Black Country innovator Andrew Teverson has come up with the Stage Box to deliver a new ‘green’ solution for stage platforms

A Black Country engineer with a passion for sustainability is disrupting the events industry with a new stage innovation. Andrew Teverson, who started The Stage Bus in 2006 with inheritance money from his grandparents, has used years of experience to develop the stage platform that can operate from the back of a truck or as a detachable unit that self-dismounts using hydraulic legs.

Built into a converted 20ft container, the entire stage is solar powered, can run for up to 8hr on a full charge, takes less than 1hr to set up and comes with all the audio-visual and PA systems a band or organiser could ever need. It can be used for events or festivals attracting up to 5,000 people and has already been chosen by Battersea Power Station to celebrate the King’s Coronation and by the organisers of the London Marathon.

With interest in The Stage Box going through the roof, the Halesowen-based entrepreneur is now looking to scale up manufacturing to provide the concept for longer-term leases or for sale in the UK and overseas. It is an ambition that could generate an additional £600,000 of revenue and create five new jobs at the firm’s Black Country base.

Mr Teverson, who studied mechanical engineering at the University of Birmingham, said: “We supply 150 stage days every year with our different stage solutions, so have significant experience of what it takes to put them up and all the things our clients want included. All of this knowledge has been brought together in our latest product – The Stage Box. There is nothing else like it on the market when it comes to set-up times and environmental performance, not to mention all the technology that is fitted to it as standard.”

He continued: “We have been leasing it out for six months and the reaction from clients is phenomenal – it makes their production/event seamless, as well as helping them green their carbon footprint due to the solar powered features it possesses. The level of demand got us thinking and we’ve taken the decision to actively market The Stage Box for sale or long-term lease - ideal for organisations that may hold multiple events at multiple venues throughout the year. This will mean setting up production to initially manufacture four models over the next 12 months.”

It has taken four iterations to get to the latest version of the Stage Box, which has an expanded power capacity with a modular solar battery system, allowing its running length to be extended past 8hr. All PA systems and LED lighting, including customisable TV screens, are integrated to provide an all-in-one audio-visual solution, whilst the hydraulic legs ensure the stage can self-level even on uneven ground. Impressively, The Stage Box arrives in just one vehicle and requires just one crew member to set it up. This is in comparison to its rivals, that typically need up to four vehicles and numerous people to achieve the same outcome.

Mr Teverson added: “Just on the transport alone, you are saving 24,000kg of CO₂ and that is before you take into account the ‘green’ solar-powered feature. Sustainability has been a big issue for us from day one. We have been looking at how we minimise our impact way before it was fashionable to do so, and this also extends back to our Black Country home where we operate a ‘zero waste to landfill policy’ and try to re-use materials when building new stages and completing maintenance tasks. The remainder of 2023 is going to be an exciting time for the business and one that sees The Stage Box become a household name in the events industry.”

He started the business when he purchased a double-decker bus and converted it into a usable Stage Bus. He has subsequently added other staging options, including the Camper Stage and the Snail Stage, which is a quirky DJ area inside a Citroen 2CV.