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Garmin

Garmin Ltd.
Public
Traded as NASDAQGRMN
S&P 500 Component
Market cap: $8.481 billion
Industry Technology
Founded October 1989; 27 years ago (1989-10) (as ProNav)
Lenexa, Kansas, U.S.
Founder Gary Burrell
Min Kao
Headquarters Schaffhausen, Switzerland (holding company)
Olathe, Kansas (U.S. headquarters)
Key people
Cliff Pemble (CEO), Min Kao, Gary Burrell
Products GPS receivers, avionics, wearable technology
Revenue Increase$2.82 billion (2015)
Increase$550 million (2015)
Increase$456 million (2015)
Number of employees
10,086 (2013)
Subsidiaries Garmin International Inc., Garmin (Asia) Corporation
Navigon
DeLorme
FUSION Entertainment
Dynastream Innovations
Website www.garmin.com/en-US

Garmin Ltd. (shortened to Garmin and formerly known as ProNav) is an American multinational technology company founded by Gary Burrell and Min Kao in 1989 in Lenexa, Kansas and is based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.

The company is known for its specialization in GPS technology development for its use in automotive, aviation, marine, outdoor, and sport activities and utilities. Due to their development in wearable technology, they have also been competing with activity tracker and smartwatch consumer developers such as Fitbit and Apple.

In 1983, Gary Burrell recruited Min H. Kao from the defense contractor Magnavox while working for the former King Radio. They founded Garmin in 1989 in Lenexa, Kansas, as "ProNav". ProNav's first product was a GPS unit which sold for US$2,500. The company was later renamed "Garmin", an acronym of the first names of its two founders, Gary Burrell and Min H. Kao. In 1991, the U.S. Army became their first customer.

By 1995, Garmin's sales had reached $105 million, and it had achieved a profit of $23 million. By 1999, sales had reached $233 million and a profit of $64 million. Garmin reported a 2006 total revenue of $1.77 billion, up 73% from $1.03 billion in 2005.


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