Near the Eastern border of the Czech Republic in the highlands of Moravian Wallachia lies the unassuming and almost unpronounceable little town of Valašske Mezirici, a picturesque habitat of mountain valley life and quiet living. Indeed, driving through its calm streets and soaking in the fresh alpine air, you could easily be forgiven for not being aware of its profound contribution to the world at large, particularly to that of events and entertainment. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find a major event anywhere on the planet that it’s chief export hasn’t touched. From the smallest club to the largest rock concert, Valašske Mezirici has been there. I am, of course, talking about Robe, the preeminent lighting fixture manufacturer whose factory calls the town home.
History
Robe has been at the forefront of special effect lighting for the better part of 20 years, founded in 1990 by co-owner Ladislav Petřek who started it all by importing PAR cans, mirror balls and various other fixtures from Germany. Sound activated lighting effects were his initial focus, marketed through his company ProLux. However, when co-owner Josef Valchař eventually came on board as sales manager in 1993 they joined their efforts to design their first scanners.
In 1994 Robe Show Lighting was established and as a result of their first Prolight and Sound exhibition, they secured an OEM customer, Steinigke Showtechnic GmbH. The first products were scanners and sound activated fixtures, most notably their Dominator 1200 XT, a six-way multi-scanner.
From 1995 to 2000 Robe saw massive growth. New scanners were produced, a new office and manufacturing premises was purchased, the 250 spot and wash moving heads were introduced, and the TAS brand of low-cost lighting commissioned by Coemar were produced. 2000 saw more OEM partnerships with companies like Movietec (Germany), Starway (France) and Sagittar (Italy); moving heads the primary focus. This was a bumper year and Robe tripled their turnover!
In 2001 their current 5 000m2 factory premises in Valašske Mezirici were acquired, which were completely stripped and installed with the latest technology in lighting manufacturing. In November 2001 they moved in and have been there ever since. Later, in 2005, the facility was refurbished and expanded to 14 000m2 which includes 6 000m2 of manufacturing and warehousing facilities.
Of course since 2001 there have been huge leaps and bounds for Robe. In 2002 they launched as a bona fide brand (as opposed to an OEM manufacturer) at the SIB exhibition in Rimini and at PLASA 2002 they launched the AT (Advanced Technology) series of moving heads. Thereafter their distributor network expanded to more than 50 countries and in 2003 Robe UK, America and Italy were established. In 2005 Robe SEA was established in Singapore to service South East Asia.
From 2006 to 2008 many new fixtures were released including the ColorSpot 2500E AT, the StageQube 324, the 700 series of moving heads, and in the 2008, the DT series.
2008 also saw the establishment of their newly added 1 400m2 research and development department at Valašske Mezirici and a name change from “Robe Show Lighting’ to simply “Robe Lighting’, which prompted a complete company rebranding.
From 2009 onward Robe continued to grow and in that year a 3.5 million Euro Logistics Centre was procured. PCB manufacturing company Dioflex was acquired and a 1 000m2 plastics moulding centre was erected at the Valašske Mezirici site. At Frankfurt 2009 the first plasma lamp products were previewed and five new products were launched at PLASA.
In 2010 a new administrative centre in the UAE was established with head offices in Abu Dhabi.
The journey
After Prolight and Sound, 12 South Africans, including Duncan Riley and Nick Britz from Robe’s SA distributors DWR, and I travelled to Valašske Mezirici via bus for a tour of the Robe factory, hosted personally by co-owner Josef Valchar and his director of global sales, Harry von den Stemmen.
We were treated like royalty. The tour buses alone were enough to make you think you were Ozzy Osbourne travelling to your next gig. These double-storey amenity-packed coaches offered every luxury: a media server packed with movies, flat panel displays all over the place, a Playstation 3, a kitchen and fridge packed full of, er, juice, comfortable bunks in case we wanted to sleep, and on-board WiFi. For all intents and purposes, we were rock stars, albeit without a show, and as the old adage goes, what happens on tour stays on tour so I am obliged not to divulge the mayhem that promptly ensued.
Our first stop was the mystical and historical city of Prague. There we were treated to a night’s stay at the wonderful Hotel Josef and dinner of traditional Bohemia Duck at at the Plzenska Beer Hall Restaurant in the old art nouveau Municipal House building a short walk away from the hotel. We slept well. The next day we were given a walking tour of the old city which ended with a catered boat ride up the frigid waters of the Vltava River. It was then back to the busses to continue our journey.
Six hours later we arrived not in Valašske Mezirici but at the nearby Hotel Solan, a mountain resort lodging owned by Mr Valchar. The building is beautifully crafted inside and out with hand oiled, fragrant pine as the interior construction material of choice. The unmelted snow from the previous fall still littered the ground and we were spellbound by its unfamiliarity, so much so that we proceeded to pelt one another with snowballs. Mark Gaylard from MGG Productions got a particularly healthy walloping!
