Garmin

Founding and initial growth: 1989 to 1999 In 1983, Gary Burrell recruited Min H. Kao from the defense contractor Magnavox while working for the former King Radio. They founded Garmin in 1989 in Lenexa, Kansas, as "ProNav". A short time later, in 1991, the company opened a manufacturing facility in Taiwan. The company was later renamed "Garmin", a portmanteau of its two founders, Gary Burrell and Min H. Kao. In 1991, the U.S. Army became its first customer. In 1994, Garmin released GPS 155, the first IFR-certified aviation navigation system. By 1995, Garmin's sales had reached $102 million, and it had achieved a profit of $23 million. In 1998, Garmin released the GNS 430 and StreetPilot. GNS 430 was an integrated avionics system that served as both GPS navigation receiver and communications transceiver. StreetPilot was Garmin’s first portable navigation system for cars. and Min Kao By 1999, sales had reached $232.6 million since 1996 GPS growth and additional markets: 2000 to 2018 On Dec. 8, 2000, Garmin began public trading on NASDAQ with a stock price of $14 per share. Twenty-one years later on Dec. 7, 2021, the company transferred its listing to the New York Stock Exchange. By 2000, Garmin had sold three million GNSS devices, and was producing 50 different models. Its products were sold in 100 countries and carried by 2,500 independent distributors. As of August 22, 2000, the company held 35 patents on GNSS technology. By the end of June 2000, the company employed 1,205 people: 541 in the United States, 635 in Taiwan, and 29 in the United Kingdom. In 2003, Garmin announced its G1000 integrated cockpit system (though it was not available until 2004 when it received FAA certification). It was first adopted by aircraft makers including Cessna and Diamond Aircraft, and later would be installed as forward-fit and retrofit applications in regional airliners, business jets and turboprops, light airplanes, helicopters, and military and government aircraft. In 2005, Garmin launched the nüvi series of compact car navigators, starting with the 300 and 350. In 2006, Garmin released its first GPS-enabled cycling computer, Edge. That same year, the company introduced a new corporate logo, and opened its first retail store, located on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. In 2007, the company introduced its first touchscreen marine chartplotters, the GPSMAP 5000 series for international boaters. In 2011, Garmin released its first GPS watch for the sport of golfing: the Approach S1. A year later in 2012, the company released its fēnix adventure smartwatch, designed for outdoor sports and recreation. 2014 saw the release of Vivofit, Garmin’s first wearable fitness band with a replaceable battery with over one year of battery life. 2014 was also the year that Garmin acquired the New Zealand company Fusion Electronics Limited and its subsidiaries. After the acquisition, the company, which sold integrated marine audio products and accessories, became known as Garmin New Zealand Ltd. A year later, in 2016, Garmin acquired DeLorme, which gave Garmin DeLorme’s inReach satellite communication technology with interactive SOS messaging. The inReach Satellite Communicator had been the first personal satellite communication device equipped for two-way text messaging using satellites. In 2017, Garmin released its first dive computer with surface GPS, the Descent Mk1. The Mk1 also provides an altimeter and HR monitor, and uses Garmin’s fenix 5X platform for everyday activity tracking. Recent market expansion: 2018 to present In 2018, Garmin improved its Panoptix technology by combining it with Livescope. In May 2018, Garmin partnered with the University of Kansas Medical Center to tackle sleep apnea and atrial fibrillation. In 2019, Garmin announced the release of new technologies in several fields. In its Automotive segment, there was an all-terrain, all-in-one GPS, the Garmin Overlander; for the Marine segment, a freshwater trolling motor, the Force; and under Garmin’s Aviation segment, an emergency autonomous landing system for aircraft, Garmin Autoland. In 2020, Garmin Autoland won the Robert J. Collier Trophy for outstanding contributions to aviation and aerospace. In 2022, Garmin released a new health monitoring device with its first smart blood pressure monitor, Index BPM. Index BPM is FDA-cleared, and can be used by up to 16 different people. In 2023, Garmin announced a two-year study with the U.S. Space Force. Under the study, over 6000 Garmin Forerunner 55 and Instinct 2 Solar watches were given to members of Space Force (known as Guardians). That same year, the company announced that Garmin fenix 7 watches would be used by crew members during the Polaris Dawn space mission to monitor health stats and vitals. In 2024, the Independent Boat Builders, Inc. (IBBI) selected Garmin as its exclusive marine electronics and audio supplier. The selection starts in model year 2025 and runs through 2029. Previously, the company had traded on the NASDAQ exchange. a subsidiary of United Parcel Service, Inc., expanding its product line of panel-mounted GPS/NAV/COMM units and integrated cockpit systems for private and commercial aircraft. The acquired company changed its name to Garmin AT, Inc. and continued operations as a wholly owned subsidiary of Garmin International, Inc. EME Tec Sat SAS (EME), and Digital Cyclone. Dynastream, in Cochrane, Alberta, produces personal monitoring technology (ANT+)—such as foot pods and heart rate monitors for sports and fitness products—and also ultra-low-power and low-cost wireless connectivity devices for a wide range of applications (ANT). EME Tec Sat SAS is the distributor of Garmin's consumer products in France; following the acquisition, EME changed its name to Garmin France SAS. an Oregon-based company that makes autopilot systems for boats. In July 2011, Garmin finished its acquisition of the German satellite navigation company Navigon. In 2015, Garmin acquired South Africa's iKubu Ltd. for its Backtracker on-bicycle low power radar system. In 2016, Garmin acquired DeLorme, which gave Garmin DeLorme’s inReach satellite communication technology. In 2019, Garmin acquired Tacx, a privately held Dutch company that designs and manufacturers indoor bike trainers, tools and accessories, as well as indoor training software and applications. In 2020, Garmin acquired Firstbeat Analytics from Firstbeat Technologies. Prior to the acquisition, Garmin and Firstbeat had a partnership to create dynamic training programs for athletes based on activity and fitness data captured throughout the day. Garmin also acquired Fltplan.com, a company that provides flight-planning, scheduling, and trip-support services; and, Geos Worldwide, an emergency monitoring and response service. In 2021, Garmin acquired GEOS Worldwide, a provider of emergency monitoring and incident response services. In 2022, Garmin acquired Vesper Marine, a privately held provider of AIS, VH, and vessel monitoring solutions. In 2023, Garmin announced a definitive agreement to acquire JL Audio. Leadership Cliff Pemble is the current CEO of Garmin. Burrell retired in 2002 as Garmin's chief executive officer and in 2004 retired as co-chairman of its board of directors. He remained chairman emeritus until his death in 2019. In 2005, Forbes estimated Kao's net worth at $1.5 billion. He has donated $17.5 million to the University of Tennessee. The same year Forbes estimated Burrell's net worth as $940 million. July 2020 outage On July 23, 2020, Garmin shut down its call centres, website and some online services, including Garmin Connect and flyGarmin, after a ransomware attack encrypted its internal network and some production systems. The company did not say it was a ransomware attack, but company employees writing on social media described it as such, with some speculation about a ransomware strain called WastedLocker later confirmed. Hackers reportedly demanded a $10 million ransom from Garmin. The company instituted a "multi-day maintenance window" to deal with the attack's impacts. Experts speculated that Garmin had paid hackers a reported $10m ransom, or brokered some other kind of deal. The outage meant Garmin could not receive calls or emails, or conduct online chats. Athlete users of Garmin wearables could not upload mileage, location, heart rate, and other data. Pilots were unable to download data for Garmin aircraft navigational systems, preventing flight scheduling. == Operations ==