Monday, November 23, 2009

Thule - my new partner

Rooted in Sweden. Dedicated to the world.

In 1942, Thule was founded by the Thulin family, when Erik Thulin, a true lover of the outdoors, put the Thule name on a Pike Trap that he designed and began to sell to the fisherman of Scandinavia. It wasn’t long before they added belt buckles and other things to his manufacture. Business boomed, gaining profitably year after year — a not so unusual thing for the typical Swedish entrepreneurial company of that era, but there was something special about Thule.

By the 1960s, the family whose work in metal for years began to concentrate its business on car-related products, and before long the first roof rack was born. Ever since, Thule has been in a growth mode. We’ve added new products like rooftop boxes to the offering and opened new markets such as the UK; Japan and North America. The rest is indeed history, and Thule is today the most respected brand globally in the industry.

The Thulin family sold Thule to the publicly listed company Eldon in 1979, and it continued to grow both organically and through acquisitions (trailers and rooftop box manufacturing). By 1999 the private equity firm EQT acquired the company and developed it further with increased focus on growth and profitability. UK-based private equity firm Candover took over the company in 2004 to initiate a stronger growth through acquisitions. Eleven new companies joined Thule in the years between 2004 and 2007 strengthening the position as world leader in sports and utility transportation. In 2007 Thule changed hands one last time, and was acquired by Nordic Capital.

You will notice that the word Sweden is still as important a component of the logo today as it has been for the past several decades. Though always a nod to the company’s origin, today it stands for the inherent values of a Scandinavian-based company — namely solid quality, timeless design, continuous innovation, empowered and cherished co-workers, and an undying respect for nature and the environment.

Thule is supporting my, thanks to the Romanian importer AutoNet. I'll use the roofrack and the Thule ProRide 591 bike carrier. It looks really good and I really like it.

I'll use it a.s.a.p. and I will tell you all my opinion, but because in the last two year my and my team mates used the Thule products on our cars, we were really happpy with them so this one can't offer me another opinion, right?



Almost all the information, including the photos are from the Thule web site. There are their property !


Thanks,

Vlad

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