F2 (company)

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F2

logo
legal form GmbH
founding 1981
Seat Schleiz ( Thuringia )
Branch Snowboard , windsurfing , kiteboarding , wakeboarding
Website www.f2.com

F2 is a manufacturer of windsurfing boards , snowboards , kitesurfing boards , wakeboards and clothing.

history

F2 was founded in 1981 as Peter Brockhaus GmbH in Wals near Salzburg . Peter Brockhaus left the windsurfing product manufacturer Mistral , which he had co-founded. In 1982 the production facility was opened in Kirchdorf an der Krems . In 1988 the head office was relocated to Kirchdorf. In 2000, F2 was bought by KJ Jacobs AG in order to become the world market leader in windsurfing and snowboarding through the merger of the brands F2, Mistral (bought in 1991) and Fanatic under the umbrella brand Boards & More . In 2003 the Boards & More group was sold to a Swiss investor team led by Yves Marchand. On June 1, 2007, Boards & More GmbH sold its F2 brand to a further team of investors, led by Gerald Pascher and Reinhard Hofbauer through F2 International GmbH . The reason for the sale of F2 is the alignment of the Boards & More Group with its core brands.

On April 24, 2008 it became known that F2 International GmbH is insolvent. The accumulated debts amounted to 5.81 million euros. On July 3, 2008, the compulsory settlement was decided. The F2 brand will be continued by F2 International GmbH. The head office was relocated to Graz in August 2008. On January 1, 2010, F2 International GmbH granted a license to F2 International Sports GmbH, which has been managing worldwide sales from its headquarters in Schleiz / Thuringia since then.

Snowboards

F2 is one of the leading snowboard manufacturers. F2 has been the market leader for years, especially in the racing sector, for example with the F2 Silver Arrow. However, many manufacturers, including Burton , have stopped producing raceboards because sales have declined since the late 1990s. F2 is one of those manufacturers who also repeatedly produce their own developments and innovations. Numerous successes of the riders, such as Olympic victories, prove this.

However, F2 is also active on the freestyle level, but under a different name ( FTWO ) and a different logo. In this way, a clear separation between freestyle and racing was achieved.

F2 and FTWO sponsored the following snowboard pros: Stefan Gimpl , Manuela Pesko , Andre Kuhlmann, Mitch Tölderer, Joel Strecker, Armin Staud, Mathieu Bozzetto, Ross Rebagliati, Kevin Delaney, Philipp Imhoff.

Windsurfing

Since the first windsurfing board (F2 Lightning) was ready for the market in 1982, F2 has also developed into one of the leading manufacturers of windsurfing boards. The F2 drivers Finian Maynard (48.7 knots) and Karin Jaggi (41.25 knots) set the world speed records in windsurfing on April 10, 2005. In 2011, the Belgian Steven van Broeckhoven managed to achieve the world title in freestyle windsurfing on his F2 Rodeo.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Boards and More sold ( Memento from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 22 kB) on dwsv.net
  2. ↑ Salzburg snow and surfboard manufacturer F2 International is insolvent ( memento of April 30, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) onwirtschaftsblatt.at
  3. ↑ Plan for the continuation of the company onwirtschaftsblatt.at
  4. ↑ F2 saved by compulsory compensation on salzburg.orf.at

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