Viking Schaatsenfabriek
| Viking Schaatsenfabriek | |
|---|---|
| legal form | BV |
| founding | 1958 |
| Seat | Almere |
| management | Jaap Havekotte Jr. |
| Branch | Sporting goods |
| Website | www.viking.nl |
Viking Schaatsenfabriek (Dutch: Viking Skate Factory ) is a Dutch skate factory based in Almere . It was founded in 1948 in Amsterdam by the speed skater Jaap Havekotte together with the ice skate maker Jacobus Johannes Lassche (Co Lassche). Viking was the first manufacturer of folding ice skates and is the ice skate brand that has won the most world titles, world records and Olympic successes. The brand specializes primarily in supplying elite athletes. Seven of the top ten speed skaters use Viking ice skates. The shoes are made by hand in Almere.
history
The factory was founded in 1948 by the speed skater Jaap Havekotte and the ice skate maker Co Lassche. Lassche was a trained coppersmith , Havekotte was a carpenter by trade. Lassche was already building ice skates in the 1920s and 1930s. After the Second World War , he made ice skates and all sorts of items, including ice skates, from food cans or shovels used by the Allies in his basement in Durgerdam . In 1947 he met Havekotte, whom he sold a pair of ice skates. He then exhibited his skates in the Jaarbeurs , the Utrecht fair , and was able to sell a large number of them.
On February 11, 1948, Co Lassche and Jaap Havekotte opened a small workshop on Gerard Doustraat in Amsterdam , in which seven people were already working in 1949. In the same year, a small factory was opened in Oosterparkstraat 3e. At the same time, ice skates were also made in Durgendam.
In May 1952 Lassche and Havekotte parted ways for personal reasons and Lassche left the company. Havekotte continued the business in Weesp and renamed it Viking Schaatsenfabriek . In 1971, Havekotte developed the still known Viking ice skates, on which the world record was set in 1972, and which are still used today by many speed skaters. Havekotte later transferred the management of the company to his son Jaap Havekotte Jr., in August 2000 the company headquarters and the production facilities were relocated to Almere.
Individual evidence
- ↑ ad.nl: Schaatsicoon Jaap Havekotte (102) overleden. Retrieved February 8, 2016 .
- ↑ Viking: Viking Info. Retrieved February 8, 2016 .
Web links
- Company website accessed February 8, 2016.
- I love noord: Geschiedenis van Viking schaatsen begins in Noord. Accessed February 8, 2016.
- Skats.net: Viking. Accessed February 8, 2016.
- Amstelveen web: Grondlegger van de Vikingschaats Deel 2 - 2008. Accessed February 8, 2016.
- Sports divorce : Bedrijfsfilm uit 1968 van de schaatsfabriek van Jaap Havekotte. Accessed February 8, 2016.
Coordinates: 52 ° 21 ′ 40.4 " N , 5 ° 15 ′ 58.5" E