Based in Sao Paolo and headed by Francisco Pinheiro, Newart currently has 2 facilities. The first is a 1600 square metre office and workshop space in the west of the bustling commercial hub, and the second is 2000 square metres of warehouse and storage a short distance away, complete with a wide entrance to accommodate trucks and containers.

With over 40 full time employees at base, Newart also has 14 regional representatives dotted across Brazil. It has been an exclusive distributor for Robe since 2001 - dealing with the various OEM brands manufactured by Robe before it launched as an own brand in 2002.

Newart has been involved in the moving light market since 2000, and it was their quest to find the best products which initially led them to Robe, who right from the start back in the OEM days always had an excellent reputation for producing quality equipment.

"There are so many good things about Robe," elucidates Pinheiro, "The company is always looking at innovative ways of using new technology and taking it forward, and it also has a great reputation for listening to its users. The product engineering is excellent, the reliability is renowned and the technical support second to none".

With that solid endorsement, over the years Newart has now sold thousands of Robe units covering the entire product range.

It was the ColorSpot and ColorWash 250 series that really kick started the Brazilian market back in the early days, followed by the 575s, continuing with the 1200s and then most recently, the 700s.

Today there is also a slightly different scenario, as Robe's more specialist products like the high power 2500 AT Spot, Wash and Beam series become essential for the needs of the burgeoning outdoor event and concert markets. The larger end of the market in terms of brightness and intensity is definitely booming at the moment!

The ROBIN series has only just arrived in Brazil, and Pinheiro thinks these are "Amazing products" with a real future and serious potential. He also thinks that more eco friendly products generally will become crucial as everyone becomes more aware of being "greener".

Live music is the largest production market sector in Brazil, and one that is consistently fuelling the demand for professional lighting products. The bigger, better and more popular bands will all have their own kit, and with Brazil being so geographically huge, it's not always practical for them to tour it everywhere. When they can't use their own, they look to local rentals and expect companies to offer compatible equipment to keep the high production values.

When Robe first entered the market, there were already other moving light brands well established in Brazil all with good head starts ..... so Robe, as the 'new kid on the barrio', has come a long way in a short time. In fact, 2010 was Robe's best year to date for sales, a great portent for things to come with the current robustness of the Brazilian economy and the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics imminent!

"It’s moved from early days of a pure supplier/buyer relationship to more of a partnership between us and Robe," observes Pinheiro. "There are many reasons for this, including increasingly demanding customers, the constant monitoring of end-user feedback and need for ongoing technical training to ensure that we can all get the best out of the current technology. All round it has become a much more complex equation than it was 10 years ago - but that's all good!" he concludes.

The ongoing sales and technical support includes bi-annual visits from Sales Director Harry von den Stemmen, who always has a keen eye on the market. Robe's Latin American Regional Sales Manager Guillermo Traverso, based in Uruguay, visits monthly to keep his finger on the pulse.