The day started with a tour of Robe's 10,000sq.m factory in Valasske Mezirici. This employs 300 people and produces all Robe's current ranges of digital, LED and moving light fixtures. All processes - from the raw metalwork to the final assembly - are contained within the building, ensuring that Robe's uniform quality standards are applied across the entire production process.
The conference section of the event was staged at the Relax Hotel in Roznov. Robe's CEO Josef Valchar kicked off proceedings with a short and informal history of the company, from its humble beginnings in a garage in 1993, to the massive international operation of 2007, together with plans for the next decade and beyond.
This was followed by presentations from marketing manager Lenka Satankova and international sales manager Harry von den Stemmen, and concluded with a concise current product overview from business development manager, Ingo Dombrowski.
Josef Valchar says, "The 2007 Distributors' Conference was another great success. It is three years since the last one in Rimini 2004, and things have moved on substantially for the Robe brand in that time. The event has created a lot of positive energy and much camaraderie between everyone. Above all, it was an ideal opportunity for us to thank everyone personally for all their continuing hard work in promoting Robe around the world."
The 2007 Robe International Distributor Awards included: Best Debuting Distributor Award 2006 - Philippos Nakas (Greece), DWR Distribution (South Africa), E.tainment (Austria); Outstanding Performance Award 2006: LTM Music Company (Russia), Leifull Enterprises (China), Taintronix (Netherlands); Best Digital Product Sales Award 2006: Robe Italia, Axente (France), Robe America; Best Technical Support Award 2006 Taintronix (Netherlands), and Best Install / Project Award 2006: Lighting & Sound Distribution (Singapore).
The Best Overall Performance Award 2006 went to Robe UK, and Continuity Awards to Sofitlight (Russia), Audio Tech (Switzerland), Bellalight (Sweden), Welldone Productions (Finland), LMP Lichttechnik (Germany). Partnership Awards went to Atempo Sound & Lighting (Turkey), Trendy Lighting (Brazil), Universal Lighting & Audio (Australia), Art-Tech Lighting (Korea).
(Jim Evans)
