India is for sure one of the powerhouse economies of the future, and with IES, Robe is well placed to take advantage of many opportunities.

The company was founded in 2002 by Rasesh Parekh and Kekul Sheth.

They originally met at engineering college in Mumbai, circa 1986-90, and immediately became friends. After graduating, both then went to the US to study for their respective master’s degrees, Rasesh in Biomedical Engineering and Kekul in Information Systems.

Even back then, they loved the entertainment and performance industry. Having a sound technical background, they returned to India and started their foray into entertainment sector technocracy, with intelligent lighting, a concept unheard of in India at the time!

They started their first business in 1996, initially for lighting sales where they spotted a big potential. At the time they were one of the first sole trading companies in this sector. The market was small, but they built their reputation on sales followed up with good after-service and product support.

By 2002, there was a clear need to expand into integrated solutions and a more comprehensive range of products and services encompassing all areas of technical production including audio and video, "Offering the very best experience, advice, products and technical support has always been our key philosophy," says Rasesh.

This attitude, plus their proven track record has been a solid base for attracting premium brands like Robe and Martin Audio, assured that they will be well supported in India.

IES's offices are at the heart of India's buzzing commercial and entertainment hub of central Mumbai, and currently there are 12 full time employees.

A lynchpin in IES's continued success was spotting the trend for convergence -particularly between lighting and video - early on, along with the benefits of using low energy, longer life and more sustainable lightsources like LEDs.

IES manufacturers its own LED controllers locally, along with accessories like DMX splitters and dimmers.

In 15 years, they have witnessed substantial change in the Indian market.

Being early up-takers in the supply of moving light technology, most of the first generation of investments into this in India was routed via IES. Along with it, they also influenced and educated people as to the creative potential of what could be achieved with this lighting. This era also saw the development of numerous long term relationships with rental companies, end users, designers and specifiers, including those who might not currently be buying from IES, but with whom they are still in touch and communicating regularly - keeping their finger 'on the pulse'.

The Indian show and production industry continues to grow, together with the events business and ubiquitous Bollywood plus its associated industries, where all the latest movies are now utilising moving lights. Lavish weddings are also a healthy source of income for designers, production companies and rental houses, and games and reality TV shows are big, providing constant business all the year round.

However “It's so much more than just about sales," says Rasesh.

Obviously it's still a major part of the equation, but both being engineers as well as smart businessmen, they understand the importance of reliable, fast, efficient technical support and reassurance. All are absolutely committed to ensuring that IES is second to none in this respect.

This was also one of many reasons making them ideal candidates for the Robe dealership, which they took on in April 2010.The two reasons IES wanted to work with Robe were firstly quality, and secondly competitive pricing - which is always an issue in India! "Robe also believes that human relationships are vital to sustaining a healthy business," says Rasesh "So there are many similarities in our thinking".In a short time, they have enjoyed great success with Robe, particularly with the 1200 and 2500 ColorSpot and ColorWash series', of which they have sold serious quantities, a feat recognised at the 2011 Robe International Distributor Conference where they won the 'Best Debuting Distributor' Award."The future is bright for both Robe and us," states Rasesh, eyes sparkling and with one of his trademark cheeky grins. "Especially with the new ROBIN range and the MMX being introduced. We have amazingly good products which are well priced, with fantastic support, all of which we can pass on to our clients".They also like Robe's attitude to technology, the constant evolutions happening in the R 'n' D and the quest to keep pushing the boundaries, "Robe's go-ahead mentality is very much in tune with ours," confirms Rasesh.The first sales of LEDWash 600 have just been confirmed and Rasesh concludes, "It's going to be a busy and successful year for us with Robe".