Robe
Lighting enjoyed its biggest, busiest and best PLASA expo to date over four
days at London’s ExCeL Centre and also won its fourth PLASA Innovation Award
for its new Bright Multi-Functional Luminaire (BMFL) high powered signature
product.
“PLASA
2014 was awesome in every way!’ declared the Czech moving light manufacturer’s
CEO Josef Valchar.
“We
welcomed an incredible number of visitors on the booth every day, we met a wide
selection of innovative lighting and visual designers all showing a keen
interest in our products, we saw representatives from most of the leading UK
rental companies … and winning the Innovation Award was the icing on the cake!
We could not have asked for a better show – it absolutely ROCKED!”
As well as
all of the above … PLASA 2014 was special for Robe in many other ways.
The 1000
square metre Robe Arena was the biggest physical trade show space ever taken by
the company. This was partly to celebrate the landmark 20th anniversary of
Robe’s foundation in 1994, and also because the newly launched BMFL needed a
very large space to be properly showcased.
Robe had
over 60 staff on hand – speaking over 20 languages – with a full coffee and bar
service as well as all the product demos, and the Robe Arena soon also became
the de facto social hub of the show
as the buzz about ‘the vibe’ spread around the exhibition.
The BMFL
was one of several stars of a high-impact lightshow incorporating around 320
lights and also including Robe’s new LEDBeam 1000s, Pointes, MiniMes and
ParFects.
This ran hourly, pulling in more crowds and receiving rousing
rounds-of-applause every time.
The
elegant and stylish stand design involved 40 flown points and utilised eight
artics worth of lighting, trussing and sound kit. The build was undertaken by
technical solutions provider Network Productions.
Three
demonstration areas on the stand operated simultaneously and allowed visitors
to see products close-up and ask in-depth questions. In addition to it being
the BMFL’s first trade show appearance, several other new products were
launched at the show including the miniPointe.
The
complete current exhibition stand of Robe’s architectural LED sister company
Anolis was also incorporated into the Robe Arena, and this was busy with
visitors looking at the Anolis product ranges and discussing bespoke projects
with the team.
Either
side of the entranceway to the Robe Arena was the ‘Robe Museum’, two galleries
filled with exhibits of Robe innovation from the last 20 years.
On the
Monday evening, Robe staged a fabulous gala dinner event to celebrate 20 years,
which was attended by 300 key ‘friends and family’.
All at
this glamorous black tie event enjoyed a witty and inspirational after-dinner
keynote speech from leading lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe who took a
light-hearted look back at how lighting technology and production has
progressed in the last 20 years. He referred to snapshots and experiences from
his extraordinary career, which includes a string of superstar clients and some
of the highest profile events and installations worldwide. He also paid tribute
to the passion, dedication and character of the many individuals making this
industry so unique.
Josef
Valchar thanked everyone for their hard work, foresight and the incredible
teamwork that creates the heart-and-soul at the core of the company. He
recalled how his and business partner Ladislav Petrek’s original dreams and
ambitions have grown from extremely humble beginnings to the dynamic international
operation that exists today, saying that he is looking forward to the next 20
years of innovation and success with more of that same enthusiasm, drive and
energy!
The
‘traditional’ PLASA Sunday night party at the Café de Paris in central London was
another great night out for the Robe team and friends, once again packed to
capacity with 500 revellers who were treated to some great Czech hospitality,
live music and fun.
Photos by
Louise Stickland
