On the Road

TPi’s Ste Durham travelled to Eastern Europe for a whistle-stop tour of some of the region’s major live event technology manufacturers.

From the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 to the Velvet Revolution of 1989 and peaceful separation of the countries in 1993, the Czech Republic and Slovakia’s recent history continues permeate the fabric of 21st Century life in the region.

As well as influencing the everyday, this tumultuous period has also helped shape the countries’ industrial production - fostering an ambitious brand of diligence in the Czech and Slovak workforce. This was evidenced just as strongly during our travels around Bohemia as it was when we headed to Moravia and down into Slovakia to meet the companies that produce some of our industry’s most recognised products.

We aimed to visit 5 companies across 2 countries in 4 days; with the distance between them happily providing the opportunity to experience a bit more of the local flavour than on your average trade show or fly-in gig.

Rather than putting too much stock in the military precision of our audacious itinerary, it’s safe to say that we succeeded in our endeavour thanks to the hospitality (and generous chauffeuring services) of our industry friends in the region. A massive thank you to Milos, KV2 Audio, Robe, Kvant, and SRS Group for their involvement in this feature - we hope you enjoy the journey as much as we did.

MILOS

No sooner had we landed in Prague from Manchester than we were in the car with Area Four Industries Communication Specialist, David Gore, on the way to our hotel in Roudnice nad Labem - a historic settlement perched on the left bank of the Elbe. The town also played host to our first official stop; trussing and structural solutions manufacturer, Milos. Brand Manager, Marek Zubor, gave us the grand tour before we sat down with Gore and Ales

Roucek, Area Four Industries Marketing Manager. Gore began: “All of the world’s biggest acts stop in Prague at the very least, as well as elsewhere in the region, and we have massive festivals here over the summer - it’s safe to say that the Czech Republic is covered by our trusses. You are starting to see more rental companies bypassing the middleman and coming straight to us for products, but that’s still quite a

small area of business for us.”

The majority of Milos’ energy is devoted to serving the wider industry, as well as committing to initiatives designed give it the edge over its competition at the top of the trussing food chain. Gore continued: “The top trussing companies aren’t boasting about the features each product has - it’s more about the value-added side of things. As well as being able to offer the highest quality and safety standards, we’re also able to provide the service and technical know-how that goes behind it. Thanks to our other Area Four Industries brands, we can learn about different markets and standards, and share information between the companies.”

Roucek added: “Our secondary goal to educate the industry of course. We hold different workshops for riggers and show them how our products work, how to work to the highest safety standards; ultimately increasing both their knowledge and safety within the industry.”

The company’s busy warehouse is made up almost exclusively of highly trained Czech and Slovak workers, some of whom are at their particular stations because they are able to do their jobs faster than a machine could. “You can’t just pick someone off the street to do this work,” said Gore. “We see getting the best people and making sure they’re properly trained and certified as an investment. Regulations and norms are always changing so the welders have to keep up to ensure we’re providing the best possible product for our customers.”

KV2 AUDIOwww.kv2audio.com

Located in the southern Bohemian town of Milevsko was KV2 Audio - a sound specialist driven by the innovative technical skill of its founder, George Krampera Snr. The company’s impressive 120,000 sq ft facility somewhat belies its unassuming surroundings, and boasts one of the largest anechoic chambers in the world.

Much like its compatriots from other corners of the industry, KV2 Audio has its eyes set firmly on the world stage, exporting more than 95% of its products around the globe. Furthermore, as it has little direct competition in the region, KV2 is still able to give attention to local market.

Company CEO, George Krampera Jr, explained: “In terms of turnover we are growing 20% per year and this development leads also to the increase of rental companies with our gear around the country, as well as globally.” The company currently devotes most of its energy to developing an established international presence; compelled by the highest standards of manufacturing and business practice.

