DWR Distribution was excited to recently host Oliver Ronshausen, Service Manager at MA Lighting in Germany, for a special in-house technical training session in South Africa. Oliver shared his expert knowledge with the DWR technical team, covering grandMA3 technical hardware and offering detailed insights into the zactrack system.
What makes DWR Distribution stand out is that the team doesn’t just move boxes—it’s all about continuous learning. Staff regularly receive training so they in turn can always provide up-to-date support to clients when needed. Technicians from DWR’s Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban branches were invited to attend this session.
Having someone like Oliver Ronshausen, a true legend in the industry, come in to do the training was an absolute honour. Oliver has been with MA Lighting since 1993 and has an incredible wealth of experience, starting with being part of the team that produced the very first grandMA!
“I recently came to South Africa to help DWR’s technicians get up to speed with the latest MA Lighting service knowledge, so they can react quickly when a console needs repair,” said Oliver. “The goal was to show them how the grandMA3 and electronics work on the inside, then point out what can go wrong and how to repair it.” For MA Lighting, product reliability is key, and that only happens when technicians know exactly how to handle issues when they arise.
“The team at DWR are really good,” Oliver continued. “They have good basic knowledge and insight into technology so it was nice to work with them. South Africa is far from Germany, so it’s crucial to have local experts who can quickly repair a console when needed. We all know that in our industry, the show starts at 8pm. If you show up at 9pm, nobody will need that repair anymore.”
The training also covered the zactrack system, where Oliver provided tips on handling and working with the 3D tracking application effectively.
“The aim of this workshop was to equip our staff to help the industry when they need it,” said Bruce Riley, Technical Director at DWR. “Oliver’s experience, especially going back to the early days of the grandMA(1), is invaluable. He’s been all over the world presenting training, so having him here was a real treat and we are grateful that he could be here.”
The two-week grandMA3 training session was split into small groups to keep it personal and focussed. DWR delegates who attended included Bruce Riley, Nick Barnes, Patrick Manicom, Mashudu Mteko, Jaques Pretorius, Derek Kruger, Jannie de Jager, Tyler Pugin, and Cascar Munyai and Basinki Sekori.
The zacktrack training was attended by Jaques Pretorius (DWR Johannesburg), Patrick Manicom (DWR Cape Town) and Nick Barnes (DWR Durban).