Elan (company)
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| Public | |
| Industry | Sports equipment |
| Founded | September 24, 1945 |
| Headquarters | Begunje na Gorenjskem, Slovenia |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Rudi Finžgar (founder) Robert Ferko (Chairman and CEO) |
| Products | Skis, Snowboards, Yachts... |
| Revenue |
 €86 million (2010) |
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Number of employees
|
250 |
| Website | Official website |
Elan is a Slovenian company, located in Begunje na Gorenjskem, 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), and equipment for sports facilities. The brand became better known in the 1970s, when Swedish skiing ace Ingemar Stenmark won three consecutive Alpine skiing World Cups on Elan skis. The company also manufactured license-built DG gliders from 1978 to 1991.
The company originated from a Slovene Partisan workshop that operated during the Second World War, when skis were produced for the Yugoslavian Partisan forces. Begunje fielded the only specialized Partisan ski-unit of Yugoslavia during the war. In 1949, the company started with production of small boats, like canoes and kayaks which was later expanded into the production of FRP boats and yachts. The company has also started the production of wide range of gym equipment and sports clothing. In 1978, the production of license-built DG gliders was started. In 1991 Elan company was split into several subdivisions which continue the production.
Elan SCX changed the world ski industry by inventing sidecut skis, which made carve turns possible at low speeds and with a short turn radius. They were first developed in 1988 by Jurij Franko (not to be confused with the skier Jure 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. Introduced in 1993, the concept was initially ridiculed by other companies, but in secret they quickly started working on similar designs and such shaping was common by the 1995/96 model year.
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Wikipedia