Sanford, FL – Sanford, FL – Each year, the Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA) holds the annual Members’ Choice Awards (MCAs). This year, IA Stage’s self-climbing hoist, Flight™, was the chosen winner in the Equipment category. Bruce Darden, IA Stage Hoist Specialist and inventor of the patent pending hoist, said, “With 22 years in the industry, I feel pretty good.”
The awards, which were resurrected after a few years hiatus, took place at USITT 2026 Long Beach on Friday, March 20. Upon accepting the award, Darden thanked individual friends and peers for sharing ideas and ingenuity. He also thanked Mark T. Black and Pete Borchetta, IA Stage’s CEO and COO, respectively, for funding the research and development of Flight™.
“It’s a proud moment for IA Stage to receive the [2026] ESTA Members’ Choice Award for Flight™,” said Pete Borchetta, IA Stage’s COO. “This achievement belongs to our entire team—the engineers who pushed boundaries, the technicians who refined every detail, and the partners who believed in the vision,” Borchetta said. “Flight™ continues our long tradition of building tools that expand what’s possible on stage while keeping safety and simplicity at the forefront. Thank you to the ESTA community for this meaningful recognition.”
Flight™, a compact re-configurable self-climbing motorized hoist, is a universally applicable solution that addresses the safety risks associated with conventional methods of accessing overhead equipment. The hoisting machinery of this self-climber is integrated with the payload of the same truss. This means that every time Flight™ is lowered, the machinery is lowered, too, eliminating the need for additional lifts or ladders.
Built into the hoist assembly is the unique CHORD3 bottom batten system. With CHORD3, you can convert the bottom chord of the truss in the field to accommodate Megabetten® Lighting Power & Control; scenery batten; track lighting power and control; video panel suspension track, curtain carrier track to standard pipe, and more.
ESTA is a non-profit trade association for the entertainment technology industries. Actively involved with the ANSI accredited Technical Standards Program and Behind the Scenes, IA Stage has been a proud ESTA member since 2020. Erin Grabe, ESTA’s Executive Director said, "We're proud to have IA Stage as members of the ESTA community, and our community is clearly proud of IA Stage, too!"
Along with Flight, nominees in the Equipment category this year included EXE ACE 1500kg electric chain hoist by Tomcat; Followbot Compact 1000w LED hybrid follow spot by MEGA-Lite; JDC Burst 1 hybrid LED strobe light by German Light Products; Lift12 by Doug Fleenor Design, Inc.; Prodigy Balance hoist by ETC, and ProPlex CodeCommander timecode processor by TMB ProPlex.
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Corporate Bio
A company is more than a collection of people. InterAmerica Stage, Inc. doesn’t just collect people. We collect the right people. The individual creativity and passion within our ranks is what makes us relevant. You’ll find structural designers, technical directors, and project managers from the theatrical industry; engineers, designers, and draftsmen from the aviation and construction industries; as well as rigging, automation, mechanical design and projection specialists from the themed entertainment industry. Bottom line? People matter. Our talented staff is the most valuable resource we have.
IA Stage provides a wide variety of services for a wide variety of clients. With a reputation built on excellent service, our work can be seen in theatres, broadcast studios, and theme parks around the world. In addition to custom design and fabrication, we’re also very good at Artifact Handling, Design/Build Construction, Fall Protection, Historic Renovation, Machinery Installations, Powered Rigging, Projection Systems, Rigging/Material Handling, Scheduling, Show Automation, Fabrication and Erection, System Maintenance, and Theatre Equipment Inspection. But we can (and do) just about anything.
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About ESTA
The Entertainment Services and Technology Association is a nonprofit trade association for the entertainment technology industry. Our members are the industry’s leading dealers, manufacturers, production companies, rental companies, and professional service companies. ESTA’s members are responsible for creating some of the most important programs in our industry, including the Technical Standards Program (TSP), Entertainment Technician Certification Program (ETCP), and Rental Guard. Membership in ESTA supports increasing safety through the development of standards and certifications; educating members and providing business resources to increase profitability; representing the interests of the industry to government, regulatory bodies, and related industries; and raising the bar for ethical and professional behavior. Learn more at esta.org.
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