Cat® gensets supply quiet, reliable power for music festival

Power Need

Spotlighted as a major concert event by Rolling Stone magazine, the Summer Camp Music Festival attracts 20,000 music lovers from around the world to Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, Illinois, every Memorial Day weekend. Debuting in 2001 with 20 acts and 1,000 attendees, Summer Camp featured 65 popular acts in 2011, including The Avett Brothers, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers, Huey Lewis and the rUMors, moe., Umphrey’s McGee, Widespread Panic and Wiz Khalifa.

With performances on seven stages over three days, reliable power is a critical component of the festival’s success. In addition to stage operations, electricity is needed for 30 vendor tents and temporary buildings that house the box office, management offices, dressing rooms and showers. Over the years, Summer Camp has grown to include community activities, attendee competitions, workshops and family games as well, each further increasing the need for power.

Solution

In 2011, a network of 19 Cat® diesel generator sets ranging in output from 27 to 365 kW was configured by Cat Dealer Altorfer Power Systems to provide secure and safe power for every aspect of the festival venue. Sound-attenuated, self-contained and easily transportable, these generator sets feature fully weatherproofed enclosures that incorporate internally mounted exhaust silencers, making them ideal for use at a sprawling festival where the music, and not the generator sets, must take center stage.

Seven Cat XQ230 generator sets worked at the heart of the carefully designed power network. Featuring 50/60 Hz convertibility, these powerful generator sets utilize ACERT™ Technology and are field-proven in multiple applications worldwide. The four-stroke-cycle diesel engine of the Cat XQ230 combines durability with minimum weight while providing dependability and economy.

Specially designed for the non-technical operator, a 30-ton, 10,000 cfm air conditioner supplied cooled air for an interactive display tent at the venue.

Jay Goldberg Events & Entertainment, the organizers of Summer Camp, have gone to great lengths to make the festival as environmentally friendly as possible, taking the necessary steps to reduce the carbon footprint, support local businesses, and reduce, reuse and recycle wherever possible. The Cat generator sets work within this philosophy, since they are manufactured to reduce environmental impact.

Results

Summer Camp has grown every year because of the caliber of entertainment and the festival’s reputation as a well-run venue, and a key element of the event’s success is reliable power that keeps the music playing and ensures a safe environment for visitors.

According to Jay Goldberg, president of Jay Goldberg Events & Entertainment, the quality of Cat generator sets and outstanding service from the dealer are the reasons Summer Camp relies on Altorfer year after year. “Whenever we have a problem, there has been someone there – not within hours but within minutes,” Goldberg said.

In addition to Summer Camp, Goldberg selects Altorfer to supply temporary power for most of his company’s events because he prefers to work with a single supplier wherever possible.

“We would not have been able to grow our business without Altorfer,” Goldberg observed. “Everything we do relies on power, and the partnership with Altorfer has allowed us to grow live entertainment in this area.”

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