Estes Industries
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| Private | |
| Predecessor | Estes Industries, Estes-Cox Corp. |
| Founded | Denver, Colorado, U.S. (1958) |
| Founder | Vernon Estes |
| Headquarters | Denver, Colorado |
| Products | Model rockets and Model aircraft |
| Owner | Hobbico, Inc. |
| Website | http://www.estesrockets.com |
Estes Industries (aka Estes-Cox Corp.) is a company that was started in Denver, Colorado, USA. The company was the first to mass-produce model rocket engines with consistent and reliable performance. The company soon began producing model rocket kits, launch equipment and other accessories. In 1961, the company was moved to a 77-acre tract of land on the outskirts of Penrose, Colorado. Rapid growth followed and soon Penrose became known as the "Model Rocket Capital of the World". In 1969 Vernon Estes sold the company to the Damon Corporation of Needham Hts, MA. Damon purchased a number of other hobby companies including a smaller competitor of Estes, Centuri Engineering of Phoenix, AZ. Damon merged the two companies under the name Centuri Engineering. The Penrose entity continued doing business as Estes Industries. Centuri Engineering model rocket products continued to be developed, marketed and sold from the Centuri offices in Phoenix as well, although the actual manufacturing of Centuri products was soon moved to the Estes facility in Penrose, CO. Sales of Centuri model rocket products were never as successful as Estes brand products and the Centuri Engineering offices in Phoenix were finally closed and the Centuri product line was discontinued in 1983.
Following a hostile takeover of the Damon Corporation in 1989, Estes Industries was divested and became part of Hobby Products. The business name of the company was shortened to Centuri Corporation. In 1996 Hobby Products acquired the assets of Cox Products of Corona, CA. Cox Products was a designer and manufacturer of model airplanes and glow-fuel model airplane engines and more. The company’s assets were moved to the Estes facility. In 2002, the combined company was sold again and the company’s name was changed to Estes-Cox Corp.
On January 15, 2010 Estes-Cox was again sold and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Hobbico of Illinois. Sales of the Cox line of model airplanes has been continued by Hobbico.
Estes Industries was founded by Vernon Estes in 1958. In 1969 Vernon Estes sold the company to the Damon Corporation. On August 30, 2002, Barry Tunick, who had been the Chief Executive Officer since 1991, acquired Estes-Cox Corporation from the private equity fund, TCW Capital, for the sum of $15 million. On January 15, 2010, Estes-Cox was acquired by Hobbico, Inc.
Vern Estes created "Mabel". "Mabel" was a machine designed to inexpensively manufacture model rocket engines for Model Missiles Incorporated. Mabel was capable of producing a completed model rocket engine every 5-1/2 seconds. The operation began with an engine casing tube being loaded onto a rotating table. The table then advances through multiple stations where the nozzle, propellant, delay and ejection components are added. A paper end cap is then cut from a roll of heavy paper tape and inserted to retain the loose ejection charge. The completed engine is then ejected from the table, sent through the printer and dropped into the finished engine box below.
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