- Huffy
The Huffy Corporation is an American importer and manufacturer of inexpensive mass-market
bicycle s andgolf equipment. It was founded in 1887 whenGeorge P. Huffman purchased the Davis Sewing Machine Company and moved its factory toDayton, Ohio . Seven years later, in 1894, Huffman adapted the factory to manufacture bicycles. The Huffy Corporation also owns thegolfing brands Tommy Armour and Ram Golf. In 2004, it sold its Huffy Sports division toRussell Corporation . Huffy Sports manufactures sporting goods, including the Hydra-Ribbasketball systems used by theNBA .Huffy Bicycles
From the company's inception until 1949, Huffy manufactured and sold bicycles under the "Dayton" brand. Popular models included the Special Roadster, the Racer, the LaFrance, and the Streamliner.
In 1949, Huffy developed the Huffy Convertible, a children's bicycle with rear training wheels and foot steps. The Convertible revolutionised the children's market and was the first Huffy bicycle under the Huffy name. In 1953, a Huffy logo was created and Huffy switched all its bicycles to the Huffy name.
Popular models of the Huffy era include the Radio Bicycle, which had a radio in the frame, the Dragster, the Scout, and the Sigma.
In 1970, the Huffy Corporation was founded as an umbrella company to house Huffy Bicycles as well as Huffy's emerging
sporting goods .In the 1984 and
1988 Summer Olympics ,United States athletes riding Huffy-labeled bicycles combined to win two gold, two silver, and one bronze medals.Huffy had a factory in
Celina, Ohio , at one time Celina's largest employer. Competition led Huffy to buy bicycles from abroad, moving the Celina operation elsewhere.Crown Equipment Corporation uses the former factory to produce forklifts.Huffy Sports
Huffy Sports is a division of
Russell Corporation and has moved bicycle manufacturing toChina . Huffy bicycles were last manufactured in the U.S in 1999.Financial problems
On
13 August 2004 , Huffy announced that itsfinancial statement s had accounting irregularities. The price of Huffy stock (Stock symbol: HUF) declined by 40 percent on the next NYSE trading day. On16 August 2004 , the NYSE suspended Huffy stock and removed it as a listed stock. Finally, on20 October 2004 , Huffy announced that the Huffy Corporation and all its United States and Canadian subsidiaries would file forbankruptcy protection underChapter 11 of theUnited States Bankruptcy Code .External links
* [http://www.huffy.com Huffy Corporation Official Site]
* [http://www.huffybikes.com/ Huffy Bicycles Official Site]
* [http://www.tommyarmourgolf.com/ Tommy Armour Golf Official Site]
* [http://www.huffysports.com/ Huffy Sports Official Site]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.