Broncolor

Broncolor is a manufacturer of professional photographic lighting equipment based near Basel in Allschwil, Switzerland. The privately owned-company was set up in 1948, and markets products created by Dimitry Rebikoff, an engineer and photojournalist before taking over the business after Rebikoff retired. With the advent of color photography in the 1960s, the company grew significantly. Current series of Broncolor products include Bron Kobold and Visatec.The Focal Encyclopedia described Broncolor as "the leading Swiss manufacturer" of generator systems.
History
Brothers Pierre and Joseph Bron founded Bron & Co. in 1948. The following year the company marketed products created by Dimitry Rebikoff. After World War II, Rebikoff experimented and improved on flash devices leading to the development of his own flash units. Later, he appointed the Bron brothers as distributors for Switzerland. In 1953, Rebikoff withdrew from the business handing over manufacturing to Bron and Co. In 1958, the brothers established Bron Electronik AG. In 1962 Pierre Bron acquired all shares to the company becoming the sole proprietor. The company grew modestly in the early part of the decade. Interest in color photography in the 1960s in advertising and fashion prompted the company to adopt broncolor as its brandname.
In 1982, Bron Elektronik moved to its new production centre in the Allshwil industrial zone. Eight years later, Pierre Bron handed charge of the company to his son Jacques, who is the current head of the company. The unit featured asymmetric and symmetric power distribution. Its output was selectable across 3 f-stops in ½ stop increments. Two of its special characteristics were the rotating prism of the deactivatable photocell and of the infrared receiver for amplifying the incident light signal as well as the safety bracket, which electrically secured the four lamp base outlets with a microswitch. It was followed in 1980 by the 404 Servor, the first power pack equipped with infrared remote control.
# Bron Kobold, a line of HMI lights for video and film production.

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