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Brunton, Inc. is a manufacturer of technical gear for outdoor activity located in Riverton, Wyoming. Brunton is well known for innovation in the categories of recreational compasses and navigation gear, binoculars, backpacking equipment, family camping, GPS, headlamps, solar panels for portable power, and surveying instruments. ==History== Founded in 1895 by David W. Brunton, a Canadian-born geologist and mining engineer, and William Ainsworth, a skilled watch repairman, the firm is most famous for its earliest product, the Brunton Pocket Transit, a compass and measuring tool used by geologists, foresters, surveyors, and archaeologists.〔Willoughby, Tim, ''(David W. Brunton and his compass )'', Aspen Times, retrieved 25 March 2012〕 Often simply called a "Brunton", the ''Pocket Transit'' was first patented in 1894 by David Brunton, who commissioned William Ainsworth & Sons to manufacture his invention in Denver, Colorado.〔 The company later incorporated as William Ainsworth Inc. and for many years produced the ''Pocket Transit'' along with surveying transits, theodolites, and other instruments. Beginning in 1965, William Ainsworth Inc. was owned by a series of corporate conglomerates, and product quality varied as the company changed hands repeatedly. In 1972, a group of Riverton, Wyoming businessmen bought the company and formed Brunton, Inc. The company was moved to Riverton, Wyoming where it began producing a new series of recreational outdoors compasses, hunting knives, and binoculars in addition to the ''Brunton Pocket Transit''. In 1996, the company was acquired by Silva of Sweden AB, the original Swedish-based manufacturer of the ''Silva'' brand compass. Initially, Brunton began selling Silva of Sweden compasses and GPS devices imported from Sweden under the ''Elite'' ''Pro Elite'', ''Nexus'', and ''MNS'' labels after Johnson Outdoors retained the exclusive rights to the ''Silva'' brand name in North America. Brunton also began sourcing some of its compass models from Asia.〔Scheer, Joshua, ''(Expansion at Brunton Promises 50 New Jobs )'', The Ranger, 15 March 2012, retrieved 26 March 2012〕〔Over, Ernie, ''(A 180° turnaround: Brunton’s Compass manufacturing relocated to Riverton from China )'', County 10 News Desk, County10.com, 14 March 2012, retrieved 12 April 2012〕 In 2006, Brunton's parent company, the Silva Group, was in turn acquired by the Finnish Fiskars Corporation,〔Allonen, Heikki, ''Fiskars Acquires Swedish Silva Group'', Stock Exchange Press Release, Fiskars Corporation, 30 June 2006〕 and along with the rest of Silva Group, Brunton became part of the Outdoor division of Fiskars, which also includes Gerber Legendary Blades.〔 As of 2009, Brunton, Inc. employed about 40 people.〔''(Fiskars to Sell Brunton to Fenix Outdoor )'', FlashlighNews.org, retrieved 25 March 2012〕 In December 2009, Fiskars announced that it was selling Brunton Inc. to Fenix Outdoor AB, a Swedish company.〔''Fiskars Sells US Camping Equipment Business to Fenix Outdoor'', Nordic Business Report, 4 December 2009〕 As a result of Fiskar's divestment of Brunton Inc., Silva of Sweden AB ceased all exports of its Swedish-made compasses and GPS devices to North America, including the ''Nexus'', ''Elite'', and ''Pro Elite'' lines, while Brunton in turn ceased export of its domestically produced 8020, 8040, and 9020 compasses to Silva of Sweden AB as the Silva ''Voyager'' line. As of March 2012, the company employed around 68 people at its Riverton, Wyoming location, with plans to add an additional 50 personnel in the near future.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Brunton, Inc.」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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