Elan (company)
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| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Sports equipment |
| Founded | September 24, 1945 |
| Headquarters | Begunje, Slovenia |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Key people | Rudi Finžgar (founder) Robert Ferko (Chairman and CEO) |
| Products | Skis, Snowboards, Yachts... |
| Revenue |  86 million EUR (2010) |
| Employees | 250 |
| Website | Official website |
Elan is a Slovenian company, located in Begunje, specializing in the production of sporting goods. It is best known for its skis and snowboards. Other products include sailboats from 30 to 50 ft length, motor yachts, apparel (mostly sportswear), equipment for sports facilities. The brand-name became better known in the 1970s, when Swedish skiing ace Ingemar Stenmark won three consecutive Alpine skiing World Cups on Elan skis.
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[edit] History
The company originates from a Yugoslav Partisan workshop that operated during the Second World War, when skis were produced for the local Partisan forces. Begunje fielded the only specialized Partisan ski-unit of Yugoslavia during the war.
Elan company changed the world ski industry by inventing shaped skis, also called parabolic skis, that made carve turns possible at low speeds and with short turn radius. They were first developed in 1988 by Jurij Franko, who calculated a suitable flex pattern for new kind of skis with his colleague Pavel Škofic. They organized a project dubbed SideCut Extreme – SCX – and set out to build prototypes.[1][2] Introduced in 1993, the concept was initially pooh-poohed by other companies, but in secret they quickly started working on similar designs and such shaping was common by the 1995/96 model year.
The Elan Group consists of 20 interlinked companies under the joint ownership of the Skimar company. Most of the group’s companies use the Elan brand-name and logo as part of their projects, products and services. The company's headquarters are located in Begunje, Slovenia, while its various manufacturing companies are scattered throughout Central Europe: Elan skis and sailing yachts are made in Slovenia, Elan snowboards are manufactured in Austria, and its motor yachts are produced in Croatia. The group markets its products through independent distributors in 46 countries over the world, with marketing taken over by Elan’s own companies in North America, Japan, Germany, and Switzerland.
[edit] In popular culture
In 1985 James Bond series A View to a Kill film with Roger Moore, "Russians" were skiing on Elan skis.
Elan skis were clearly shown in the romantic comedy film Working Girl. Katharine Parker (Sigourney Weaver) was skiing on RC ELAN skis and poles. And co-starring with Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, Alec Baldwin and Joan Cusack.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Seth Massia, "The Evolution of Modern Ski Shape", Skiing Heritage Journal, September 2005, pp. 33-37
- ^ "Once more, with Elan" – The Economist, December 9th 1999
[edit] External links
- elansports.com an Official page
- elanskis.com for Skis section
- elansnowboards.com for Snowboards section
- sail.elan-yachts.com for marine yachts
- elan-yachting.com for yachting
- elan-inventa.com for equipment and services for sports facilities
- elansports.com.ua for Ukraine market
