Robe
Lighting celebrated its 20th anniversary in style at a special gala
dinner event staged in their Robe Arena booth one evening during the 2014 PLASA
Expo in London’s ExCeL Centre.
The dinner
featured a keynote speech by CEO Josef Valchar, a great after-dinner speech by
Patrick Woodroffe, followed by live entertainment from comedian / magician Paul
Zenon. It was enjoyed by 300 Robe ‘friends and family’ including many who have
been instrumental in the company’s success.
Says Josef
Valchar, “The dinner was a fantastic way to unite so many people who are and
who have been involved in our journey”.
The Robe
story started from humble beginnings in 1994 when Josef and his business
partner Ladislav Petrek founded the company and started making their own
lighting and effects fixtures.
In that
relatively short space of time, Robe has become one of the world’s leading
moving light manufacturers.
Josef’s
speech thanked everyone – present and absent – for their dedication and
commitment to 20 years of Robe innovation. It has been an extremely productive
era and a melting pot for ideas and imagination in R ‘n’ D resulting in some
great products.
This unique
energy has continued permeating through the various sales forces and the
worldwide distribution network, all helping to establish Robe as a premium
brand everywhere.
“I really
appreciate the intense amount of hard work, the great teamwork and synergy that
we enjoy as a whole,” stated Josef.
The gala
dinner included representatives from most of Robe’s 90 distributors. In
addition to those from Europe, they came from The Americas & Canada,
Africa, Asia and The Pacific Rim to enjoy this very special occasion.
Patrick
Woodroffe – who needs no introduction to the world of professional lighting –
impressed and kept all amused with a selection of tales from his amazing career
which includes a string of A-list clients and an array of cool creative
projects that span all genres of music and the performing arts plus landmark
installations.
“Patrick’s
speech was interesting and inspirational,” comments Josef. “He reached out to
those who are starting their careers, and recognised the contributions and
value of those who have helped grow entertainment lighting into such an
incredible industry. He also emphasised that the bottom line to success is
enjoying your work … and this is something we all share and believe in 100 per
cent.
“Here is
looking forward to the next 20 years!”
