A History Of Cameron Balloons And Don Cameron

Don Cameron studied aeronautical engineering at his home town in Glasgow and later at Cornell in the USA. He has received the gold, silver and bronze medals of the British Royal Aero Club for his ballooning achievements. Don was the first man to cross the Sahara by hot-air balloon and also the Alps and in 1990 made the first flight between the UK and what was then the USSR. In 1978 his attempt to make the premier Atlantic crossing by balloon ended when bad weather forced his helium-heated balloon down after a 2,000 mile flight from Canada. However, his dream came true in 1992 when he flew a balloon of his own design from Bangor, Maine, USA to Portugal and took second place in the first ever transatlantic balloon race.

Cameron Balloons of Bristol, UK was formed by Don in 1971 - five years after he constructed his first balloon. Together with its associate, Cameron Balloons US, the company produces on average more than one balloon a day - every day of the year - making it by far the world's largest manufacturer. In 1996 the company turnover was almost £7,000,000.

Originally, ballooning was Don's hobby, but he has turned it into a successful business. The company now aims not only to survive, or break even (Don's aims when the business was started) but to make a profit for its shareholders.

It is also a company that is keen to expand. It aims to produce 500 balloons a year and hit a turnover of over £10,000,000. Don wanted to establish the biggest balloon manufacturer in the world and to push out the boundaries of balloon production to the limits of the imagination - the special shapes balloons are the result of this dream.

Expansion also takes place through a process called 'diversification'. This is where a business looks at other market areas in which it could profitably sell. Cameron Balloons has diversified into a number of medical products.

Don built the first special shape balloon in 1975 and the company is especially famous for these creative designs, which now total more than 300. Shapes have included Disney's Fantasia castle, a dragon, a space shuttle, several cows and numerous cans, houses and bottles.

Don's present major projects are the design and construction of balloons capable of flying around the world non-stop. Cameron Balloons built four out of the five balloons that took part in the race in November 1997.

The next page has further information about the balloons that Cameron's produce.