Manfrotto Group

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The Manfrotto Group is manufacturer of camera and lighting supports based in Bassano del Grappa, Italy. It is owned by the UK company Vitec Group^[1], which purchased the company in 1989.

1 History
2 Competition
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

Lino Manfrotto, an Italian photojournalist, began designing light stands, booms, and telescopic rods in the late 1960s. In 1972 Lino Manfrotto met Gilberto Battocchio, a technician working for a Bassano mechanical firm. In 1974, the company introduced its first tripod. The company grew, and in 1986 Manfrotto, already with 6 plants in Bassano, landed in Feltre, in the industrial zone of Villapaiera, establishing 5 plants in the space of two years. Vitec purchased the French company Gitzo in 1992 and the American company Bogen in 1993.^[2] Vitec chose to maintain the separate brands as separate lines in its portfolio. In the US, Manfrotto products are distributed by Bogen Imaging under the brand name Bogen/Manfrotto.

[edit] Competition

Manfrotto/Bogen's main competition on the low end is from such brands as Velbon, Canon and Slik, and on the high end from Gitzo (which, as noted above, is part of the same group). Manfrotto is distinguished from the likes of Slik by virtue of not making one-piece tripods; the legs and head in all cases are sold separately, and interchangeable.