A HONLEY company has something to sing about – after proving it has the X-Factor.
Metalworking specialist Allsops, based at New Mill Road, has secured an order from photo booth company Photo-Me International to produce 80 X-Factor karaoke booths.
The booths, which enable wanna-be pop stars to produce a DVD of themselves singing along to a backing track, are being manufactured at the firm’s Hope Bank Works and are being showcased around the country.
Now the company is hoping to secure an even bigger follow-up order as Photo-Me forecasts phenomenal interest in the latest addition to the entertainment industry on the back of the huge popularity of television’s X-Factor show.
Stephane Lericolais, technical director of Allsops, said: “We’re delighted to have been a part of such a high profile project. The X Factor and Photo-Me International are widely known and respected brands not only in the UK but around the world.
“To be given the opportunity to showcase the quality of work we produce to such a wide audience is a huge opportunity for us.
“There is no doubt that the booths will be a hit and with a large number of people expected to use them, we knew the quality had to be spot on.”
Mr Lericolais added: “The team at Allsops are under no illusions about their singing credentials – but after completing this project, they have been able to go home to their families and say they really do have the X Factor!”
Business development director Stephen Fennell said: “We have a European-wide reputation for fabricating kiosks and booths, so Photo-Me came to see us.
“We manufacture the whole thing – from the outer shell to the technical bits and pieces that go in it. The material goes out to be over-printed with the X-Factor logo, but we are responsible for assembling it.”
The booth has hundreds of songs on it. Customers simply select one, sing along and the machine provides them with a DVD of their performance to watch again and again.
Allsops, which employs 120 people, will have all 80 booths completed by February.
The booths are already in place at the White Rose Centre, near Leeds, and at Manchester’s Arndale Centre.
Allsops, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, has provided products as diverse as switchgear cabinets, office furniture, industrial ovens, envelope sorting machines, shelving and air traffic control monitoring desks.
