To celebrate its 60th anniversary, Italian loudspeaker manufacturer FBT recently hosted a lavish dinner with live entertainment at its Recanati HQ. Around 500 guests comprising international distributors, domestic customers and sales reps from the Italian market, past and present staff members along with local dignitaries and suppliers mingled in the balmy Adriatic evening sunshine.
With factory tours incorporated prior to the festivities, such a large-scale event had never been undertaken before in the company’s history, but as Roberto Mataloni, FBT’s export manager, explained, “It was important to mark this date, because in my opinion when you reach 60, you can look back and see what’s been achieved, and last night listening to the presentations, seeing everyone, looking at what we’ve done, to be with the staff and celebrate with the people from where it started from and where we are today, it was emotional. It’s incredibly rewarding, and it makes you feel proud that you’ve done a good job.”
From the large stage set-up in the grounds of the HQ, owners Bruno and Mauro Tanoni gave the guests a walk-through of the history of FBT, which started from a small garage. Staff members with more than 40 years of service then joined them and were presented with framed certificates thanking them for their loyalty. Many of them had worked with founders Bruno Baldoni and Vinicio Tanoni, including Edelwais Mengascini, the oldest FBT employee hired in 1963 as well as Augusto Pierucci, the company’s acoustic designer employed from the early days. A number of the older products on display at the HQ were designed by Pierucci, and as Mataloni pointed out, “if you connect those products to the person that designed them and who was present at the event, there is a continuity and a bridge that links everything together. This means that nobody here forgets what came before. It’s so important to remember your roots.”
Having first joined the company in 1990, Mataloni travels extensively overseas overseeing a solid, global distribution network for the company. Recognising the value of those relationships and connections, he added: “Of course, there have been ups and downs just like in any family. But that’s the point, FBT is a true family. I always say it’s an expanded family because it’s run and owned by a family. But the people that work with them and around them are truly collaborators and they have devoted their life to this company. You don’t see a lot of staff turnover here, it’s an incredibly stable company with expertise and knowledge that has developed over the years.”
These elements of trust and longevity are borne out by Don McConnell, MD of Audio Brands Australia, FBT’s distributor who had flown in from Sydney. “We’re really pleased to be here as FBT was our founding brand. Audio Brands is 10 years old and literally 10 years ago we came and met the FBT team, who put their faith in us, gave us the agency as a start-up business and it’s just grown and grown since then. We love dealing with them, love their support and we’re so happy to be here and to celebrate this wonderful occasion with them.”
During the evening, guests had the opportunity to listen to a variety of artists and musical genres including an upbeat set from members of the La Compagnia di Musicultura group, Dionysian, they are the winners of Sanremo Rock, a renowned Italian vocalist and a DJ set closing proceedings in the early hours of the morning. To support this, a full Myra system had been deployed, consisting of 12 L/R hangs of Myra 214L long throw line array elements, supported by 16 Myra 218S passive subwoofers in cardioid mode. The whole rig was driven by four racks, with each comprising three 20,000W amplifiers. Ventis 115 MAs were deployed as monitors and Horizon VHA 406A and VHA 112 SA cabinets for the drum and side fills.
