The story
Panther GmbH was founded in 1986 by Erich Fitz. It specialized in the production, sales, and rental of film equipment. In 1990, Panther and its HTG GmbH subsidiary (founded in 1988), moved to Oberhaching. In 1991, two more rental outlets opened in Prague and Hamburg. In 1999 Fitz decided, because of the expansion, to build new premises, which opened in 2001.
In 2008, at the Cinec in Munich, Panther celebrated the 25th anniversary of producing Panther Dollies and presented the 1000th electro–mechanical dolly, which was built in gold for the occasion.
In 2010, Panther developed the Tristar and opened an outlet in Berlin. A year later, the Fitz family changed their strategy and ended their rental business as they did not want to compete with their customers. Panther Rental Prague was sold to ARRI. In 2012. Panther Rental points in Munich, Hamburg, and Berlin were sold to a subsidiary of Bavaria Studios and Production Services, to complete the strategy changes met in 2011.
Andreas Fitz, son of Erich, bought all shares from his family and became Executive President of the company. Thereafter, the company concentrated on the development and distribution of dollies and cranes.
From Wikipedia’s article on Panther (company), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5