The year was 1970.
Gas was 36 cents a gallon, Paul McCartney was still a Beatle, and China launched their first satellite. Bob McGraw was buying an Angenieux 25-250mm cinema lens, which would become the first of hundreds of rental lenses at Cinequipt in Minneapolis.
Bob was active with Cinequipt until his passing in 2000, when his two daughters, Dawn and Kellie, took over operations. In 2002, Cinequipt acquired Lighthouse, a lighting and grip rental company in Minneapolis. In 2006, Cinequipt moved to its current location: a 25,000 sq ft space that currently houses two production studios, a sales office, and Red Star Rentals’ Minneapolis location.
Cinequipt was acquired by Red Star Pictures in 2021, connecting the Minneapolis film and video community with Red Star’s nationwide rental inventory of film and video production equipment. Equipment rentals are handled by the Red Star Rental brand, and sales and studio rentals are provided by Cinequipt.
