The Flatiron Mandolin company was founded in 1977 in Bozeman, MT however, most of their noteriety/popularity comes from their association with Gibson. Gibson never really had a true mandolin manufacturing facility after the Kalamazoo, MI plant closed in 1984. In 1987 the recently formed Gibson Guitar Corp. bought Flatiron, build a new manufacturing facility, and move all mandolin production including Gibson, to Bozeman, MT. This lasted for ten years when in 1987, Gibson moved mandolin production to Nashville, TN. Flatiron mandolins were still available, but the brand was eventually phased out in favor of Gibson. For a while, Flatiron mandolins were available as special/custom orders, but by the early 2000s, the Flatiron brand was retired except for a brief run of Chinese-built instruments in the late 2000s. Head luthier Bruce Weber at Flatiron remained in Bozeman, MT and formed Sound To Earth that builds mandolins under the Weber name when production shifted to Nashville. Information courtesy Walter Carter, Gibson Guitars, 100 Years of an American Icon.
Mandolins previously produced in Bozeman, MT between 1977 and 1996, in Nashville, TN between 1997 and circa 2003, and China between 2007 and 2009. Distributed by Gibson in Nashville, TN.