South African technical production company Aurras Group has expanded its inventory of Ayrton lighting fixtures with the addition of Stradale Profile and an increased number of Nando 502 Wash units, complementing its existing fleet of Rivale Profiles.
With this investment, Aurras Group now boasts the largest Ayrton rental inventory in South Africa.
Aurras Group was established in 2023 following the merger of TechX and OutputAV, led by Justin Heyman and Gareth Aitken with the aim of expanding their service offering and taking on larger-scale productions. Today, the company specialises in supplying lighting, audio, video, rigging and power solutions for events, theatre, festivals, concerts, conferences, corporate events and installations.
Aurras Group has maintained a long-standing relationship with Planetworld, Ayrton's exclusive distributor in South Africa. Together, the two companies have become key drivers of the brand's growth across the country.
When we founded Aurras, we had to decide which brand to invest in. Mike (Summerfield, Planetworld's Pro Live Business Development Manager) introduced us to Ayrton, and we haven't looked back since. We work across a wide variety of projects and felt Ayrton's fixtures offered the versatility needed to handle them all, explains Justin Heyman.
"The South African market demands a great deal of flexibility, so we knew Ayrton would be the perfect choice for Aurras", says Mike Summerfield, who introduced Rivale Profile to Heyman shortly after its launch, highlighting its output, versatility, compact size and IP65 rating.
"If you can get all those features in one compact fixture, you're onto a winner", confirms Heyman. "Rivale was our first step into professional lighting fixtures and represented a major milestone for us. However, just six months later we placed a second order and doubled our inventory. Shortly afterwards we added 24 Nando 502 Wash fixtures, and six months later we purchased another 24 Nando Washes, 24 Zonda 3 Washes and 24 Stradale Profiles, becoming the first company in South Africa to own this model. In just twelve months we have gone from zero to 120 Ayrton fixtures, driven by our confidence in their performance and the growing demand for these products".
What makes Ayrton fixtures so well suited to the South African market?
Gobos were a key consideration for us, and Ayrton offers outstanding gobos for theatre productions. In fact, the Artscape Theatre uses Ayrton fixtures for exactly that reason. We needed a fixture capable of delivering the finesse required for theatrical productions, with smooth and consistent CMY colour mixing. At the same time, we also needed a fixture capable of performing at festivals, delivering spectacular beam effects, high output, multiple prisms and an excellent gobo selection. And, of course, the IP rating was essential because of our climate. Rivale ticked all those boxes, explains Heyman.
The first 24 Nando 502 Wash fixtures were purchased for indoor corporate projects. "By expanding the inventory to 48 units, we now have enough fixtures to cover outdoor productions as well, where the IP rating once again proves to be a decisive advantage", adds Heyman.
Having been impressed by the performance of their initial Ayrton investment, Heyman and Aitken wanted a fixture that was more compact, lighter and had a smaller footprint for smaller-scale productions, so they eagerly awaited the arrival of Stradale Profile. "We were extremely impressed from the very beginning. With Stradale, we now have 24 more compact fixtures capable of delivering the same performance and features as Rivale", he says. "Being able to offer a standardised rig built around the same family of fixtures—with matching gobos, colour temperatures and characteristics—is a huge advantage. It makes life much easier, and lighting designers really appreciate it".
"We work with many major production companies, and both their engineers and lighting designers were excited to use Ayrton fixtures because they were new to them. We're introducing the brand to a growing number of lighting designers and clients, and the feedback we've received regarding the gobos, output and pixel control of the Nando Wash fixtures has been extremely positive. We'd like to think that Aurras and Planetworld have played an important role in increasing Ayrton's market share in South Africa".
"When Ayrton appointed Planetworld as its distributor in South Africa, the company was looking to strengthen its presence in this market", explains Summerfield. "At the same time, Aurras Group wanted to expand its capabilities and deliver better solutions to its clients. We believe our partnership has played a significant role in Ayrton's growth in South Africa, and we're very proud to be part of that journey".
Planetworld has provided us with outstanding support. We took a calculated risk by investing in a new brand from the outset, but we're extremely pleased with that decision and believe it has paid off. The fixtures have delivered exceptional performance with very few issues, reinforcing our decision to continue expanding the inventory. They're true workhorses, and the build quality is excellent. In 2025, we were awarded the contract to design and deliver the lighting for the main stage at Rocking The Daisies, probably Cape Town's most iconic music festival. For that project, we deployed a complete Ayrton rig comprising 24 Rivale Profiles, 10 Stradale Profiles and 34 Nando 502 LED Wash fixtures, concludes Heyman.
