Burton Snowboards

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Burton Snowboards Inc.

Type	Private
Founded	1977
Headquarters	Burlington, Vermont
Key people	Jake Burton, Founder and Chairman; Laurent Potdevin, President and CEO
Industry	Sporting Goods
Products	Snowboard equipment, apparel, accessories
Employees	N/A
Website	http://www.burton.com/

Burton Snowboards is the world's leading manufacturer^[1] of snowboards.^[2] Founded by Jake Burton Carpenter in 1977, the company specializes in a broad product line aimed at snowboarders: hard goods, outerwear, accessories. Aside from selling goods under its own brand name, Burton incorporates several sub-brands which focus on a specific specialty. These sub-brands include Anon Optics (snowboard goggles and eyewear), R.E.D. Protection (helmets and body armor), Analog Outerwear, and Gravis Footwear. In 2005, Four Star Distribution sold four of its snowboard brands to Burton, including Forum Snowboarding, Jeenyus Snowboards, Foursquare Outerwear, and Special Blend (SB) Outerwear. Burton, a private company, also owns Channel Island Surf Co. In February 2008, Burton also acquired DNA Distribution, which includes Alien Workshop, Habitat, and Reflex.^[3] Burton's professional snowboard team includes Shaun White, Jeremy Jones, and Terje Haakonsen.

1 Marketing/Promotion
- 1.1 Professional Riders
2 Other Companies
3 Technologies
4 Footnotes
5 External links

[edit] Marketing/Promotion

In order to attract favorable publicity, Burton sponsors professional riders and events.

[edit] Professional Riders

[edit] Global Team

Men: Shaun White, Terje Haakonsen, Jeremy Jones

Women: Hannah Teter, Kelly Clark, [Eleina Height]]

[edit] Burton Team

Men

Mason Aguirre, Kevin Pearce^[4]

[edit] Events

Since 1985 Burton has organized the US Open, one of the oldest and largest snowboarding contests in the United States.^[5]. The "open" competition format allows for any rider to enter and continue in the competition based on points earned. It provides an opportunity for amateur or lesser known riders to gain visibility or even break in to the top rankings. The US Open is one of six global "Open" events Burton organizes. The others include New Zealand Open, Australian Open, Canadian Open, European Open and Nippon Open. It is also part of the Ticket to Ride (World Snowboard Tour), the six independent freestyle events acting under one common Tour Flag.

[edit] Other Companies

Burton Snowboards has outlets for other snowboarding-related gear through other companies owned by Burton.

Anon Optics: Specializes in goggles and sunglasses.

R.E.D: Protective gear such as body armor and helmets

Analog Clothing: Carries casual clothing inspired for skateboarding, surfing and snowboarding.

Gravis: Shoe company specializing in off-slope footwear.

Burton recently acquired Alien workshop and Habitat skateboarding companies.^[3]

[edit] Technologies

Burton ICS: Burton started utilizing a single channel binding mounting system on their 2006 Jeremy Jones pro model called the Infinite Channel System (ICS). The ICS system is claimed by Burton to be the most responsive binding setup possible when paired with the Burton EST binding. In 2007, the ICS system has found its way to the X8, Jeremy Jones, Custom and the Un..Inc snowboard lines. Jeremy Jones has been the largest advocate of the ICS System, claiming it is responsive enough to be able to feel the snowboard in ways that were unthinkable before.