Bye-bye, Bowens...

In another shock for the photographic industry, leading studio flash manufacturer, Bowens International, is going into liquidation. The company, founded in London, with a history stretching back over 90 years, first started producing electronic flash systems in 1950. Distributed in over 60 countries, the gear has long been a mainstay of professional photographers.

First reported on DIY Photography, we are yet to hear an official announcement from Bowens, however Broncolor Lighting Manager for Hasselblad UK, Chris Burfoot, reported hearing some news, via his Twitter account.

A little over a year ago, both Bowen and Calumet were acquired by an investment company, Aurelius (the “good home” for companies), and clearly that might have been the beginning of the end. Incidentally, Calumet Photographic closed their doors in the USA after 75 years, filing for bankruptcy in 2014.

Rumours of Bowens’ financial predicament first began circulating in early 2016 when they pulled out of the UK’s biggest photography event, The Photography Show, at the last minute. At the time, Bowen tacked the rumours head-on, indicating the only reason they withdrew was because they had not yet perfected their new product line.

An update on the situation appeared on the Petapixel website yesterday:

Update on 7/16/17: While we have yet to hear official word from AURELIUS/Bowens, a source familiar with the situation has reached out to confirm the liqudation.

“Yes, all UK staff (including China factory) were informed that the company is going into liquidation,” the source says. “We were aware the company was facing problems and have all been working long days to pull company through a hard time, but we never thought it would end.”

The source also states that the UK employees were shocked by the development and are upset over how it is being handled. There is supposedly uncertainty regarding whether or not they will be paid for the previous months work or any work during the liquidation process.