Penn Fishing
In 1922, Penn's founder Otto Henze left Germany and went to the United States, where he began working as a machinist for the Ocean City Reels Company in Philadelphia. Inspired by the fishing exploits of the legendary Zane Grey, he dreamed of one day owning his own fishing tackle company, producing reels that would set world records. The rest, as they say, is history.
“If you're as serious as we are about fishing, owning Penn tackle is a statement of worth.” Of course things have moved on dramatically since Otto Henze founded the Penn Fishing Tackle Company in 1932. His original quote to his design team was "Make it simple, make it work."
In 1936, Penn introduced the Senator star-drag trolling reel. This was quickly adopted by anglers as being the very best reel available and at a reasonable price too – it took the saltwater market by storm.
The company continued to grow throughout the 1940s. However, Otto Henze suddenly died in 1948, leaving his wife Martha at the helm of the fast-growing company. Martha took control, and utilising her astonishing management skills the company continued to prosper.
In the late 1960s, Martha's son Herbert joined the team. Herbert was a trained engineer and the company continued to grow under his leadership. It was during this time that Penn became the industry leader in innovation, creating the world-famous International Lever Drag reel.
In January 2003, Penn was purchased by a group of individuals who had owned companies and worked in the fishing industry for many years. The new ownership group knew the value of Penn's worldwide reputation, and continued to invest in the values on which the company was built - Quality, Engineering and Innovation.
In 2007, more changes at Penn - K2, the owners of Shakespeare Fishing Tackle, purchased Penn - bringing the company out of private ownership for the first time in its history. In August 2007, Penn was again at the centre of further expansion, when the USA based Jarden Corporation, the owners of Pure Fishing, purchased K2, and therefore Penn.
This now means that Penn is part of the biggest fishing tackle company in the world, with unrivalled research & development, engineering, sourcing, marketing and distribution of all types of tackle, for all fishing disciplines, worldwide.
Penn remains in 2008 at the forefront on all saltwater tackle innovations, bring Fresh Thinking to our Proven Heritage"
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