Robe Show Lighting held its 2007 International Distributors Conference in its home town of Rožnov p. Radhoštěm in the Czech Republic. The event was attended by over 130 representatives from its worldwide dealer network - from Kazakhstan to Korea, Australia to Austria, Brazil to Belgium.

Robe capitalised on the close proximity of Frankfurt’s Prolight & Sound show, choosing the date so attendees could combine their trip to the exhibition with that of the Distributor’s Conference.

The Conference was designed to give an insight into Robe’s philosophies and the organisation of its manufacturing process; a report on the collective successes and achievements of the last 3 years and also to be a fun, socially interactive team building opportunity for everyone involved.

The action-packed day started with a tour of Robe’s 10,000 square metre 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 high quality standards are applied across the entire production process.

The Factory Tour took 3 hours and offered valuable insight into Robe’s technical excellence, working practices and commitment to its people and product lines.

After lunch, 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 it’s 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 Robe’s 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.

Just before dinner - guests were treated to the fabulous gastronomy of Roznov’s AGH Hotel – the 2007 Robe Distributor Awards were given out, recognising the outstanding achievements and performances on many different levels of companies and territories. (full details at end of news release)

After dinner the evening continued with cool music, hot dancing and much partying at the City Club, Roznov’s most recently opened and very popular contemporarily designed nightclub – which also just happens to feature a Robe lighting rig!

Josef Valchar says, “The 2007 Distributor’s Conference was another great success. It’s 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”.

2007 Robe International Distributor Awards

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)

Best Install / Project Award 2006

Lighting & Sound Distribution (Singapore)

Best Overall Performance Award 2006

Robe UK

Continuity Awards 2006

Sofitlight (Russia), Audio Tech (Switzerland), Bellalight (Sweden), Welldone Productions (Finland), LMP Lichttechnik (Germany)

Partnership Awards 2006

Atempo Sound & Lighting (Turkey); Trendy Lighting (Brazil); Universal Lighting & Audio (Australia); Art-Tech Lighting (Korea).