E-line International SIB Februar 1995

Lobo electronic was founded in Ellwangen, Germany by Lothar Bopp, trading initially with discotheque equipment and electronic as well as custom made light Control systems. In 1984, the company moved to Aalen, in the South of Germany, and registered as sole proprietorship. In ehe same year, the company parricipated for the first time as she "discotec 84" in Dusseldorf and decided, due the considerable demand, to take up "lasers" in their product range. After testing a number of existing laser systems on the market, it was evident, that most of the laser control systems showed numeralls shortcomings regarding operating camfort and workmanship and did not come to the quality standard, which the company's owner, Lothar Bopp. had expected, resulting in a decision to develop his own laser system. AIthough an extremely difficult and time consuming task, by the end of 1986, the high-capacity laser system LACON-2 could be presented at the "discotec 86" in Dusseldorf and subsequently, in Rimini for the "SIB 1987" . This system, combined with the newly developed RGB colour mixing unit, won the "SIB-Award" for the best laser technique. At this point, he decided to continue to develop and perfect the systems. Thus began the work and cost intensive development period of the "LACON-3" animation computer, which became, with its 60 MIPS (mega instructions per second) the fastest laser animation computer worldwide. The goal of this research was co create a system, which was superior in quality and functions to all other systems on the market. The "LACON-3" was introduced in 1988 at the "discotec" in Dusseldorf, where it received considerable interest from clients and the public. The first presentation of this systems at a foreign fair was made at the "SIB 89" in Rimini Italy. Despite doubts, due to the relatively high price, the LACON-3 system was received with enthusiasm and sales increased considerably. It was now an appropriate time to push sales of the LACON-3 systems throughout Europe. The year 1990 became the "year of the fairs" seeing LOBO electronic participating at ten fairs, in places like London, Graz, Madrid, Rimini and Cologne. In the meantime the company had grown to 10 employees, most of them graduate engineers with different technical specialisations as well as freelance colleagues . By 1991 the LACON-3 and the RGB colour mixing method were completely accepted- a new market standard had been created This was further confirmed by the "Innovation Awards State", to the company an important industry prize awarded by the Minister for Economy and Trade. There followed many outstanding in stallation such as the BMW museum in Munich and the IMAX cinema in Linz. Continous development has turned the single product "LACON-3" into a complete series incorporating the LACON-3 Player Unit, the LACON-3 plus Player Unit as well as the unsurpassed LACON-3 plus. In principal, the LACON-3 plus combines two LACON- 3 units enabling a 4-channel projection of laser graphics. The increased production neccessitated a move to a building with more than 1,000 sq. m. In ordert to meet the growing demand, studios with the latest equipment for the creation of multivision shows were required in the field of optoelectronics. The sole proprierorship "LOBO electronic" became "LOBO electronic GmbH" a limited company with Grad .lng. (FH) Lothar Bopp as the managing direcror. Sales grew also in other user fields, such as planetariums, leisure parks, etc. Audiovisual systems for product presentations were also hired to industrial companies. By 1992, LOBO was established as one of the leading companies in the field of laser technique in the world. Sales streched from South America to the Far East as well as rental shows in the Gulf region. Not only due to the numerous rental shows and outdoor events using laser systems but also in order to shorten the set-up time, LOBO developed the LASER TRUCK, which set new standards in field services. This mobile large-size laser system consist of two fully air-conditioned 16-ton standard containers, equipped with LOBO's stare-of-the-art laser systems.

In 1993 the company had increased to 25 employees and expanding its business activities to Asia and participated for the first time at the fair "Pro Audio & Light" in Singapore. The most recent fair project, the "LDI" show in Orlando, Florida, is considered to be the springboard for the North American market. This has paid off, as LOBO received the LDI Award for the best laser performance. At the beginning of 1994 another segment of the product range - the ECONOMY LINE was presented at the Musik messe in Frankfurt and at SIB in Rimini .

Product Range

LOBO electronic offers a complere range of products in the field of show and animation lasers, which includes electronics, precision engineering and optics as well as the software required for the animation computer and the design and creation of laser and multivision shows. All systems are completely developed and manufactured by LOBO.

In the field of laser control systems, LOBO offers the LACON- 3 or the LACON-3 plus - Player Unit and also programmable laser animation computers like the LACON-2, LACON-3 and LACON-3 plus (software included). Moreover, graphics scanner units of the series AMP (by the way, 1500 of them have already been produced) belong to the range as well as the additional SICON-3 and POCON-3 units. Automatic camera digitizing systems of the series ACD5 in black/white or in colour versions turns the compact laser animation desk LAD-5 into the optimal "tool" for the professional designer or the show producer.

Compact ready-to-use systems like the Laserbox LGP-I or the ECONOMY LINE, which is a synthesis of the state-of-the-art laser technology, easiest handling with the highest quality standard at a reasonable price.

Optomechanical components such as the colour mixing units of the series RGB, breadboards of rhe type BG/BK for easy installation of complete systems, beam deflection units OBS as well as the most recent innovation , the Grating Box GTB-5.

As a pioneer in the use of glass fibers LOBO offers a wide variety of high capacity glass fibers with a high degree of efficiency in every conceivable length. Also all sorts of connector adapters, collimators and units for glass fiber projection in different versions, e.g. for ourdoor usage.

LOBO's partly motor-driven mirror system is available as indoor or weather-proof outdoor version for deflecting beams and effects.

LOBO's DS-3000 desk system is made of fireproof sheet-steel, which can be combined in various ways to hause 19" devices for studios, control rooms or discotheques.

Services

All audio-visual products can, of course, be rented for events, product presentations, etc. as well as a full backup service including storyboard, production and stage direction for laser and multivision shows. Furthermore, the customer may choose more than 100 combinations of standard shows from the software library. As an alternative a brand-new LOBO product is the water screen. The principle of this system is based on modular designed water distribution segments which can be arranged at will. The segments are 2m wide and are used with up to submersible motor pumps, which push the water up to a height of 15 meter, depending on the kind of nozzles chosen. Now front on rear projection can be made onto a spectacular water curtain.

The Company

LOBO electronic represents high tech and quality in the field of show and animation lasers throughout the world. In order to maintain these high standards, the company is divided into several departments. The laser laboratory is equipped wirh the most modern equippment to provide the basis for intensive test and research projects, which lead to numerous and, in some cases, revolutionary developments. All electronic systems even up to the animation computers are designed and developed by LOBO. The designing engineers set the highest value on quality and reliability. Before delivery, all systems are subjected to detailed inspections and lengthy trials. The software and CAD department is responsible for programming the operating systems for the laser animation computers and for the computer-aided design of circuit boards and mechanical components. LOBO's ergonomically designed producton and assembly areas guarantee a high standard of quality. Besides laser technique, additional multivision equipment is available. such as computer-controlled slide projectors, HDTV beamers, video editing desks, projection robots, etc. Prior to each project, intensive planning, consultative work and sometimes also pre-visits to job-sites are carried out. A team of designers and engineers is on hand for this important task. From the agreed concept, the storyboard is made, the phases are designed and eventually the images and graphics are digitized. An important factor for customer acquisition and service is the presentation of the company's products at various fairs at home and abroad. LOBO's own fair department organizes spectacular fair stands with elaborate designs and sophisticated shows. The next time you think lasers, think LOBO!