Koltech Gets the ESPRITE Spirit with Robe

	(l-r) Yossi Bendavid with Shlomi Avitan. Photo: Louise Stickland

Be'er-Sheva, Israel-based lighting rental specialist Koltech has invested in 24 new Robe ESPRITE moving lights to add to its rental inventory, which now includes over 150 Robe moving lights.

The company was founded in 2007 by Yossi Bendavid, who calls the ESPRITE "a great all-round workhorse luminaire and a professional-level spot fixture which is the lightest, brightest and most efficient currently available in its class."

He is a lighting designer as well as running the company, and he and his crew, including other regular lighting designers like Mor Avitan, were impressed by the ESPRITE's framing shutters and the gobos as well as the pure flat beam output, completely devoid of hot spots and edge-fringing. "The optics offer a seriously quality look," he confirms.

Bendavid emphasizes that to meet the demands of contemporary shows, fixtures must be adaptable, as so many events in Israel get confirmed with very short lead times, especially now when everything is very volatile in the Middle East. So, with this in mind, it's vital to be flexible throughout the planning and production lifecycle of any concert, show, event, or broadcast, and have lights that are good for any scenario.

Also critical to any major business investment like this is the distributor relationship, and Bendavid highlights the "brilliant" one that he enjoys with Danor Systems Ltd, and because of this, Koltech now works almost exclusively with Robe moving light products.

Avitan recently used the ESPRITES for a show by Be'er-Sheva's Holit Dance Company, and he loves the lights. He is the son of Bendavid's business partner and co-founder of Koltech, Shlomi Avitan, and has worked in the company since the age of ten. As they have always had Robe onboard, he's grown up with the brand.

Koltech likes to be a trailblazer. Apart from this new ESPRITE purchase, it is the first company in Israel to have Robe's TetraX 360-degree rotating linear LED batten in rental stock, other than Danor Rental, which is related to the distribution.

A few years back, they were also the first to invest in the Pointe, and Koltech is still the only operation in the country with the LEDWash 800 LED wash beam. More recently, in 2024, they also bought LEDBeam 150s, further building a great selection of Robe options.

However, the first Robe purchase dates to 2012 with MMX Spots. Bendavid comments that any fixture still working well after ten years of active service "is great value," and a real testament to the quality engineering and design of the products.

Based in Israel's seventh largest city and the biggest in the southern Negev desert region, they now have 20 full-time employees plus freelancers as needed, delivering lighting solutions to their busy and diverse client base, working at concerts, outdoor festivals, a whole range of corporate / business events, and arts projects.