In 2025, AED group will celebrate its 40th anniversary as a leading player in the audiovisual sector. To mark this anniversary, the company is organising the ‘Golden Customer Nights’ at AED Studios in Lint on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 December 2024 for customers and associates.
During these evenings, more than 1,500 audiovisual professionals from all over the world are expected to learn about the latest products and technologies of AED group and its partners in a festive setting in the large Studio 7. Under the motto ‘Let’s party like it’s 1985’, guests will be treated afterwards with extensive catering and surprising DJ sets.
From the old furniture warehouse in Mechelen to a global player
Like so many successful stories, AED’s history started from a glorified garage box. The history of AED group is therefore closely linked to the entrepreneurial story of CEO Glenn Roggeman.
In 1985, at the age of 16, he started renting out audio equipment to DJs from the warehouse of his parents’ furniture company “De Merode” in Mechelen. AED Rent was born. He soon expanded his activities to include light rental and the company moved to its own premises on Jan Bolstraat in Mechelen.
Since 1999, AED has been based in Willebroek at Bedrijvenpark De Veert, where it has grown into the largest company in the entire business site and an absolute key player in the European audiovisual industry.
In the 1990s, AED took its first steps towards internationalisation with branches in France (1993) and the Netherlands (1995). This was later followed by Germany (2006), the United Kingdom (2010) and the United Arab Emirates (2023).
From rental company to equipment banker
The most striking turning point in the company’s strategy, Glenn Roggeman decided in 2003, when, with AED, he distanced himself from his own productions and, as an ‘equipment banker’, started renting, selling and financing equipment exclusively to other audiovisual professionals.
AED group later also grew into a manufacturer with its own professional house brands in entertainment lighting (Luxibel), pro audio systems (AED Audio), and rigging equipment (NEXT Truss and StageLIFT). Today, AED supplies professional audiovisual equipment to more than 60,000 shows and events a year, ranging from concerts, fashion shows and fairs, to productions in the film, theatre, museum and TV sectors.
The takeover of the former Alfacam site in 2013 led to the creation of AED Studios in Lint, a multifunctional media complex that has since played an important role in the production of films, TV programmes and events.
Sustainability as a core value
Under Glenn Roggeman’s leadership, sustainability has become one of AED group’s spearheads. The company invests heavily in sustainable innovations and solutions, from a massive installation of solar panels with battery park, LED lighting and energy-efficient home automation systems, to heat pumps and rainwater buffering and recovery. In 2007, the company already invested in electric commercial vehicles, and today its entire passenger vehicle fleet is electrified.
‘At AED, we combine business efficiency with a responsibility to the future,’ says Glenn Roggeman. ‘Our shared economy model not only benefits our customers, but also contributes to a lower carbon footprint in the industry. We want to show that business success and sustainability go hand in hand. We have been proving this for 40 years, and I will personally guarantee this in the future as well. Today, we would like to take a moment to reflect on our ‘legacy’, as a tribute to our customers and to this fantastic entertainment sector.’
Facts and Milestones from AED group on the occasion of its 40th anniversary
- In 1985, AED was the first in the AV sector to introduce a public rental price list with fixed and transparent prices.
- AED developed the first multipurpose lamp and truss trolley on wheels in 1986, a revolutionary innovation that became the worldwide standard for safe and efficient transport in trucks.
- In the late 1980s and early 1990s, AED provided professional sound for the first large-scale dance parties such as Thunderdome, Hell Raiser, Digital Overdose and the Night of Dancings.
- In 1990, AED launched the industry’s first Megatrailer, which transformed the logistics approach within the industry.
- AED introduced the very first multi-floor warehouse in the AV sector in 1999, with an efficient workflow and maintenance carousel supported by touchscreens for quick training of new employees.AED was the first in the world to
- standardise its entire equipment fleet: every device in the same flight case, with uniform cables, plugs and accessories.
- In 2012, AED became the first AV company to add a Tesla Model S to its corporate fleet, another sustainable step in the industry.
- AED has more than 100 kilometres of truss structures for hire, an impressive volume for the event and exhibition sector.
- The company developed an innovative system for fast and safe power distribution at trade shows.
- In summer 2012, AED provided the sound for three mega-events with more than a million visitors: the Queen of England’s Thames canal cruise (in honour of her 60th anniversary), the stadium sound for the London Olympics and the European Football Championship in Poland.
- AED once provided the very largest wedding party in Europe with all audiovisual materials.
- With an impressive audio system capability, AED can simultaneously provide sound for more than ten events of the scale of Tomorrowland.
- AED has 1.5 million watts of solar power generation and the same capacity of battery storage.
- In 2020, three months after the outbreak of the corona pandemic, AED was the first to start UV-C air decontamination.
- During the pandemic, AED made its facilities available for two vaccination centres in Lint and Willebroek, and was the first to deliver a fully operational setup.
- The question is not WHICH world star has ever stood on a stage with AED equipment; rather, the question is WHICH has NOT….
