Schwäbische Zeitung 01 October 2005

AALEN - The Mecca of the show laser industry is located on the Ostalb – more precisely in Aalen, where the company Lobo Electronic GmbH has its headquarters. The company with 30 employees, managed by Lothar Bopp, is considered to be a global market leader in the show laser and multimedia industry.
By Verena Schiegl, member of our editorial board
A multimedia temple equipped with state-of-the-.art technology with an area of 4,000 square meters, two production studios and a professional show room – 25 years ago, Lothar Bopp could only dream about the possibilities available to him today. Back then, the founder of the laser specialist LOBO started building sound and light systems, at first for friends, later on for discotheques.
By now, the avant-garde office of the company’s founder is packed with awards LOBO has received from the global umbrella association of the show laser industry (ILDA) “for excellent creative achievements”. In recent years, the company has received 72 of these awards, the industry’s equivalent to an Oscar. “More than any other company in the world,” the 42-year-old company boss explains. Further international awards underscore LOBO’s triumphant march to the industry’s global model company.
A man with visions
Back in 1982, when lasers were only used in movies or discotheques, he founded the company LOBO at the age of 18 in Ellwangen. In its early days, the company, based in Aalen since 1984, was primarily active as a supplier of disco illuminations. However, Lothar Bopp, who studied at the University of Applied Sciences Aalen on the side, had other visions. He wanted to make laser shows respectable in other areas. By the mid-80s, the young entrepreneur started focusing on the emergent laser and multimedia technology. Over time, he was able to enter more and more market sectors and make lasers more popular. In 1988, the technology was even used at the “ultra-conservative Bayreuth Festival”. LOBO also conquered the oceans by storm. “Century”, “Mercury” and “Galaxy” are the names of the three largest vessels of the American shipping company Celebrity Cruises, which have technology from Aalen on board for their laser shows. “Queen Mary 2” and the largest private yacht were also equipped by LOBO. With a lot of work, courage to take risks, and the right eye for trends, the former “one-man-show” became a global player. Claiming to be the industry’s largest full-range manufacturer, LOBO is active in more than 60 countries. Bopp does not only sell hardware and software, but also rents out his systems.
Clients come from all sectors: amusement parks, theaters, planetariums, artists and advertisers. A majority of the customers is based in the Middle East. In the stadium in Medina, LOBO had produced “the first entertainment event accessible to the general public in the history of Saudi Arabia,” Bopp says. LOBO will also go down in history as the savior of the national holiday of Liechtenstein. With a last minute effort, the company was able to organize a large-scale spectacle in less than four days. When the first beams cut through the night sky, it was not only a premiere for the Swabian company, but also for the principality: For the first time in the history of Liechtenstein, a laser show had closed out the national holiday instead of the traditional fireworks, which had to be cancelled due to risk of forest fires.
A show for Budapest
Quite fondly, the self-made man looks back on his largest project to date. On the occasion of the Hungarian National Holiday 2002, LOBO developed a show for the city of Budapest within three months. “At several stations in and around the metropolis on the Danube, we set up lasers, synchronized via GPS. The sound was transmitted by two radio stations,” Bopp remembers. The previous day, the Prime Minister had postponed the celebrations by ten days due to the dramatic rise of the Danube’s water levels in the year of the flood catastrophe. “That had never happened before,” Bopp says. The same applies to the record numbers of 1.2 million spectators. Organizing large events has long become a standard for LOBO. For the turn of the millennium alone, the company had received seven contracts, including for the celebrations at the Brandenburg Gate. Bopp ascribes his company’s success to the large product range, the combination of ideas and technology and to an “immense power of innovation”. “We continuously set standards that are later adopted by our competitors.” In 1992, the company received the Innovation Award of the State of Baden Wurttemberg for the development of an RGB color mixing unit. Here, RGB stands for the colors red, green and blue. “For the first time, it was possible to generate 16 million colors with a laser beam,” Bopp explains. LOBO has also developed the first animation computers for laser shows and thus made the programming of 3D animations possible in the first place. The Swabian company also considers itself to be a pioneer for the transmission of laser light via fiber optic cables. Lothar Bopp has achieved a lot, but has no plans for slowing down. His credo: Always remaining on top of things, always being faster and better than the competition. Today, he does not need to worry about orders. The next projects are approaching fast: A large contract for an amusement park in Austria and preparations for the Halloween Festival in the Europa-Park Rust.
The majority of turnover is generated abroad
30 employees, primarily engineers, but also designers and an architect, are working for LOBO in Aalen. Here, almost all components of a laser system are manufactured. This large production depth allows for short delivery times thanks to flexible production, managing director Lothar Bopp says. Up to 15 engineers from various disciplines are involved in the conception, development and realization of an order. The interplay of high-tech and creativity results in laser animations projected onto mountains or water screens or installed in closed rooms. Tests and presentations for customers can be conducted in the company’s own multivision studio. Turnover “still is in the single-digit millions,” Bopp says. The export quota is 80 percent. A major share is generated outside of Europe. About 70% of turnover is made with the sale of hardware and software, another 30 percent with rentals.
Among the regular clients is the Europa-Park in Rust. The long-term business relationship has resulted in three permanent installations and numerous events. Companies such as BMW, Telekom, General Motors or Daimler-Chrysler use LOBO technology for product presentations, congresses or meetings. For the Holiday Park, LOBO has developed the laser show for this year’s “Summernights”. LOBO also cooperates closely with universities, such as the University of Applied Sciences Aalen.