Brunswick Corporation
| Brunswick Corporation
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | AG (global) |
| ISIN | US1170431092 |
| founding | September 15, 1845 |
| Seat | Lake Forest near Chicago |
| management | Dustan E. McCoy ( CEO ) |
| Number of employees | 27000 (2006) |
| sales | US $ 3.748 billion (2011) |
| Branch | Sporting goods |
| Website | www.brunswick.com |
Brunswick Corporation ( NYSE : BC), formerly JM Brunswick Manufacturing (1845), JM Brunswick & Bro. (1855), JM Brunswick & Bros., JM Brunswick & Balge Co. (1874) and Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company (1878), is an American corporation that has been manufacturing a wide variety of products since 1845. For a long time it was mainly for the production of sports equipment in the fields of billiards and bowling known today in shipbuilding . Brunswick was the USA's first pool table manufacturer.
Company history
JM Brunswick Manufacturing founded in 1845
The Brunswick Corporation was founded by John Moses Brunswick (1819–1886). Brunswick came from Bremgarten , Switzerland . At the age of only 14/15 (different information in the sources; date of emigration unknown) he emigrated to the USA .
The company JM Brunswick Manufacturing opened on September 15, 1845 in Cincinnati , Ohio . Originally the factory was supposed to be used for the production of carts . But only a short time after opening the store, Brunswick became fascinated with the game of billiards and decided that it would be more lucrative to make billiard tables, which at the time were still being imported from England .
He coined the saying:
"If it is wood, we can build it, and we can build it better than anyone else!"
"If it's made of wood, we can build it too, and we can build it better than anyone else!"
Over the years he had various company collaborations with his half-brothers, who had also immigrated from Switzerland, Joseph, Emanuel , David, Hyman and Solomon. Emanuel later founded his own billiard factory called Emanuel Brunswick & Co's, Great Western Billiard Table Manufactory, with John Monroe from Aurora (Illinois) and his brother .
Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co. founded in 1884
During the 1870s, Joseph and Emanuel left the company to compete and open their own billiards in Chicago and San Francisco. It is not clear under what circumstances each of them left, but from 1872 Brunswick's son-in-law Moses Bensinger and two long-time associates became vice presidents of the company.
During the company's rapid growth period, John Brunswick remained in Cincinnati while Bensinger continued day-to-day operations and significantly expanded the company's Chicago facilities. John Brunswick died in July 1886. He was succeeded as President by HM Collender until his own death in 1890. Julius Balge, too sick and too old to take over the presidency, stepped over to Moses Bensinger's side and became president of “Bunswick-Balke-Collender Co”.
Bensinger aggressively expanded the company's product line. Since many pool tables were sold to taverns, he expanded the range to include bar wood paneling. These covered the wall behind a bar and served functional and decorative purposes. They were complicated and elaborate status symbols and Brunswick's reputation for fine, greatly improved craftsmanship. Initially, the paneling was custom-made, but its popularity soon pushed the Dubuque, Iowa factory to the limit of its capacity. Before long, Brunswick paneling was being installed across the United States and Canada.
Product expansion of bowling pins and billiard balls in 1880
In the 1880s, Bensinger added the manufacture of bowling pins and balls to the company's line of products. After the taverns started installing bowling alleys, it seemed interesting to him to grow and Bensinger was determined to open up this new market. He took an active part in bowling and had helped unify the game. Bensinger was also instrumental in organizing the "American Bowling Congress" in 1895. Although the company expanded its markets and product lines, it was bowling that formed the financial backbone of the company.
During this growth and expansion, Brunswick remained a family business. John Brunswick's son, Benedikt and Julius Balge, Jr., were now Brunswick's executives, and Moses Bensinger's son, Benjamin Bensinger , first worked as an employee, then as a salesman, quickly making his way to the top of the company. In 1904, after the death of his father, Benjamin Bensinger became president of "Brunswick-Balke-Collender & Co." at the age of only 36. The company had multiple sales offices and manufacturing facilities in Chicago, Cincinnati, Dubuque, and New York, and in 1906 Bensinger opened a large facility in Muskegon, Michigan. Covering more than a million square feet (93,000 m²) in the 1940s, the facility became the cornerstone of the company's manufacture, manufacturing products such as: B. Mineral (hard rubber) bowling balls. In 1907 "Brunswick-Balke-Collender" was converted into a stock company.
Timeline
- 1845: John Moses Brunswick opens a car factory in Cincinnati, soon after he expands and manufactures pool tables.
- 1873: "JM Brunswick & Brothers" merged with Julius Balkes " " Great Western Billiard Manufaktur " " to "JM Brunswick & Balge Co.".
