Head (company)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
HEAD is a sports equipment and clothing company, known for their tennis racquets which are used by many top players such as Ivan Ljubicic, Richard Gasquet, Andre Agassi, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Gaël Monfils, Marat Safin, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Sebastien Grosjean, and many more. Roughly 30% of the Top 100 tennis players on the ATP Tour currently use HEAD tennis racquets. Their main rivals are Wilson, Prince, Volkl, and Babolat.
HEAD is also an industry leader in Racquetball, where 6 of the Top 10 players on the International Racquetball Tour use HEAD racquets, including current world #1 Jack Huczek and racquetball legend Sudsy Monchik. Apart from racquet sports, HEAD is also known for their diving equipment and skiing equipment. Most recently, HEAD had started making badminton racquets and bags.
[edit] History
The company was founded in 1950, by Howard Head, who also invented the first metal ski. Shortly after the invention, HEAD became the leading ski manufacturer in the US and UK. The company began as a ski manufacturer but soon created a tennis division when Howard Head figured out a way of strengthening the racquet by introducing the aluminium frame.
The idea became a success and was first introduced in the 1969 US Open. Despite the company's success, AMF took over the company and Howard Head retired. Howard later worked as chairman to Prince, HEAD's main rival, and developed the "oversized tennis racquet", which is the design for the modern tennis racquet. After Howard Head's departure, in 1975, one of the tennis players that HEAD sponsored, Arthur Ashe, won Wimbledon. Also during the 1970s, Head acquired a diving manufacturer, Mares, and a ski binding company, Tyrolia.
In 1987, HEAD started making athletic footwear, and introduced the "Radial Tennis Shoes". The following year, Head opened a new plant in Austria, to make more tennis racquets. Johan Eliasch, the current chairman, took over the company in 1995. In 1997, HEAD had a major breakthrough, creating the first titanium and graphite tennis racquet. The racquet became an instant bestseller racquet technology. Over the next two years, Head acquired three more companies, DACOR, PENN and BLAX.
Penn manufactures the #1 selling tennis ball and racquetball in America, and is currently the only tennis ball manufacturer to produce balls in the USA. Penn tennis balls are used in 10 of the Top 14 tennis tournaments in the world, while Penn racquetballs are the official ball of the IRT and U.S. Racquetball Association. Penn produces tennis balls and racquetballs in their factory in Phoenix, AZ.
In 2007, HEAD launched a new modern look for the brand and started making badminton gear, including racquets, bags, shoes, and apparel. They also modified their logo, giving it a new attitude, the type is thicker and more powerful.
