Silva compass

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Silva compass, or Silva of Sweden, aka Silva Sweden AB is an outdoors products company, most known for their high-grade compasses and other navigational equipment including GPS tools, mapping software, and altimeters for aircraft. They also offer a marine range. The company's founders invented the hugely popular orienteering or protractor compass used around the world for outdoors navigation. As its company name implies, Silva Sweden AB is a company created and based in Sweden that exports worldwide, and operates headquarters in numerous countries. They have marketing companies in Sollentuna, Sweden, Mantes-la-Ville, France, Friedrichsdorf, Germany, and Livingston, Scotland. Because Johnson Outdoors Inc. owns the Silva brand name in North America, Silva Sweden AB compasses and other products are sold under the Brunton and Nexus labels in that market. The aim of Silva Sweden AB is to "Design, develop, produce and market world-class quality products on a global basis for users within the Land and Marine markets".

1 History
2 Silva range
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Silva Sweden AB created their first compass in 1928, and established their company in 1933.
Below is a Chronological timeline of important dates in the history of Silva Sweden AB:

1928 The first compass from Silva was invented.
1933 The Silva company is established.
1946 Bjorn Kjellstrom begins Silva U.S.A. operations as The Silva Company (later Silva, Inc.). Compass assembly factory established in La Porte, Indiana. Silva Orienteering Services established to support the sport of Orienteering in North America.
1948 Kjellstrom founds Silva Ltd. of Canada.
1958 Silva Sweden AB expands with new plastics manufacturing operations
1960 Silva Sweden AB expands with new tooling and manufacturing operations
1973 New manufacturing plant, Instrumentverken in Sollentuna. Johnson Outdoors Inc. acquires Silva, Inc. (USA).
1980 New Office building for Silva Sweden AB.
1981 Silva Sweden AB launches its first electronic instrument design
1981 Acquisition of different lines of sporting goods for Swedish sport market by Silva Sweden AB.
1982 Production of first electronic instruments by Silva Sweden AB.
1985 Johnson Outdoors Inc. purchases Silva Ltd. of Canada.
1984 New Warehouse.
1986 Enlargement of Silva Sweden AB manufacturing plant.
1986 New showroom for SILVA Sweden AB products.
1989 Launching of largest investment program ever for The Silva Group. Market - production - research & development.
1990 Inauguration new premises Silva France
- 25 million compasses produced
- New subsidiary Silva US MARINE
- New manufacturing plant in Livingston, Scotland
- Acquisition of precision instrument producer Sisteco Finland
1992 Silva launches its first satellite navigator
1995 Bjorn Kjellstrom dies. The Silva factory in Haninge reinaugurates
1996 Silva Sweden AB acquires Brunton Inc., resulting in the largest compass manufacturing concern in the USA. Johnson Outdoors Inc. retains the Silva brand name in North America. Silva Sweden AB continues to market original Silva of Sweden compasses under the Brunton and Nexus labels.^[1]

Today, The Silva Group consists of the parent company Silva Sweden AB together with its subsidiaries Silva Ltd. in the United Kingdom, Silva France, Silva Deutschland, Silva Far East, and The Brunton Company (Brunton, Inc.) in the USA and Canada. The core activities of the Silva Group consist of design, development, manufacture of compasses for land and sea and sales of compasses, GPS and outdoor instruments, headlamps, binoculars and other electronic navigation equipment.

[edit] Silva range

Silva Expedition 4 compass

Besides compasses, Silva manufactures several other types of outdoor equipment. The range includes wind meters, headlamps, binoculars and other accessories.