| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Sporting goods |
| Founded | Weston, ON. (1899) |
| Headquarters | Montreal, QC, Canada |
| Products | Hockey equipment |
| Website | www.ccmhockey.com |
CCM, formerly an initialism for Canada Cycle & Motor Co. Ltd., is a sporting goods brand. The brand is held by two separate entities both maintaining the CCM trademark, one (The Hockey Company, now a subsidiary of Reebok) manufacturing ice hockey equipment and the other, CCM (cycle) manufacturing bicycles.
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CCM was founded in 1899 after the collapse of the bicycle market. Established "when the operations of four major Canadian bicycle manufacturers amalgamated: H. A. Lozier, Massey-Harris, Goold, and Welland Vale Manufacturing."[1] CCM produced bicycles for many years in the area of Weston, Toronto, Ontario. They also briefly produced the Russell automobile.
By 1905, with saturation in the bicycle market, CCM began producing hockey skates using scrap steel that was leftover at the plant from the manufacture of bicycles and automobiles,[2] and subsequently began manufacturing other hockey gear.
In 1937, CCM acquired the Tackaberry brand made by a Manitoban named George Tackaberry and "Tacks" have been the company's signature skate until late 2006, when the Tacks line was replaced with the "Vector" line, and now the "U+".
The original CCM went bankrupt in 1983. All of the assets of the Company were purchased by Procycle Group Inc. of Quebec who retained the bicycle division and sold off the hockey division to Montreal businessman David Zunenshine who owned GC Knitting, a manufacturer hockey jerseys. The company subsequently used the CCM brand when producing hockey equipment.[3]
The company entered the toy industry in 1988 through the acquisition of Coleco Industries and in 1990 when they acquired another financially troubled company, Buddy L Corp., a 70-year-old manufacturer of steel and plastic toy cars and trucks based in the United States.[3]
In 1991, the company incorporated and took the name SLM International Inc.[3]
SLM purchased Kevin Sports Toys International Inc. (the maker of the Wayne Gretzky NHL hockey game), Norca Industries Inc. (a plastic toy manufacturer of such products as swimming pools, sleds, and sandboxes), and Innova-Dex Sports Inc. of Montreal (a bicycle helmet manufacturer).[3]
SLM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, in 1995, selling off Buddy L (to Empire of Carolina Inc.) and the SLM Fitness equipment business.[3]
In 1997, the company emerges from bankruptcy protection and reorganized.[3]
The company acquired Montreal-based Sports Holdings, Inc, in 1998, and became the world's top producer of hockey merchandise[3] adding the brands Koho, Titan, Jofa, Canadien, and Heaton. Titan and Canadien were well known brands of wooden hockey sticks in the 1980s and 1990s. Wayne Gretzky used the Titan 4020 while playing with the Edmonton Oilers. Heaton was known for its goalie equipment.
In 1999, SLM is renamed The Hockey Company.[3]
In June 2004, The Hockey Company was bought by Reebok. All brands other than the CCM brand were retired and Reebok introduced its own RBK Hockey gear, later to be re-branded as Reebok Hockey.
CCM manufactures a wide range of ice hockey equipment. Its major rival is Bauer Hockey. CCM is one of the official licensees, sponsors, and on-ice suppliers of hockey equipment for the National Hockey League until 2014. CCM changed their logo in 2007.
Here is a list of current-model CCM skates, as listed by rank of performance:
Here is a list of current-model CCM sticks, as listed by rank of performance:
CCM also manufactures hockey gloves, elbow pads, shoulder pads, hockey pants, knee pads, and helmets.
CCM fully sponsors and is endorsed by nine NHL players:
Previously sponsored