Wirtschaft Regional November 1995

By Oliver Hafner
Aalen. LOBO electronic GmbH continues to be on the rise. By now, orders for laser entertainment shows, laser animations and multimedia presentations from all around the world arrive at the premises in Hofackerstraße. In recent years, the company from Aalen has established itself as a global market leader for the sale of laser shows.
This summer, the small engineering company even successfully augmented the Karl May festival in Bad Segeberg with laser light, after visitor numbers had declined in recent years. The same is true for the Offerta, currently held in Karlsruhe. Company boss Lothar Bopp: “According to a survey, on third of the fair visitors only came for our laser show.”
For the 32-year-old, 1995 was a year filled with “highlights”. At the end of April, a 35-minute multivision was projected onto an oversized water screen measuring 15 by 30 meters in front of the parliament building in Ankara to mark Turkey's national holiday. With the addition of bombastic fireworks, 60,000 people on both days of the show were absolutely enthused. Bopp also describes the deployment of his Laser Trucks at an open air in Poland, which was attended by almost half a million young people last summer, as spectacular.
However, such entertainment shows aren’t the only thing that is complex. Still more effort and empathy for the requests of corporate clients are required for the “classical” design of product presentations, such as at fairs. Lothar Bopp: “You have to present the product in way that appeals to both laymen and experts, satisfies the client and still guarantees a high entertainment value.” For example, LOBO successfully staged the market launch of Windows ‘95 and the dealer presentation of BMW’s new 5-series in Munich. The company philosophy includes the conquest of market niches. And these are manifold in the multimedia sector. To this day, LOBO generates a majority of its turnover with the sale and installation of laser technology. Bopp: “But the rental of entertainment shows and presentations is also booming at the moment.”
For particularly unusual laser animation requests with artistic aspirations, however, an agency in Milan steps in with their own designers. Bopp: “If necessary, they can design a Picasso to fitting piano music for us or have a computer freak surf the internet.” Recently, Lothar Bopp discovered the newest market niche. Only last week, the “Century” was launched. In the future, the currently most modern luxury liner will cruise the Caribbean between Miami and the Bahamas, being the world’s first cruise ship fully equipped with (LOBO) laser technology. The cherry on top: When running into port, lasers on deck the “Century” project colorful graphics into the nighttime skyline of Miami.
What does the future hold for LOBO? Lothar Bopp is seriously considering a relocation: “With an export share of 60 percent, we regularly receive visitors from abroad. We have to pick up every single one in Frankfurt or Stuttgart. I can’t reasonably expect my employees to drive all the time. A location close to Stuttgart Airport would be ideal.”
But he has even more plans for the future: “In the future, individual media will be connected even stronger and there will be an expansion of services. Clients will expect a holistic concept, from consultation and programming up to the final implementation and service on site.”