DWR Distribution’s Gareth Chambers and Jannie de Jager will be travelling to MA
Lighting in Paderborn, Germany, for a training week hosted in February. The
training will include MA Networking and the MA Network Switch, Fixture Library tips
and tricks, grandMA2 Macros, VPU and MA3D with real world examples of getting
the most out of these products, and product management and software
development.
Technical backing and service is one of the main priorities at DWR. The training will
enable Chambers and De Jager, along with Bruce Riley who is head of technical, to
continue to provide product support and training.
Former DWR colleague and friend, Nick Britz, known for his passion for MA,
relocated to the United Kingdom in January. “For the past five years, I have been
Nick Britz’s understudy, and at the end of last year, I underwent intensive one-on-
one training with him,’ said Chambers. “I am feeling confident and enjoy the
challenge of being able to help the guys in the industry with service and support.
It’s really nice to have the responsibility of being the first point of contact and I’m
up for the task. MA is constantly evolving which means there is never stagnation
and always something new.’
New to DWR is De Jager, who joined the company a few months ago and has been
job shadowing the technical support team, his knowledge and willing temperament
earning him respect within a short period.
“It has been great working with Jannie,’ said Chambers. “He is a fast learner and
has been a big help. We make a great team.’ When leaving school, De Jager
started studying Civil Engineering, but while working at an engineering company for
a practical he realized he did not enjoy construction. Through a friend he was
introduced to the entrainment industry and was offered a position at Prosound,
where he started off working at the company’s rental division which was in
operation at the time, and then moved into sales where he was an ETC
representative.
“I’ve always been a geek and a gadget freak, playing around on computers, gaming,
getting my head around the technical and figuring things out,’ said De Jager.
Thanks to the way his brain is wired, understanding equipment and consoles has
come easy. De Jager is driven by an inner commitment to help people and is
personally driven by a sense to achieve. He also loves motorbikes. “Of course I
enjoy lighting, design and technology but it’s the people in the industry that are so
nice making it easy to be positive,’ he added.
For Duncan Riley of DWR it’s an honour to have a person of De Jager’s calibre on
board. “Jannie’s humble and friendly manner has made an impression on me, and
even a few years back, I remember noticing his apprBruoach and willingness. He
fits in with Bruce Riley and Chambers’s admirable spirit that nothing is too big or
too difficult.’