After checking in and freshening up, we met in the dining room for dinner. The gorgeous and decadent food came in unrelenting waves and included a full carvery, salads, breads, roulades, sushi, frog’s legs, goulash and steak tartar – Czech style, not to mention desert crepes. We were overwhelmed by the warmth and sincere hospitality of Mr Valchar and his team and we left the dining hall fat and beaming with warm fuzziness.
We slept well again.
The tour
Dioflex
Following a bright and early breakfast we once again boarded our bus and headed off to the first stop of the five-part Robe tour: Dioflex, the printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer that supplies Robe and their commercial lighting subsidiary, Anolis. Since we were travelling with a large group of people visiting from other countries such as Australia and Brazil, we were split up into smaller groups to efficiently make use of the protective, anti-static clothing that was in short supply.
Once I had donned my blue anti-static lab coat and matching blue booties, we were lead into the first of several rooms where workers were hand soldering components and wires to small round PCBs in the Dioflex production room. A striking aspect of the Robe “machine’ that is evident throughout their facility is the fact that while machines do handle some of the workload, humans are always involved in the process. Almost every component, apart from ICs and SMT components, is manufactured in-house and within a relatively small radius so quality can be assured from start to finish.
While Dioflex has been involved with Robe since 2005, it wasn’t until 2009 that they were fully acquired as part of the Robe family. Jiri Baros, Robe’s marketing manager, was our guide for this portion of the tour and he took us through the various sections of the Dioflex facility, starting in production where LEDs are fixed manually to Anolis architectural fixtures, which are custom made to order. The focus for these products is on static LED lighting and while they look different from Robe products they are the same technology albeit constructed to be vandalism and weather proof.
Next was the testing room where they do a “burn in’ for each Anolis product. Harry von den Stemmen comments.
“We do a burn in for every product; at least a couple of hours. The product will be tested at every stage of the production but here is where they get connected to the drivers so we can see that all the LEDs are operating correctly.’
Walking via the packaging portion of the Dioflex facility we were then led into a room that contains a Nordsom Asymtek SELECT COAT SL-940E PCB coating machine and an Ersa Hotflow 3 PCB curing machine. Here the PCBs are coated with a special lacquer by the SL-940E that prepares them for component soldering and are then cured in the Hotflow 3. These machines work together and are uniquely positioned to one another as the PCBs are handed off from the Asymtek to the Ersa at a 90 degree angle – a world’s first.
The production portion of the facility was our next stop. Probably the largest of the rooms we were shown, this room contains many large and complicated looking automated machines that are used for various tasks in PCB surface-mount component placement and soldering. Eighty percent of production here is for Robe.
Starting at the near end of the room, we first see a Nordson X-1010 Axiom SMT (Surface Mount Technology) dispenser which applies surface mount and electrically conductive adhesive and solder paste.
Next are two DEK screen printing machines: a Horizon 03i and a Horizon 03 for automated screen printing and proofing of solder paste. From here the PCBs are handed off to a Juki KE-2080L; a pick and place machine for surface mount components. This machine accomplishes high speed placement of these components by laser sighting from reels that are slotted into receptacles on the front of the machine. The speed and accuracy of this machine was quite impressive and can apply 160 components a minute. After the components have been placed, they are checked for consistency by a human being.
In an adjacent room we find various workbench stations where other non-surface mount components such as capacitors, potentiometers, and so on, are affixed to PCBs by hand. Once this has been accomplished, the PCBs are ready for soldering.
In another adjacent, very warm room there sits a gargantuan wave soldering machine called an Ersa EWS 330 that is responsible for applying solder to the underside of the PCBs. Because of the way that the solder paste has been applied and the way that the PCB has been lacquered and solder masked, the solder only sticks to the terminals of the components that it has to, therefore making the process very efficient and accurate. The PCB moves along a track and eventually over a bubbling “wave’ of solder, emerging at the out-feed with all components solidly affixed.
Finally we were led into an anti-static room used for final testing of the PCBs by human beings. If one is found to be faulty it is sent off to the repair department where technicians manually correct the problem. This is the final safety net to catch the straggling defected units in the Dioflex line.
Research and development
After all of the tour attendees had finished their rounds at Dioflex, we once again boarded the bus and headed to the main Robe factory a few kilometres away.
Once we arrived, the first stop was Robe’s research and development department. For obvious reasons, we weren’t allowed to take any pictures or learn any specifics of the goings on here but suffice it to say that this is where all development of new products is conceptualised and prototyped.
The department is mainly made up of a group of designers and programmers who are responsible for all the production processes, manuals, DMX charts, enclosure design, flight case design, PCB design and pretty much everything else that is required when designing new products. They all work together, each with a specific task that compliments the process.
Production and assembly
The production and assembly building is the busiest part of the Robe factory. Upon entry we were met with the warehousing portion which is where all components necessary for unit assembly are stored. Considering how many lights Robe manufactures and how widespread their products are, it was quite amazing to see how it’s all fed from a relatively small warehouse.
We were led through this portion of the warehouse and then upstairs to the first of two production floors. As we landed at the top of the stairs, the first room presented to use was the pre-production laser room. This room holds six laser etching machines that are used to fabricate gobos. They are quite remarkable to see in action. Of course, unlike in the movies, real lasers can’t be seen but as the machine works you can see the lines being etched onto the glass.
