Icon Health & Fitness

ICON Health & Fitness
Formerly called
 Weslo, Inc.
Private
Founded 1977 in Utah
Founder Scott Watterson
Gary Stevenson
Headquarters Logan, Utah, United States
Area served
 Global
Key people
 Scott Watterson, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Fred Beck, Chief Financial Officer
David Watterson, Chief Merchandising Officer
Products Treadmills
Elliptical Trainers
Stationary Bicycles
Weight Machines and Benches
Yoga and Pilates equipment
Brands Altra Running, FreeMotion Fitness, Gold's Gym, HealthRider, iFit, Image, NordicTrack, ProForm, Weslo, and Weider.
Website www.iconfitness.com

Icon Health & Fitness, Inc. (styled ICON Health & Fitness) is an exercise equipment manufacturer and marketer based in Logan, Utah, United States. The company hold more than 250 patents.[1]

Company overview

ICON Health and Fitness is the world’s largest manufacturer of exercise equipment.[2] The privately held company employs about 2500 people in 9 locations, including facilities in China, Europe, and North and South America. The company manufactures treadmills, elliptical trainers, stationary bicycles, weight machines and benches, and yoga and Pilates equipment. ICON is ISO 9000 certified, and holds about 200 patents.[3]

Brands

ICON Health & Fitness has a wide range of brands, products and technologies, including the brands NordicTrack, ProForm, Weider, Gold's Gym and FreeMotion Fitness.[3] Their fitness technology brand, including WiFi-enabled fitness equipment and fitness wearables, is iFit.[4] The company also has a running and trail shoe brand named Altra footwear.[5]

History

1970s - 1980s

In 1977, Utah State University students Scott Watterson and Gary E. Stevenson founded Weslo, Inc.,[6] a company that imported Asian kitchen and tableware, along with marble products. In 1979, Weslo began selling wood-burning stoves under the Fire King brand. In the 1980s, they began manufacturing trampolines, and then, under the name ProForm Fitness Products, treadmills, exercise bikes, indoor rowers, and home gyms.[3]

In 1988, Weider Health and Fitness acquired Weslo and ProForm, and in 1990, moved them into the current 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2) headquarters in Logan.[3]

1990s

In 1994, Weider sold ProForm and Weslo, along with Weider Care, to IHF Capital Inc,[7] a group led by Mitt Romney's Bain Capital, in a deal equaling US$450 million. The companies were renamed ICON Health and Fitness, Inc.[6]

ICON acquired HealthRider in 1996,[8] NordicTrack in 1999, and FreeMotion Fitness, Inc in 2001.[3]

2010s

In late October of 2015, manufacturing activities at the Logan, Utah facility were moved offshore. This resulted in the laying off of more than four hundred workers.[9]

The former manufacturing space will now become a television studio to make advertisements, a showroom, and engineering and innovation offices. Some of the manufacturing jobs are now being replaced with industrial design, marketing, engineering and computer programming positions.[1]

External links

References

  1. 1 2 Opsahl, Kevin (2015-12-14). "ICON optimistic in wake of big layoff". The Herald Journal. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  2. ↑ "Poll: Americans are spending less on exercise". MSNBC (NBCNews.com). 2009-10-19.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Icon corporate website
  4. ↑ Nelles, Barbara (October 2015). "Mattress news from Las Vegas Market". BedTimes Magazine. Retrieved 2015-10-27. Icon’s patented iFit technology syncs wearable devices and home exercise equipment with a cloud-based app that allows users to track their progress.
  5. ↑ Frazier, Lance (2015-03-06). "In four short years, Icon’s Altra shoes have carved out a significant niche". The Herald Journal. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  6. 1 2 "Proform, Weslo Health-Equipment Firms Sign a Deal to Boost Their Financial Fitness," The Deseret News, November 15, 1994]
  7. ↑ "ICON says it’s scrapping stock offering," The Deseret News, September 27, 1996
  8. ↑ "ICON Health & Fitness to Acquire HealthRider," The Deseret News, July 9, 1996
  9. ↑ Opsahl, Kevin (2015-07-14). "ICON to eliminate 400 jobs at Logan plant". The Herald Journal. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
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