Velbon was established in 1955 in Kobe City as the SANSEI PHOTO Co. LTD. The early business handled cameras as well as photo accessories. Some years later SANSEI PHOTO Co. LTD split into two companies, one as a wholesale distribution company, the other as a manufacturer of tripods. The wholesale company continues to this day, as HAKUBA PHOTO INDUSTRY Co. LTD. The tripod manufacturing company is proudly named VELBON.
Many people ask: Why Velbon? The name comes from the fact that in Japanese the r and l sound is actually the same. So the VEL in Velbon is partially from the Japanese pronunciation of VERy and the French word BON (which means good). These two words were combined as a new word and a new trademark: VELBON. It’s short for VERY GOOD!
Early on, Velbon’s manufacturing base was in the USA. Its company name was Velbon International Corp., located in Torrance, Southern California. After major currency exchange rate changes between the Japanese YEN and the US dollar occurred at the end of the 1970’s, taking the Yen from 306 yen to 240 yen to the American dollar, Velbon decided to close its US manufacturing base and use it only for sales & marketing purposes.
Manufacturing moved to Taiwan, in the bustling technology city of Kaohsiung. Soon two Velbon factories were producing Victory-Series, DV/H-Series, and D-Series tripods, all employing the now-famous Dempokan (D-profile) tripod leg. Both Taiwan factories were very successful and product quality achieved new levels. Taiwan’s Economy developed rapidly; labor costs rose to levels very close to that of Japan. Once again Tamron looked for new manufacturing facilities to ensure affordability of its premium products.
Velbon established a manufacturing base in China in 1991, years before the current Chinese boom. Production increased and gradually shifted from Taiwan to Mainland China. There the new Chaser tripod range was assembled. When die-molds for this line were finally moved to China Velbon was achieving world-competitive pricing, while offering leading edge quality. But Velbon needed help in marketing. It turned to long-time UK partner and distributor, INTRO 2020 LTD to come up with a new name to launch this tripod family worldwide. The new name was SHERPA. Today, it’s one of the most successful tripod series in the Velbon product family. Further development has produced the SHERPA PRO range, Carbon Fiber legs and Magnesium alloy heads. These two tripod ranges are known in Japan, parts of Asia and the USA market, as Carmagne, (derived from the words Carbon and Magnesium].
Velbon Range Now Numbers 5 Families of Tripod
SHERPA , SHERPA PRO, ULTRA / MAXi, CX- (DF, C-), VIDEO
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VELBON’s ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
Velbon’s manufacturing facility in China obtained ISO 14001 international environmental certification.
Carbon composite materials are completed in Japan, constructed from tube-sections with patented inner ridge structures for extra strength, in France. Today, carbon composites are at the centre of materials advances in the aircraft and car industries worldwide. Velbon first employed composites as far back as 1993. At the same time Velbon was the first to introduce Magnesium alloys in the tripod industry. Today, some of the world’s smallest notebook computers depend on the same exotic metal for their light weight and strength.
Velbon always seeks new and innovative solutions that create tripods that are compact, light, but taller than competing designs, with unsurpassed levels of durability. Velbon wants you to have the tripod that’s exactly right for your imaging needs. We’re sure you’ll find the tripod that will help you make your pictures, not just better, but the best!
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