BarTech Engineering was founded in 1997 by Jim Bartell, the former head of Electrical Engineering for Cinema Products Corporation. Jim had worked for CPC for seven years, designing the electronics in most of the current Steadicams still being manufactured today as well many other types of products, including editing equipment and lens control systems. Along the way he received an Academy Technical Achievement Award and an Emmy Engineering Award. Jim left CPC in 1997 to found BarTech Engineering and escape the influence of bean counters and sales pukes on his designs (but he's not bitter).