Custom Consoles, established in 1996 to meet the demand for efficient and robust technical control room furniture at accountant-friendly prices, reports the completion of a successful 2023. Heading into its 28th year, the company serves a client base including many leading public-service broadcasting corporations and independent networks.
“We specialised from the start in producing furniture tailored to the exact requirements and dimensions required for each project,” comments Neil Reid, founder and managing director. “A defining moment was our introduction, in 2006, of the Module-R series. This allows robust and aesthetically attractive consoles desks to be created from a combination of high-quality pods, base sections, 19 inch rack housings, worktops, end-panel modules and legs. Module-R desks are today in use by many of the world’s leading media organisations. In 2007 we applied the same thinking to the task of accommodating flat-screen display panels in control rooms and process supervision areas. The result was Media Wall, a robust and efficient multiscreen mounting system.”
“Demand for Custom Consoles control room desks and monitor display mounts remained strong throughout 2023,” adds Gary Fuller, sales manager, “especially in the UK where we saw a resurgence of investment in broadcast-related infrastructure following the Covid years. A highlight project was Gravity Media’s new production facility at WestWorks, adjacent to BBC Television Centre at White City, London. We were chosen to provide technical furniture for six production control galleries as well as sound control rooms, EVS areas, the MCR and multi-use areas. All but one of the desks are from our Modular-R series, supplemented by seven MediaWalls ranging in width from nearly 2 metres to over 5 metres.”
Among several projects for Dega Broadcast Systems during the year were two Module-R and MediaWall installations for regional production control rooms at one of Europe’s longest established broadcasting corporations. The project is the fourth completed with Dega in a series for this client.
Highlight projects in the corporate sector included a Module-R studio control desk for a new video production facility at the central London premises of a major international financial services company. The facility is being used to create a variety of content promoting the company’s services.
Projects for customers in the industrial process control sector included a Custom Consoles MDesk-Technical desk for installation for Zero Petroleum at its Plant Zero.1 technology centre in Oxfordshire. The newly installed desk will be used as the process control hub of Zero’s laboratory and engineering facility at Bicester Heritage, a former RAF station which still retains an active airfield and motor test track.
Opem Security, a provider of security systems and services, chose a Custom Consoles SteelBase control room desk for installation at its headquarters in Milton Keynes. The desk forms part of the round-the-clock monitoring support Opem performs for clients in many locations. “Custom Consoles’ experience and industry background are evident in the styling and build quality,” says Opem founder and managing director Jason Pelham. “They can also be seen in the attention to details such as cable management with easy access during initial installation and throughout the desk’s lifetime.”
Forestry-related products and services specialist Holmen Iggesund chose a Custom Consoles SteelBase desk and MediaWall monitor display mount for integration into a newly completed process control suite at its award-winning Workington mill facility in Cumbria. The suite is used to supervise production of wood-based commodities such as paperboard
A large SteelBase control desk was also selected for one of Britain’s longest established power utilities. This is designed for use by a seven-strong team and includes individually adjustable video monitor display supports mounted along the rear edge. SteelBase technical control furniture is in daily use by clients in technology sectors such as aviation, emergency services management, industrial process supervision, marine transport, mine safety and public-area security.
