Geoff started off doing an electrical engineering apprenticeship and working with bands in his spare time, bitten by ‘the bug’ and acquiring sound and lighting kit along the way ... Initially enough to fill a 2 tonne truck.

Powa first purchased Robe moving lights shortly after the brand was launched in 2002 … and has continued to expand steadily and substantially since then, with Geoff still retaining his enthusiasm and passion for delivering shows to the highest standards.

He decided to take the ‘one-stop-shop’ approach when he started Powa Productions so he could offer a comprehensive full production service to his clients. The company works across the whole of Australia, and also currently also has its own trucks as well as crew buses to ensure both technicians and kit arrive at destination in a timely manner.

A Jimmy Barnes tour in 2003 prompted Geoff to purchase the first moving lights, which were Robe’s ColorSpot and ColorWash 575E AT series … and the relationship both with Robe and Australian distributor The ULA Group has developed from there. Robe was the ‘new-kid-on-the-block’ at the time, and Geoff fancied something different and more exciting than the other options on offer.

He was delighted with the investment and the robustness of the lights. In fact, those initial units are still going out on shows and events today  ... although it’s the newer generations of Robe fixtures which have bulked out the stock as they have come to the market!

“Reliability was how Robe was originally sold to me” recalls Geoff, “And that’s proved itself time and again!”

Powa now has around 200 Robe fixtures in its rental stock including, LEDWash 600s, LEDBeam 100s, MMX Spots, ColorWash 1200E ATs, ColorSpot 700E ATs, the original ColorSpot and Wash 575E ATs … and some ColorSpot and ColorWash 250E ATs.

They supply all sectors of the entertainment and leisure industry – concerts, festivals and touring as well as corporates, theatrical and comedy productions.

The LEDWash 600s are currently his favourite fixture. “They work incredibly hard  ... basically all scenarios need wash lights, and these are small, bright, and light and have great colour mixing!”

In the 15 years since his first Robe purchase, he’s seen the brand win global recognition and others invest over the years, including the country’s leading rental operations like Bytecraft, PRG, MPH Productions, Elite Productions and various others.

“Once Robe brings a product to market it now seems to get established extremely quickly,” he comments, adding that BMFLs – in which he is very interested “Came at exactly the right time”.

Geoff is very much a hands-on managing director and likes to be out there are the sharp-end co-ordinating projects on site and living the challenges and inventive solutions that his engineers sometimes encounter.

Work has included  the Red Hot Summer tour featuring iconic artists like Jimmy Barnes, rockers Noiseworks, The Angels, Mark Seymour & the Undertow and the Badloves, for which the lighting was designed by Simon Johnson for Jimmy Barnes. Powa also supplied the high profile John Farnham concert in the beautiful Werribee Park setting, which originally specified a competitor product, which they successfully swapped for Robe.

Most of the shows Powa services will come with a design and a specification in place, and when Robe is not the moving light brand, they will negotiate a substitution.

“I’m actually now finding Robe on more and more specs in the first place,” he observes, adding that many riders emanating in Europe will have Robe as the first or second choice.

“The products are bright and the reliability and quality engineering has really proved itself over the years. As a busy rental company you can put out a rig with Robe in complete confidence that it’s going to work and continue working!”

Powa Productions currently has 20 full time staff and around 15 almost full time freelancers and has also recently developed its own 14 metre high aluminium dome stage system.