02.12.2009

Zebco Sports Europe - 150 Years of Trading

How Many Companies Can State This? A true milestone in the angling world, when in 2010 "Zebco Sports Europe Ltd" will celebrate 150 years of offering products and services to its European customer base. The history dates back to 1860 when Josef Witt & Ernst Führmann started the company selling nets, ropes and other items for commercial fishing in Hamburg (Germany). The company went through a series of changes until in 1994 when Zebco US (Brunswick) purchased the majority shares in the operation, which then changed the company name to Zebco Sports (Deutschland) GmbH. In 1999 Zebco GmbH established European branches, and a common brand philosophy was born. In 2000, Brunswick sold its complete outdoor division, including Zebco. The company was then involved in a ‘Management Buyout’ (MBO) in 2002, and in 2005 Mr Peter Delwes acquired sole ownership of the complete European operation. What is also interesting to point out is that the name "Zebco". actually relates to a bomb. The ‘Zero Hour Bomb Company’, produced electric time bombs for oil well drilling. From the shape of the bombs, the first 25 hand-made "Zebco Standards" were produced in June 1945 by R.D Hull, a West Texas watchmaker. In the present day, Zebco Sports has over 5500 customers across Europe and a state of the art distribution centre in Germany. The company has a benchmark IT infrastructure, and all shipments are dispatched via logistic market leader UPS. With a total workforce of over 70 employees, the company has progressive plans to maintain their position as one of Europe’s largest fishing tackle distributor. To celebrate this momentous achievement the 2010 catalogue is colored gold, and is highly visible amongst other competitor catalogues. A number of campaigns are planned for 2010, as the company further emphasis the importance of their heritage. Peter Delwes who has been with the angling trade for over 20 years, commented "there have been many internal changes in our infrastructure, but our morals of offering excellent products and services have never changed. My strategy has always to protect the interests of the business, and ensure that we will be in existence in another 150 years" If you would like any further information on the 150 years celebration or any other issues then please contact customer services on 0808 10 11 254 Zebco Sports Europe Ltd has Six major brands within the UK market; these are Browning, Quantum, Rhino, Zebco, Fin-Nor & Van Staal.