VGL was founded 21 years ago and already represents several premium brands including Grass Valley, Telestream, Rohde & Schwarz, L-Acoustics... and now Robe.
With world leading audio brands like Avid and L-Acoustics already on-board, VGL wanted to be able to offer its clients lighting of a similar quality and calibre as part of a complete technical solution, and were looking for the right brand with which to partner.
Guillermo Traverso, Robe's regional sales manager for Latin America explained that this project started at the end of last year when several professional audio colleagues offered high level references for VGL.
"Then we discussed VGL's Daniel Vinagre's business vision of expansion - keeping in mind all the risks this takes in the very competitive professional lighting market! When we found out that esteemed sound engineer Cristian Osorio - an international reference in Chile - was part of the project, we decided the time was absolutely right to start this co-operation.
"The first results are already over and above what we were expecting, and we see a very optimistic future for the Chilean market."
Robe's international sales director Harry von den Stemmen comments, "I visited VGL recently and it was evident that they are well-established in the fields of audio and broadcasting with a good infrastructure. Their expansion into lighting is a logical step, and we have had excellent experiences in the past with companies that have grown in a similar way."
Currently VGL has four divisions - Video to deal with TV channels and post-producing studios; Audio and Lighting to assist studios, rental companies and service providers; Telecommunication for the needs of cable-operators, and the Service division which is staffed by 15 highly trained engineers.
"We are really excited in representing Robe. We know it is one of the best moving light brands and we're really going to invest large amounts of energy and enthusiasm into promoting Robe in Chile," declared Francisco Jaramillo, business manager and one of VGL's partners.
As part of that investment, VGL will have a selection of current Robe fixtures on hand for demos, and will train several engineers to provide the very best support for both new clients and existing Robe users in Chile.
"We want to make a difference, and a great after-sale service is something that is really needed in Chile! Clients appreciate having a local service," said Francisco.
Harry added, "I am also very happy that VGL is focusing on high standards and the best quality products. Good customer support is indispensable - they are sending their technical personnel for product training at our factory, and will then hold regular product training seminars around the country."
After the 2014 Prolight+Sound exhibition, Daniel Vinagre, Audio and Lighting sales manager at VGL, visited Robe's factory in the Czech Republic.
"The factory really impressed me! It is very obvious that Robe pays close attention to every detail of the product design and build, and seeing the factory helped me understand the intricacies of the production process," he observed.
Both Daniel and Francisco highlighted the big potential for Robe in the Chilean market. "There's massive interest and expectation from local professionals. The main lighting companies are already calling us and asking to see the fixtures," said Daniel.
The first big sale completed by VGL was for 50 x Robin Pointes to equipment and service providers Producciones Órbita, based in Santiago. They have already used the fixtures for high profile shows like the Viña del Mar Festival, the X South American Games organised by Odesur, and the legendary Lollapalooza festival among others.
(Jim Evans)