The room that houses the gobo room is one of four large assembly line rooms that contain several well lit stations on either side where technicians sit and assemble the various Robe products. Each production line is supplied from the warehouse by a dedicated worker with all of the necessary components to produce their designated products. Lifts take the components upstairs.
Šarka Hrachovčova of Robe comments: “With Robe we try to produce as many components as we can in-house. For example all of the metal parts that go into the fixtures we produce ourselves. The same for the plastic housing. We never did the powder coating in the past but this coming summer we will be doing so.’
It is in these production rooms that all Robe products are assembled by hand; the smaller fixtures being produced downstairs and the larger, upstairs. Robe even produces the wires which are used in their products in-house where the correct lengths are cut and the relevant connectors fitted.
The next phase of the production chain is the testing facility. Each light is delivered here without the housing and it is tested continuously for two days where they are set up next to one another in a straight line in order to detect any visible deviation. All features are tested thoroughly throughout the process along with a final calibration in a dark room by light sensor and computer to assure each light performs exactly the same to identical models.
Finally, we were taken to the packaging area where all Robe products are packaged.
Metalwork
All metalwork pertaining to any and all Robe fixtures is done in-house. As you enter the workshop immediately to the right you are presented with a room of four or so workers doing small metal parts assembly and handling such tasks as drilling and minor hole punching. The rest of the workshop consists of heavy machinery: a Bystronic ByLaser 2 200 supplies laser cutting while a Trumpf TruPunch 5 000 handles heavy duty hole punching. Both of these machines are automated and can be automatically switched off via sensors if an intruder traverses the safety lines.
There are various other machines throughout the metal workshop that accomplish certain tasks such as a C-One 900 servo-electric press brake used for precision bending of sheet metal. An Arku Ecomaster 30 offers levelling of sheet metal in preparation for bending or pressing and a Safan Darley H-Brake 120-480T allows for high precision bending of sheet metal with forces up to 480 tons. Clearly Robe has all bases covered.
Plastic thermoforming workshop
As with most of the other components in the Robe line, plastic housing manufacturing is done in-house as well. The thermoforming workshop holds two Geiss U8 thermoforming machines and two Geiss FZ2000-ECO-Plus trimming machines.
Basically, the plastic housing of Robe products start as a flat piece of specialised plastic imported from Germany. The sheets are then placed into a Geiss U8 where it is heated and then vacuum moulded onto one of (numerous) aluminium dies. The resulting housing is then air-cooled and transferred to a Geiss FZ2000-ECO-Plus robotic trimming machine where the rough edges are trimmed and finished for use in production.
Witnessing the thermoforming process was quite fascinating as I had never seen it done before and almost looks like the housing materialises out of nowhere as if in some kind of sci-fi movie. Technology is truly amazing.
The warehouse
The Robe facility also includes a large multi-thousand square metre warehouse where all packaged products are held for distribution.
The finale
The last stop for the day was the on-site Robe showroom that includes a bar area decorated with past Robe products and a large theatre equipped with all the latest Robe products. Upon arrival we were promptly treated to a very filling lunch buffet and drinks and then ushered into the theatre where we were given demonstration of the new Robe products.
The demo basically consisted of two sections: theatre lighting and stage effect lighting, which are, of course, very different beasts. The façade of the set was very interesting in that on the right hand side was an outdoor scene and on the left hand side was an indoor scene. As the demo progressed in this section lights were progressively added to supply subtle theatre lighting effects focussing on authenticity rather than effect lighting. Only LED lights were used for this part of the demo.
As the theatre portion of the demo came to an end, a surprising thing happened. The set façade broke in two and swung inward, exposing a stage where equipment for a full band was set up including drums, bass, guitar and keyboard. This portion of the show switched to high octane effects with a rock and roll sensibility.
All in all there were five new products showcased:
• ROBIN MiniMe – an LED, moving head effects light with full video output.
• ROBIN Pointe – a new beam, spot and wash fixture that supplies a sharp and intense parallel beam.
• ROBIN MMX Blade – a 1200 series equivalent fixture with MMX optical technology and including a very fast frame shutter system of four “blades’.
• ROBIN CycFX – a one metre linear RGBW LED strip that can be tilted 270 degrees that includes a zoom option to open the spread from 8 to 53 degrees.
• ROBIN Cyclone – an effects fixture that has an integrated centre fan surrounded by a ring of 24RGBW high powered LEDs for “smoke-through-the-fan’ effects.
The wrap
Whether you’re a distributor, journalist or just a lighting enthusiast, the Robe factory tour is a huge eye-opener into one of the most efficiently run companies one could imagine. Probably the most impressive part of the factory, besides all the modern machinery and top-class production, is the fact that almost all the components to their products are manufactured in-house. Indeed, when one looks over Robe’s company history and their massive growth, their dedication to quality, reliability and consistency is completely evident throughout. In fact, if you were a fan of Robe lights previously, you will most certainly leave their factory a life-long supporter.
