Sourcing and manufacturing excellence: world-class, environmentally-friendly facilities, well-invested, highly automated and lean factories, with a continuous improvement culture

Sourcing and manufacturing excellence is one of Videndum’s core competitive strengths. We make the majority (c.75%) of the products we sell in house which gives us greater control of the technology, stronger profit margins and a stronger competitive position.

The Group’s three major manufacturing sites in the UK, Italy and Costa Rica are certified ISO 9001 quality management, ISO 14001 environmental management and ISO 45001 health and safety.

Videndum's supply chain is efficient, and our people are highly trained and multi-skilled. We procure materials from reputable suppliers and makes our products in efficient and environmentally friendly operations and, where appropriate, manufacture or source from lower-cost countries such as Costa Rica. Where economically and technically feasible, the Group insources production, especially when Videndum’s sites have stronger environmental credentials than those of external finished goods suppliers. This helps to improve our overall carbon footprint.

The majority of our operations are relatively low-volume, small-batch processes and Videndum’s continuous improvement culture enables us to optimise global operations. We manufacture c.10x more tripods than our closest competitor and we have implemented lean manufacturing and automation to maximise quality, service and efficiency, while reducing costs. Most of our factories are vertically integrated which means we produce many of our components in-house. The 2022 acquisition of Audix expanded our manufacturing footprint in the USA which is a key enabler of our audio strategy. We operate a Group global sourcing office in Shenzhen, China where the team supports vendor management, quality control and product development with strategic vendors across APAC. This further enhances productivity and time to market.

Feltre, Italyplus

Videndum Centre of Excellence for high volume heads and tripods

Videndum manufactures 80% of the supports for its Media Solutions Division in our Italian facility, across our Manfrotto, Gitzo and Avenger and JOBY brands. The 320,000 ft2 site was established in 1986 and employs around 400 people. Videndum is the largest manufacturer of branded supports in the world, with over three million units produced annually. As a result of our investment in people, lean processes and automation, our premium supports are produced more efficiently in Italy than elsewhere. "Made in Italy" is a distinct competitive advantage in this market and in 2017 we moved the manufacturing of our Manfrotto Befree Advanced tripod from China to Italy. Our new automatic aluminium tube cutting and punching machine is capable of producing one tube every four seconds, is seamlessly linked to the new assembly lines and gives a high throughput of consistently high quality products. This tube machine received its Industry 4.0 certification at the end of 2017.

Ashby-de-la-Zouch, UKplus

Videndum Centre of Excellence for Media Solutions lighting controls

Videndum acquired the Lastolite lights business in 2011 for its Media Solutions Division and has transformed this factory into its specialist centre for the production of lighting controls, reflectors, backgrounds, umbrellas, soft boxes and flash accessories. With around 60 people, the 43,000 ft2 factory produces 360,000 high quality, durable units annually. This business has remained highly competitive against mainly Far Eastern competitors due to its continuous improvement methodology and the experienced gained from its sister facility in Italy. In 2023, manufacturing of the Rycote brand audio products were consolidated into the Ashby-de-la-Zouch site. 

Cartago, Costa Ricaplus

Videndum Centre of Excellence for low volume heads, tripods and batteries

Videndum selected Costa Rica for one of our main manufacturing and engineering facilities because of its well-educated workforce, its proximity to our largest market (North America) and its lower cost base with tariff incentives. The Costa Rica facility manufactures high end heads, tripods and camera accessories for the Vinten, Sachtler, OConnor and Anton/Bauer brands for the broadcast and cine markets in the Production Solutions Division. The site was established in 1985 and has approximately 190 employees producing over 180,000 products annually, in a 6,000 sq. m. facility, with potential for further expansion. The Costa Rica facility has invested heavily in introducing lean principles to make it one of the most efficient manufacturing facilities in the region. The Cartago site is currently being expanded to accommodate production of the Anton/Bauer Salt-E-Dog sustainable mobile power product and also consolidation of manufacturing of Wooden Camera products from Dallas, USA.

Bury St. Edmunds, UKplus

Videndum Centre of Excellence for robotics and Flowtech

Videndum's Production Solutions Division relocated its Bury St. Edmunds operation into a new, purpose-built site in 2018. Replacing the 50-year old existing factory, the new facility specialises in advanced technology in areas such as robotics, automation and broadcast studio equipment for our Vinten and Sachtler brands. It includes a fully automated, highly efficient and proprietary process for the development of carbon fibre for the Flowtech tripod, which maintains our product differentiation and competitive edge. Videndum has invested significantly in the new, 66,000 ft2 site which houses around 210 people across manufacturing, engineering, operations and other functions, and produces approximately 60,000 units annually. Our focus on continuous improvement has led to productivity, work flow and space utilisation improvements and has enabled us to increase our production capacity in 40% less space.