This ambition was a recurring theme during our travels, and was succinctly captured by KV2’s founder and Chief Engineer, George Krampera Snr: “It’s important to remember that, prior to the Second World War, Czechoslovakia was one of the most industrialised countries on earth. The subsequent invasions of the country bankrupted its economy, but today the country is again prospering thanks to the resilience and hard work of our people. I’m proud of our employees. They have a strong connection with what they do and a genuine interest in the company, with a desire to build equipment to the highest standard for end users around the world.”

While this ethos seems indicative of the region’s character, it also stems from, and is maintained by, KV2’s founder, who concluded: “Since the beginning, my vision has remained unchanged. My lifetime hunt for the perfect sound is based on elimination of distortion and loss of information in the signal path, thus providing sound reproduction that has true dynamic range and representation of the source.“

“We are not a large, corporate company pumping out products at the lowest possible price point to maximise profitability. We are a small, hands-on manufacturer, focussed on quality and, most importantly, the sound of its products - something that many companies seem to regularly overlook in the race to develop the latest, so-called ‘advancement’ in technology.”

ROBE

In the early morning light we ventured east by train, away from the familiar surrounds of Prague and into the rolling hills and dense forests of Moravia. The destination was Valašské Meziříčí (or Valmez); the bucolic home of world-renowned lighting manufacturer, Robe. We began the afternoon in civilised fashion, as Robe’s Global Marketing Manager, Pavel Němec, treated us to lunch at an unassuming hilltop restaurant at the mouth of one of the area’s thick forests.

With the serious business taken care of, it was off to the company’s sprawling complex of buildings for a tour that included a look around the HQ of high-end architectural lighting manufacturer Anolis. This odyssey culminated with a brace of demonstrations; first from Anolis, and then from Robe - the latter of which was broken down further into subtle theatrical and eye-popping rock ‘n’ roll sections.

Němec pulled up a stool at the Robe in-house bar, post-show, alongside Robe Area Sales Manager CZ & SK, Josef “JJ” Valchář Jr. to give TPi the sketch on this lighting superpower. JJ began: “The live production industry in Czech Republic and Slovakia is well developed and active across all sectors - concert touring, festivals, television, corporate events and brand activations - and Robe is now well positioned in both Czech Republic and Slovakia with several major rental companies investing in the brand, especially with the most recent products.”

JJ explained this particular trend has stepped-up in the over the past 4 years, resulting in a proliferation of Robe products appearing on a range of shows and events across the Czech Republic and Slovakia. “I know it’s a generalisation, but I think Czechs are naturally modest people... we don’t necessarily think of ourselves as ‘the best’ in an arrogant way, but we are constantly striving for excellence. If you look back through Czech history, you’ll find that it was a powerhouse of innovation during the Austro-Hungarian Empire.”

In the last 2 years, specifically, native technical production companies such as SMART Production and ZL Production have invested and specified in Robe lighting products.

Despite having a single distributor for the Czech Republic and Slovakia, JJ believes Robe lighting products are evoking large rental operations and changing perceptions across the globe.

“T Servis in Prague previously stocked a competitor products and are now changing over to Robe. Rental Pro is also another company that has invested in Robe as recent as 2017.” Despite its Czech roots, Robe maintains a worldwide distribution network of 120 dealers and distributors, spanning 95 countries on every continent.

JJ concluded: “The Czech economy is very buoyant right now, there’s nearly full employment and all the signs are that the immediate future will continue to be positive bright. Robe is expanding and developing all the time, we work very closely with our customers, distributors, partners, LDs and everyone involved, and as a result our brand is currently extremely strong.”

KVANT

From Valmez it was on to Brno, where we caught a cross-border train destined for the Slovak capital, Bratislava. Director at Kvant Lasers, Martin Pelikan, was on hand to give us a tour of the company’s premises around the city, after another leisurely lunch, of course.

“We cover probably 90% of the large events in Czech Republic and Slovakia, either directly or through agencies,” Pelikan said. “When it comes to sales, these 2 countries don’t even yield 1% of our customers. There’s only a few clubs with our lasers - or lasers at all - so we focus on our 40 distributors around the world. The US is definitely our biggest market, then Germany, Japan, the UK, and Australia.”