- 1884: The company merges with Hugh W. Collender to form the "Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company", the world's largest manufacturer of billiards equipment.
- 1887: Foundation of the record label " Brunswick Records "
- 1907: The company becomes a public limited company "Brunswick-Balke-Collender Inc.".
- 1924: The company goes public.
- 1956: Brunswick starts producing automatic set-up machines for bowling alleys (machine pinnsetters).
- 1960: The company enters the boat market and changes its name to "Brunswick Corporation".
- 1961: Brunswick acquires the " Kiekhaefer Corporation ", manufacturer of "Mercury" outboard motors.
- 1965: As the bowling industry collapses, Brunswick begins purchasing bowling centers.
- 1982: After fending off a hostile takeover by the Whittaker Corporation , Brunswick sold its medical supply business.
- 1986: The company takes over the recreational boat manufacturer “ Bayliner Marine Corp. "And" Ray Industries ", manufacturers of Sea-Ray boats.
- 1997: The fitness equipment manufacturer "Life Fitness" is acquired.
- 2000: The company sells its outdoor brands and focuses more closely on selling marine engines, pleasure boats, bowling, billiards and fitness equipment.
- 2001: "Hatteras Yachts, Inc." is acquired.
- 2002: The company expands into the marine electronics division with the acquisition of Northstar Technologies , Inc.
- 2004: Brunswick acquires " Crestliner " and "Lowe and Lund"; both aluminum boat brands; the "Verado Motor" is introduced.
- 2014 Brunswick sells the bowling center business to Bowlmor AMF (now Bowlero Corporation).
- In 2015 the company sold the bowling equipment division of Brunswick Bowling Products, LLC. to BlueArc Capital Management.
- In May 2019, the sale of Brunswick Billiards, as well as the sports equipment brands Life Fitness, Cybex, Hammer Strength, Indoor Cycling Group, and SCIFIT for $ 490 million to KPS Capital Partners was announced.
Others
The company calls itself: " General Motors of Sports" to draw attention to the fact that they are just as successful as the Detroit automobile manufacturer .
Product range
The company expanded and began manufacturing other products as well. The neoclassical bars for saloons and the growing sports equipment business were particularly well known . The bowling balls , pins and the bowling lanes were particularly well known. At the beginning of the 20th century, the product range was then massively expanded again. Now car tires , toilet seats , phonographs and records were also produced. The latter became the independent company, Brunswick Records , which was sold to Warner Brothers in the 1930s .
During the Second World War, the company was even engaged in aircraft construction. After the war, the company started producing school furniture. In the 1950s, the company developed an automatic pinsetter so that the pins no longer had to be set up again by hand. It was also during this time that the company expanded into golf.
In the following years the company expanded more and more in the yacht sector and became one of the leading manufacturers here as well. The company produces under the brand names Bayliner, Boston Whaler , Maxum, Sea Ray and Trophy , among others .
The company also supplies camouflage nets and radome domes to the American military .
Current situation
The Brunswick Corporation is listed on the NYSE , was listed in the S&P 500 until 2008 and was ranked 377 of the 1000 largest US companies by Fortune for 2006. Today, the company is active in the fields of sports and fitness equipment, yachts, ship propulsion systems and navigation devices in the pleasure craft sector and is in some cases also a leading manufacturer.
Awards
In 1995 the Illinois State Historical Society presented the Brunswick Corporation with its Sesquicentennial Business Award to commemorate the company's 150th anniversary. It was the first sesquicentennial prize ever awarded by the company.
Web links
- Company website (English)
- Company history (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Brunswick Corporation, Form 10-K, Annual Report, February 23, 2012 . secdatabase.com. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ^ Brunswick Corporation on the New York Stock Exchange pages
- ↑ a b c Biography on: International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( Memento from May 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b c d e f Brunswick Corporation (Section: History) ( Memento from January 3, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) on: Answers.com. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
- ↑ Emanuel Brunswick biography. ( Memento of July 18, 2014 on the Internet Archive ) On: Chicago Billiard Museum. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ↑ Patent application Automatic Pinsetter on Google.de. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
- ^ Brunswick Corporation ( memento January 3, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) on Answers.com. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
- ↑ Bowlmor AMF Completes Acquisition of Brunswick Corporation's Bowling Center Business. In: prnewswire.com. August 5, 2020, accessed on August 25, 2020 .
- ^ BlueArc Capital Management Acquires Brunswick Bowling Products. In: bowlersjournal.com. May 26, 2015, accessed on August 25, 2020 .
- ^ Brunswick to Sell Life Fitness for $ 490 million. In: clubindustry.com. June 6, 2019, accessed August 25, 2020 .