Robe has appointed a new Egyptian distributor – Impact Egypt Solutions – which is headed by Jean William, a prolific and talented lighting and show designer in his own right.
The company is based in the bustling metropolis of Cairo and is one of the oldest and best-respected entertainment technology enterprises in the country.
William founded Impact Egypt 33 years ago initially as a rental and sales business. Sales were then halted for a while as it focussed on installation projects and rentals, but recently sales have re-started to capitalise on a strong and developing market with a demand for quality equipment.
Impact Egypt Solutions also engages in a wide selection of lighting, visual and multimedia projects taking on multiple aspects including show design, installation, and operation, keeping its 40 or so full-time staff busy.
William has always had an eye for Robe products and has wanted to work with the brand for a while, a scenario that is now possible due to a restructuring of the distribution set-up.
“The products are excellent, they are well designed and robustly built, affordable, and offer a great ROI across numerous sectors,” he commented.
William also has had a lot of hands-on experience working with moving lights over the years as a lighting designer for various shows, events, and venues. He noted that installations are particularly solid right now.
He and Robe’s Middle East regional sales manager, Elie Battah, met at ISE in Barcelona earlier this year and discussed Robe’s repositioning in the region.
“I was looking for someone with a great reputation and who was enthusiastic and invested in the brand,” noted Battah. “I’ve known Jean for some time, and the time is now right for us to collaborate. I believe the company will really maximise our potential and brand presence in Egypt.”
William is also a major industry influencer there. The rental side of Impact Egypt Solutions is involved in numerous large and creatively staged conferences and business events, and he is often hired as a consultant for these, to advise on using the most appropriate and effective technology.
The company will keep working in the rental market and William will continue to design and manage projects.
From a design perspective, he loved the colours and colour mixing offered by the Robe product ranges as well as the overall quality of light, gobos, and other features. The diversity of the product ranges was exciting to him and the company, and for his international work, Robe will usually be a first-choice fixture.
William sees massive potential for Robe’s new iSeries of IP-rated fixtures and the iFORTE in particular for large ballrooms and conference centres. “FORTE is definitely a machine for those power applications,” he confirmed.
On the rental side, everyone at Impact Egypt Solutions is impressed enough with Robe to purchase over 200 fixtures for stock, some replacing the units of another manufacturer. Initially, it will have about 200 different Robes in rental, and this figure will expand.
William also has a branch in the UAE – Impact Dubai – which will keep a Robe system in rental stock.
Battah concluded: “Egypt is a unique market, so it is great to have a distributor familiar with using the products in real situations every day, which assists communications and keeps in touch with our markets on multiple levels.”
