GP Associate Editor Barry Cleveland
“When Uli Behringer decided to throw a party for his company’s major dealers and a handful of journalists from around the globe, he didn’t cut any corners. Besides being Behringer’s 20th anniversary, it was the seventh anniversary of its huge manufacturing plant in Zhongshan, and all 2,900 Chinese employees were invited to the festivities. In the days leading up to the big bash, I and the other 90-plus guests were treated to a dinner cruise around Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor (complete with a huge laser light show involving 40 skyscrapers), a sightseeing tour, an outdoor dinner feast prepared by the Hakka people in their mountain resort, and a two-hour tour of the enormous “Behringer City” manufacturing facility. When we arrived at the party on the final evening, we were ushered into a colossal hall, where nearly 3,000 people were wildly cheering, clapping, taking photos, and basically going crazy as we worked our way along the red carpet to our VIP tables—making us feel like the Beatles at Shea Stadium! The party festivities featured fireworks displays, multiple dance troupes (including hip hop and Tibetan), acrobats, martial artists, traditional Chinese “face changers,” two rock bands, and an endless stream of sumptuous cuisine. The world may be in recession, but you sure wouldn’t have known it looking around the room that night.” —Barry Cleveland