Vinten Wins Queen’s Award for Perfect Balance

Vinten has been recognised for its continuous innovation and development

The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the UK’s most prestigious awards for business performance. The innovation Award in particular recognises those organisations demonstrating substantial and sustained improvement in business performance and commercial success as a result of outstanding innovation in products or services.

Vinten has been recognised for its continuous innovation and development with its Perfect Balance technology – a unique and innovative engineering solution for professional television camera support.

“This outstanding recognition is a fitting tribute to the continuing success of the Vinten brand and its employees as it celebrates its 100th anniversary, an unprecedented achievement in its own right in the film and television industry” said Roger Wilson, Managing Director.

Since its foundation in 1910, Vinten has been a world-leading developer and manufacturer of camera supports including pan and tilt heads, tripods and pedestals. The introduction of Perfect Balance in the 1980s, which is unique to Vinten heads and pedestals, allowed the brand to branch out into a new sector which it had not previously served: the large and rapidly growing electronic news gathering (ENG) market, which favoured lightweight mountings. As a result of deploying Perfect Balance, Vinten was able to secure a leading position in this market globally, while at the same time doubling its sales.

Vinten is now renowned for Perfect Balance, the unrivalled ability to support a camera so that it appears weightless to the user. This, combined with fluid drag, ensures that the only moves the camera makes are those that the operator wants, with the camera remaining perfectly still – in any position – at the end of the move.

“Our dedicated employees work side by side with our customers to develop innovative new features and research work continues to develop future products encompassing the same goals with even more sophisticated technologies to deliver tangible benefits to our customers” concluded Wilson.

Vinten – 100 years of innovation

It was on 1 January 1910 that William Vinten opened his workshop for business, in Wardour Street London, as W Vinten Cinematograph Engineers. Vinten went on to become the founding company of what is today known as the Vitec Group and the Vinten brand has earned and maintained an unmatched reputation for innovative, operationally excellent, precision engineered products.

About Vinten

Vinten® is the global market leader in camera support technology for broadcast professionals, as well as corporate, education and government applications. The range covers manual heads, tripods and pedestals suitable for ENG, EFP, OB and studio environments. With 100 years' experience pioneering the world's broadcast and film industries, Vinten continues to provide the most innovative, intuitive camera support products available by working closely with today's camera support professionals and understanding their industry needs. Along with five other leading brands in the broadcast industry, Vinten is part of Camera Dynamics Ltd, a Vitec Group company.

The Vitec Group – capture the moment

The Vitec Group plc provides vital products and services that support the capture of exceptional images through world-class customer experience and a visionary approach to the future. It is a leading supplier to the broadcast and media, photographic and live events industries in more than 100 countries worldwide, and is rapidly extending its reach by taking proven technologies into government, security and defence. Vitec's many industry-leading product brands have established a formidable reputation for innovation, technical excellence, and superior service and support.
The group has over 1700 employees worldwide, and revenues in 2008 of £338 million. It is formed of three divisions to support specific industry sectors: VideoCom, including manual and robotic camera supports, location lighting, camera and equipment bags, portable power solutions, prompting products, wireless camera links and voice communication systems; Imaging and Staging, supporting the photography, videography and live events markets; and Services, for professional video and audio rental equipment and engineering support for major event productions.