Transcolor Invests in 200 Robe Spiiders

	Agata and Lucjan Siwczyk. Transcolor. Photo: Transcolor

Transcolor, one of Poland's largest and most significant rental and visual production companies, has recently invested in 200 Robe Spiider LED wash beams.

These have been added to its rental stock which currently owns several thousand lighting fixtures including around 1,000 Robe moving lights.

The company was founded in 1992 by Lucjan Siwczyk and has enjoyed huge success and respect as it has become active in all areas of professional lighting and visuals, especially TV, film, touring, and corporate / special events. In addition to providing the equipment,Transcolor is known for its skilled, experienced, and excellent technical crews who are on hand to ensure that every project is optimized and runs smoothly for the clients.

The current facilities just outside Warsaw are the company's headquarters. In addition to offices and warehouses, this includes five full-size studios and rehearsal rooms which are in constant use for television and movie productions, promo and advertising shots, production rehearsals, and a wide range of other events.

Transcolor reports the company has a policy of buying solely brand-new premium products and keeping abreast with new technology, and they also have a policy of keeping this updated, and re-investing when something new appears, which was the case with the Spiiders.

They are Robe's second generation of LED washes following the legendary LEDWash series which originally launched in 2010.

As a lot of their work is TV and film-based, the proper quality of colors in lighting fixtures is extremely important, and that was one of the reasons Siwczyk and his team wanted the Spiiders, together with the fact it's new: "It has a nice zoom and the central LED makes it even more adaptable as it can be used for various effects."

For many years Transcolor has set trends by purchasing innovative equipment, in the process establishing new investment directions for other companies in the Polish rental market, and thereby helping promote given brands in Poland.

"This has happened with other brands in the past and now with Robe which in recent years has become renowned for the quality and inventiveness of their products," stated Siwczyk.

This and all previous purchases were delivered by Robe's Polish distributor, Prolight.

The relationship with the local distributor is always important and Transcolor has a solid connection with Prolight dating back many years.

Before making key equipment investments, Transcolor solicits the opinions of leading Polish designers who are keen to have a say on the shape and content of rental stock, from which they will later specify and source fixtures for their projects.

The first one was Marcin Michna, whose professional career started as an apprentice at Transcolor. He quickly progressed from being a technician to an excellent console operator and has now been an independent leading designer / director for many years specializing in TV productions. "His opinion is the most important for us," stresses Siwczyk.

The second "pupil" was Jacek Chojczak, who followed a similar career path, starting with Transcolor and going on to become a successful TV and concert lighting designer.

Artur Szyman is another LD whose opinion matters for Transcolor. As he is a multimedia scenographer as well as an LD, he treats lighting and scenic environments as one entity, and he is always looking for fixtures that can assist in working visually on both levels.

Pawel "Spider" Pajak specializes in lighting and visualizing live concerts. He is known for his highly creative and innovative work and thinking-out-of-the-visual-box for a whole raft of artists -- his nickname is purely coincidental ... but he also loves Spiiders and other Robe products.

"Guided by the opinions and recommendations of these four key individuals I make the right decisions," states Siwczyk, a modest and down-to-earth CEO despite the powerhouse operation that Transcolor has become through his vision and hard work.

Transcolor has also been the first company in Poland to purchase Robe's RoboSpot remote follow spotting system, which went straight into action in March this year for the latest season of Dance, Dance Dance, recorded in one of their own studios.

"It's a huge advantage not having to have people on trusses rigged high under the roof operating for long hours, and it's very easy to precisely and remotely control fixtures using this system," he commented, adding that the Multi Device Control option (MDC), which allows the connecting of up to 12 Robe fixtures, brings added flexibility. This follow spot system certainly has a great future in TV productions but also in concerts services.

Talking about Robe generally, Siwczyk appreciates the huge success of Robe's brand globally.

Remembering the "Iron Curtain" era and the inability to develop businesses in Eastern Europe, Siwczyk is delighted to see that "our Slavic brothers the Czech's have developed such a great company and brand for which the best of all Europe's technicians now want to work. Robe is definitely a world market leader now!"

He also says he likes the fact that Robe is not a massive corporation, but still privately owned which allows quick and nimble important decision making.

"I have a lot of esteem for Josef (Valchar, CEO) and the way he runs the business, he respects people and devotes time for personal contact which sets a great example for all the company's employees."

Returning briefly to Transcolor, Siwczyk draws attention to one more aspect, the challenge of succession. While retirement is not on the cards anytime soon, he thinks seriously about the future. For many years some of the best technicians have become heads of the teams and project managers there, and some like Szymon Kosicki have risen through the ranks to become technical manager of the whole company.

Additionally, Siwczyk's 22-year-old daughter Agata is currently training in the various Transcolor departments to gain a comprehensive understanding of the interlinked aspects of its business. Earned experience may in the future help her to take over the duties of a manager.

"I would like my company to remain in the hands of my children and if they are interested, I will be happy to encourage and support them," he concludes with one of his characteristic knowing smiles!