manfrotto

Manfrotto

The Beginning

At the end of the '60s Lino Manfrotto was a photo reporter in Bassano del Grappa for Il Gazzettino and Il Giornale di Vicenza. He was also engaged in industrial and advertising photography. The photographer’s studio equipment was cumbersome, heavy and did not facilitate the work of professionals. The market offered a wide range of studio flash-units and quartz illuminators, but completely neglected basic accessories such as stands, booms and clamps.

Thus, with the help of a collaborator, Lino Manfrotto made his first products, including a light and sturdy lamp stand, that was finally high enough. For a couple of years he produced just a few pieces to meet the needs of his photographer friends. Later he decided to present them on an international level, obtaining his first significant order from a Swiss distributor.

The garage became a production workshop. It was there that the first Manfrotto booms, telescopic rods and other stands were manufactured. He soon realized that the production capacity was insufficient to address all the orders from customers.