Robe on the A-Team, Hong Kong

	Friendly Fires Photo credit: Kelly Wong

Hong Kong-based lighting rental company A-Team Plus has become the first operation in greater China to invest in Robe's new ROBIN MMX Spot moving lights.

The company was the first in the region to purchase Robe's ROBIN 600 LEDWash fixtures at the start of the year; the units were first used during 2011 Hong Kong Fashion Week.

The lighting designer and technical director Troy Daniel had initially been reluctant to use any LED fixtures on the HKFW show at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre's Grand Hall. However, when he saw Robe's LEDWash 600 in action for the first time he changed his mind Fellow Australian and now Hong Kong based Luke Hall, who is production manager and lighting designer for Untitled Entertainment Asia, one of the A Team's top partners, thinks the same.

Hall says, "Our company prides itself on -- where possible -- using the latest green entertainment technology products, and we have chosen A-Team Plus to supply equipment for many of our shows as they can offer Robe's LEDWash 600 and now also the ROBIN MMX spot".

Hall has recently used ROBIN MMX Spots -- the next-generation 1200 series moving light fixture -- on several shows in Hong Kong, including a sold out KITEC for UK dance/punk band Friendly Fires, and also for local Hong Kong metal band DP for its album launch at the XXX Gallery.

Hall predicts that the ROBIN LED Wash 600 and the MMX Spot will continue to have a "huge impact" on shows and events in Hong Kong in particular, where the latest and most innovative production technologies are often rare to find. "That's why we at Untitled Entertainment have been so keen to stick with production partners like A-team Plus, and I have always encouraged them to stay on top of the market in terms of technology."

A-Team Plus's managing director and sole proprietor Ray Mok adds that the decision to move from the company's existing brand of moving light inventory from the past to now offering Robe moving lights was made after careful consideration.

Having the best levels of after sales support was high on the agenda, and Robe's Hong Kong, Macau and Chinese distributor Leafun helped swing the decision with "First-class service and support at all times," explains Mok.

Mok first saw the MMX Spot in action on the Robe stand at Pro Light + Sound 2011 in Frankfurt, where it was one of a raft of newly launched products. "While certain market influences in Hong Kong seemed to be confused as to which way to go... it was a crystal clear choice for us," he says. With property and warehouse floor space at a premium, the company had to continue the plan started earlier in the year, which involved replacing the older, heavier and more expensive-to-maintain discharge wash fixtures with the ROBIN LED Wash 600.

Speaking of the MMX, Mok adds, "The power to weight ratio beats anything else on the market and the fixture really speaks for itself. It is the new profile fixture that I want for the company."