Profiles - A Light-Hearted Look at Industry Personalities

Augusto Andraghetti

Managing Director, Spotlight

No. 152 in a continuing series

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Augusto Andraghetti's involvement in the entertainment field started in 1969, when he was still a student and his father, along with a Mr. Fantini, decided to start up a company - Andraghetti and Fantini - dealing with professional lighting equipment.

At the beginning the young Augusto acted as a "factotum" for the company, assisting with everything from technical service and helping in the sales office to general office boy and driver! After completing his studies at the Faculty of Engineering at his university, he devoted himself more specifically to the technical sector and particularly to research and development of new products.

"At that time, the products were more simple than nowadays, halogen lamps were an absolute novelty, and the range of products was very limited and very much the same for theatres, discos (at that time night clubs) and musicals. They were all using more or less the same products and the market was strictly a domestic one," he explains.

"With time, the increase of activity, and the age of the founding partners meant an increasing involvement for me within the company particularly with its development and progression. In 1982, the original Andraghetti & Fantini became Spotlight srl for which I am still today the majority partner and managing director, although I have never stopped taking care of the technical and development side of the business."

The opening of new markets, particularly in Europe, and Augusto's passion for travelling soon led him to back-up the company's export activities and sales of Spotlight's products abroad. This, together with the import of complementary products of lighting fixtures and allied equipment, also meant that they could offer their home market customers a more complete range of products and services.

"This represented for me a very important evolution since it allowed me to broaden my personal and human acquaintances in many other countries and fields," explains Augusto. "Consequently, in addition to a steady increase in our turnover, I have often succeeded in establishing long-lasting business relations. Many of our international dealers have been working with us for over 15 years and in many cases the initial business relationship has evolved into excellent personal friendships."

Along with this, after approximately 12 years as a member of APIAS (the association of Italian manufacturers for the entertainment industry), Augusto was appointed President of the Association in 1996.

What he considered as something of a hobby at the beginning, has now brought with it (in addition to an increased numbers of members) many initiatives and engagements, most recently the recent launch of a new exhibition - ‘Show-Way' - that is being organised directly by the Association (see story in ET issue 151).

"Today, market globalisation has led me, as managing director of Spotlight, to work more and more within a broader international context. This is from both a technical point of view, with the specific evolution and specialization of the products that have been upgraded from the simple 500W Fresnel of the seventies to the computerised remote-controlled 5000W projectors for professional use today, and from the commercial side to an ever increasing internationalisation of the customers thanks also to our participation in the major specialised exhibitions worldwide (we now exhibit at no less than 10 shows every year!).

"In general terms, across all these years, I have however followed a basic philosophy, and that is to try and lead the company founded by my father to constant growth, not just in terms of mere size, but also in terms of quality. And not only for products and service (ISO 9000), but especially in terms of the intrinsic quality of the company itself, with the steady building of an image of reliability and professionalism that I trust is now recognized and established not only here in Italy."

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