, Atempo moved into new and bigger premises, providing offices and a large product showroom. Simultaneously, the company began putting together small-scale projects in addition to its core business of retail sales. The first project was a professional sound and lighting sales and installation job consisting of multiple conference and special event halls. This was the first of several contracts from the military that helped the company’s initial expansion.

By 1991, Atempo had taken on its first exclusively distributed lines: German speaker manufacturer Zeck and Italian lighting brand LED Italy, marking its transition towards the professional end of the audio and lighting markets. Over the years, the company has carried out projects both in Turkey and many neighbouring countries.

Today, Atempo employs more than 100 people working from premises in Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya, providing sales and installation support, maintenance and repair divisions, warehouses, training and seminar facilities. It is the exclusive Turkish distributor for brands including Sony (Broadcast), Edirol, Miranda, ETC, Robe, Midas, Klark Teknik, Telex, Bosch, EV, and Dynacord – for which it was named 2009 distributor of the year.

As well as growing in size, Atempo has also diversified into different areas of the pro audio and lighting industries, launching dedicated divisions which operate under the umbrella of the Atempo Group of Companies. In 2000, Atempo Project Co, a sales and installation service for low voltage systems, was set up to run alongside the professional sound and lighting division. The following year, the Mavi Iletisim division was founded to focus on broadcasting, and it has carried out many sales to TV and radio stations during its nine-year history to date.

Meanwhile, two further divisions have been formed to handle installations and imports, Anka and Tekno respectively. ‘It’s essential that we have different companies and different departments within Atempo, otherwise it would not be possible to cover all these markets efficiently,’ says Mujdat Konuralp, Atempo’s founder and president. ‘The professional market in Turkey is growing in all directions. Installation, live sound and in particular the PA rental business are all growing, particularly since there are many festivals now being held in Turkey. Many international artists are coming to Turkey to perform, which has led to a demand in cultural centres and concert halls. The film industry has grown a lot in the last 10 years, and high quality shopping malls are appearing.’

One of Atempo’s recent projects demonstrates both the company’s capabilities and Turkey’s ability to provide a truly cutting edge, world class facility. This is the stunning new multipurpose venue, the Harbiye Convention and Exhibition Centre, and adjoining Muhsin Ertugrul Sahnesi theatre.

Funded by the Turkish government, Atempo won the tender to supply and install all technical equipment including sound, lighting, projection, simultaneous translation and communications systems. The convention centre was opened to great acclaim last October when it hosted the International Monetary Fund convention closely followed by a NATO conference. Both attracted delegates from all over the world, and both were resounding successes, making full use of the venue’s 3,500-seat multipurpose hall, translation booths and supplementary halls, providing simultaneous translation of 28 languages. Both conventions were also broadcast with the assistance of Atempo’s specialist broadcast division, Mavi. ‘The IMF technical people said that this was the most successful event they’d held outside the United States,’ says Volkan Konuralp, Atempo’s Istanbul regional manager. ‘They held up this complex and our company’s work here as an example to the ministers of Egypt, who are hosting the IMF congress in Egypt in 2011.’

Work on the Harbiye Centre wasn’t a simple case of updating an existing venue, as this new build was constructed by excavating down seven floors, with four further storeys built above ground level. ‘The brief was for technology that would last for more than a decade, which is very hard to do, as systems are evolving so fast,’ continues Mr Konuralp. ‘But they wanted top quality, to set an example to the rest of Turkey, and we were able to give them the most reliable, cost efficient, long-term solutions.’

At the heart of the installation are networked Midas digital systems, an XL8 at front of house and a Pro6 in a control room above the main auditorium. The control surfaces can be moved to wherever they are needed, and the hall is networked to the other halls so audio can be transferred wherever it is needed. The mains power, dimmer, amp and control racks can accommodate future additions, and redundant cabling is provided for all systems, with extra cable trays for future additions without the need for further construction work.

‘During the IMF conference, the XL8 was located in the broadcast village and provided the satellite mix,’ says Mr Konuralp. ‘The brief was for a multipurpose console, for concerts, conferences, and broadcast applications. A conventional broadcast mixer couldn’t provide concert applications as easily. However the XL8 handled it perfectly, demonstrating the flexibility of the system and the technology. It’s the most flexible network system, and the most capable digital console out there.’

The centre also boasts a networked Electro-Voice speaker system including XLC line array cabinets, with L-C-R arrays of 28 cabinets with flown subs, and further ground stacked cabinets, powered by digital Electro-Voice amps and processed by EV’s new N8000-1500 NetMax processor. Atempo also provided and installed ETC and Robe lighting including ETC’s Eos lighting console, Christie digital projection, Bosch simultaneous translation and Telex intercom systems throughout the convention centre and adjacent theatre. The ETC NET3 network and Unison lighting automation is also deployed throughout the convention centre.

Around 70 per cent of international events coming to Turkey have now been held at the Harbiye Convention Centre. These include international conferences (IMF, NATO and a pharmaceutical convention for the Middle Eastern region), music concerts including Turkey’s Eurovision runner-up Manga and Harry Connick Jnr, the Kazakhstan national day celebrations, Turkish dance troupe the Sultans of Anatolia and many more. The venue is also proving invaluable as a training ground for Turkish sound and broadcast engineers wanting to learn how to operate Midas digital systems.

The adjacent Muhsin Ertugrul Sahnesi theatre enjoyed a similarly high-profile launch - the opening ceremony proclaiming Istanbul as European Capital of Culture 2010. A Midas Pro6 and Electro-Voice X-Line system has been installed into the new Muhsin Ertugrul Sahnesi, one of 11 state-funded theatres in Istanbul. It is hoped eventually all 11 will be equipped with Pro6 desks, facilitating the transfer of shows. Infrastructure is also in place to network the console to a Midas XL8 and Pro6 in the Harbiye Convention Hall next door. ‘This theatre is a benchmark for Turkey, and will allow far more complex productions than previously possible,’ says Mr Konuralp.

‘2010 has started fast for Turkey’s pro audio and lighting industries - especially in Istanbul,’ concludes Volkan Konuralp. ‘The rental business has had a boost after last year’s economic crisis, and theatres are extremely busy due to Istanbul being the European Capital of Culture 2010.’

‘In today’s world, it is important to give the customer exactly what they need without overshooting the budget, while keeping in mind that our industry constantly has the need to invest and improve. It’s a fine balance, but working closely with our customers, we can assist them to make wise investments that will provide the capacity they need in the 21st century, with the option of upgrading into the future.’

www.atempo.com.tr