Although a large portion of the company is dedicated to manufacturing specialised products such as microscopes and lab equipment, we visited Kvant’s events division for an immersive laser demo and tour before we sat down with Pelikan.

He explained: “We needed more space due to our increasing stock of LED screens and lasers, so we bought a warehouse unit on other side of town and moved sales and production there and the core company is still here. We are due to move there eventually but there are so many rules on floors, partitions, security and so on, when you manufacture Class 4 lasers. We need to make these changes before we can move, but EU regulations are the strictest in the world so that takes some time.” Some years ago, the company’s Clubmax laser system became its best seller, prompting increased production and a fair few imitators.

“We saw copies everywhere, mainly coming from China. We had an exact copy here in the office and I couldn’t tell from 2 metres,” he laughed. “This product sent us from 400 to 2,000 lasers, which is well over capacity in every direction, so the owner purchased another building just to produce them.”

So with this success, what is Kvant’s ultimate goal? He took barely half a beat before giving his answer: “To be the biggest, that’s for sure. The way this happens might not be the most direct, but I think we will get there.” While this could sound like braggadocio from someone else’s mouth, Pelikan’s outspoken candour elsewhere in the conversation gave even more weight to his words.

He added: “The people who work here are driven to keep standards high and improve what’s already been improved 10 times. We are still in the middle of redefining our departments and dealing with the growth of the company, but I think the reason Kvant works - and the way we survived all the German companies that entered the market years ago - is because of a certain level of chaos. It gives you flexibility, and if you are too rigid as a company you lose that. We do things our own way, and I think that is our greatest strength.”

SRS GROUP

Sales & Marketing for SRS Group, Robert Sloboda Jr, met us in the centre of Bratislava’s beautiful old town in order to tune us into the city’s wavelength before our meeting the following morning.

After presenting us with an impressive spread at the company’s new facility, Sloboda Jr began: “The Slovak market for such a narrow segment as professional dimming and stage equipment is quite small. Because of that, our target customers are theatres and rental companies abroad. The quality of our products meets the requirements of even the most demanding clients.”

The company has grown exponentially since the 1990s, when Sloboda Jr’s father was a touring lighting engineer with his own one-of-a-kind dimmer pack. He continued: “While he was touring people were so impressed with how cool his dimmer pack was that they encouraged him to make more and present it at Prolight+Sound. He did so and in the same year we got some important clients. Now we develop and manufacture dimmers, splitters, lighting consoles and DMX switch packs, as well as wired and wireless motor controllers and stage machinery.” These duties are split into 3 departments - SRS Lighting, SRS Power and SRS Rigging - all of which are now housed in the a new warehouse just outside of the capital.

“It took us a year of us preparing the building into a state that fits our needs best. It was because our production uses sophisticated processes as well as our needs being demanding, but having a bigger place means we can have more employees and allocate more space for the people we already have. Ultimately, this helps us to process more orders and increase speed.”

Thanks to the high voltages used by the building’s former occupants, SRS walked into the ideal environment for its incredibly specialised manufacturing processes and machinery.

“All of the equipment is hand-picked by my father, who stays up to date on the latest technology to make sure we are always manufacturing as efficiently as possible. For the power distros in particular, everything we make is custom so we need to have the right machines. We have our own metal work production here so we can still produce anything custom in 10 business days,” Sloboda Jr added.

With this level of confidence in its own products, SRS has been able to set its sights high: “Our goal is to make a product that customer considers as the best, with the best features on the market,” he said. “It is difficult for company to do this, but we already have many happy clients and increasing product sales all over the world.”

He continued: “Maybe it’s because Czechs and Slovaks come from small countries that they have big dreams. I think it’s important to move forward and look for products that fill up the gap, bringing ideas to people that they have not encountered before. My father Robert is a self-motivated person that is always passionate about the goals he sets. He always motivates us, his employees, to achieve every goal together. It’s great that after 26 years of company existence, he can still bring new fresh ideas to progress even further.”