IN PROFILE
TWENTY THREE In only four years, Twenty Three has already become a key player in the LED market, offering a range of specially designed framing and structural support options to manufacturers, rental houses and end clients. TPi speaks to CEO Kristof Soreyn to find out more…
Words: Stew Hume Photos: Twenty Three
Although perhaps not yet a household name within the wider events industry, Twenty Three in a very short space of time has made serious inroads into the entertainment sector. Proof of this success can be seen by looking at the past two front covers of TPi, as the company created the custom LED structure for both the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Ed Sheeran’s latest stadium tours. From the giant curved screen for the Californian rockers to the custom plectrum structures for the UK’s most successful singer-songwriter of modern times, it’s clear that Twenty Three has carved a niche within large-scale touring productions. While these special one-of-a-kind structures are eye-catching achievements for the company, according to CEO Kristof Soreyn, the future of Twenty Three is not as a direct supplier to end clients, but as “the backbone of the LED manufacturing market” in providing the framing and housing systems for LED panels. No stranger to the live events industry, Soreyn was a key player in XL Video, where he held the position of CTO from 1996. Following the acquisition of the company by PRG, he stayed on until 2017, when he opted to strike out on his own. “I saw a gap in the market to provide a design solution for LED products,” he stated. “We started as a purely design company with no manufacturing capabilities. We were a very small in the beginning and based ourselves in China as this is where most LED manufactures are.” The solution Twenty Three offered was specially designed framing structures for LED panels. However, due to sheer demand, it became more financially viable for Twenty Three to establish its own manufacturing facility rather than outsourcing the work. Twenty Three’s Chinese manufacturing facility currently sits at 10,000 sq m with over 50 CNC machines and 160 staff creating these specialist components for its customers. “We purchased the building in 2019 and brought all the relevant machinery in 2020 just prior to the pandemic,” stated Soreyn.
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“The saving grace for us was that we not only supply equipment for rental houses – such as companies under the NEP group – but also the LED manufacturers, such as ROE Visual, Absen and INFiLED,” stated the CEO. “Throughout 2020 and 2021, there was still an awful lot of work within the fixed install market along with some one-off corporate events, including several launches for Apple where we created the framework for their large LED wall.” With the company maintaining close working relationships with manufacturers and providing solutions to rig these ever more complicated LED structures, Soreyn is well placed to discuss trends in the high-end video display market. “Some of our most exciting jobs have come from the word of virtual
studios,” stated the CEO, referencing some of the company’s latest projects including The Prysm Stage at Trilith Studios in Atlanta – the biggest virtual studio in the world. “When it comes to these studios, each one of the designs is unique; every designer has a very specific vision and that is the service we can provide with our design division as well as our manufacturing arm.” Despite the clear advantage of setting up its warehouse in China, Twenty Three is very much a global company, having already opened a warehouse and manufacturing facility in Belgium with the goal of breaking ground on a US branch in 2023. The decision to manufacture in different territories was a direct result of the sheer cost