Vinten Turns 100

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Wed, 01/27/2010 - 19:00 -- Nick Dager

Vinten a Vitec Group brand is celebrating its 100th anniversary as a manufacturer of camera support technology.    It was on January 1 1910 that William Vinten already widely known as an accomplished mechanical engineer took over a Wardour Street workshop in London and opened his own business – first repairing then designing and building cameras. That same month on January 7 1910 the new company received its first order for 25 Kinemacolor machines (high-speed film projectors for the Edison color system) at £28 each. When television first appeared on the scene Vinten naturally took an active interest. Before the advent of video recording the only way to archive content was on film often using a Vinten camera. By the early 1950s the new techniques of television production were being developed where cameras needed to move freely around the studio floor. While others tried to adapt film camera supports Vinten realized that a totally new type of system was needed. In 1956 the first hydropneumatic pedestal – a design that many said couldn’t be built – was delivered. “The type 419 pedestal was a remarkable achievement and the principles on which it was built are still in use in today’s Quattro pedestals ” says Roger Wilson managing director. “That encapsulates much of what is good about Vinten. We achieved something no other manufacturer could through bold innovation in design and very high quality high precision engineering and manufacture. Those Vinten values are as true today as they have been for the last 100 years. Most importantly they will remain the cornerstone of Vinten well into the future. We will of course be celebrating with all our staff and our customers during the course of the year but our main focus will be on continuing to apply our innovations to new products for 2010 and beyond.”