History

The history of Profoto

Profoto was founded in 1968, in Stockholm, by photographer and engineer Eckhard Heine and photo equipment retailer Conny Dufgran, both Swedish. Their relationship started out with mr Dufgran selling mr Heine a new flash unit - that didn't work. Annoyed with the failing unit, mr Heine went home and invented a new type of flash, with the focus on durability. Simply by walking around in Stockholm for two weeks, he immediately sold 25 units. Profoto was born - with a bang - and a few months later Eckhard Heine and Conny Dufgran launched the new Pro-1 generator internationally at the Photokina trade show in Cologne.

The Pro-1 - sensationally rugged and low-weight

The most obvious unique selling point of the Pro-1 was its low weight of only 8 kg. At the time, electronic flash generators typically weighed 25 kg or more. After the Photokina trade show in Cologne, Germany, agents were picked up in Norway, Belgium, Italy and France. During the first year, Profoto sold over 50 units of the Pro-1.

The Pro-1 also had another feature that set it apart from the competition: it was extremely rugged. When the French agent in 1970 wanted to introduce it to the Zoom photography magazine, he simply lifted it from the concrete floor and let it fall, over and over again, then showing the journalist that it still flashed. The result was a three-page-article and immediate sales of over 100 units.

Mid-70s - breakthrough in Japan

During the 1970s, Profoto cooperated on several markets with the fellow Swedish photo equipment provider Hasselblad. In the beginning of 1975, three units of the Pro-1 were sent to Hasselblad agent in Tokyo, for testing. After almost a year of market evalutation, and agog waiting in Stockholm, a whopping 170 units were ordered in only four weeks. The Japanese market, where the equipment was to be used 24/7 for rental, had suddenly become the dominant one.

In 1976, Profoto also launched its second generation, the Pro-2, featuring a new safer plug and the introduction of a fan-cooled flash head, that made it possible to work even harder with the generator.

The 80s - breakthrough in the US

During the 80s, product development was speeding up, with the Pro-3A (1984) and the Pro-5 family (1987) as the major milestones, going from the earlier more simplistic designs to a modern system of easy-to-use family of generators and light shaping tools. The Pro-5 series, for instance, comprised of five different units, from 1200 to 4800 Ws, and was sold in a variety of kits.

The 80s was also the time when the American market was won. One key incident happened in the mid-80s. Oleh Sharanevych, future owner of the famous TREC Rental studio in New York, set up a Pro-3A to flash every three seconds, in order to test its durability. He then forgot about it only to find the unit three days later, still dutifully flashing. The generator had output around 90 000 flashes without failing or overheating. With results speaking for themselves, Profoto quickly established a very strong market position in New York, and then the rest of the US.

The 90s - conquering rental studios

The extremely fast Pro-6, launched in 1993, marked the beginning of Profoto''s dominance in the fashion photography market, in particular in rental studios all over the world. With the Pro-7, launched in 1998, the position was even further strengthened, and when we launched our first battery generator, the Pro-7b, in 1999, it was the first step into a more diversified product portfolio.

The 21st century - broadening our offer

The new millennium has already seen more product news than the last two decades together. With the Profoto D4, the world saw a flash generator like no other, with four asymmetric outlets, extreme control and colour stability, as well as a vast range of 8 f-stops and a maximum output of 4800 Ws.

On the important and growing market for battery generators, Profoto first launched the Pro-B2, improving even further on the Pro-7b, then, in 2007, it launched the AcuteB 600R, creating a new class of battery generators, when 600 Ws and a 7 f-stop range all of sudden was possible to bring anywhere - anytime.

Finally, the 2000:s also have seen the broad introduction of wireless radio sync, from the new ComPactR:s and the AcuteB to the Pro-B2 and the Acute2R.