Navico

Navico

Industry	Marine electronics
Founded	2006
Headquarters	Egersund, Norway
Key people	Knut Frostad, President & CEO
Revenue	$309 Million USD (2015)
Owners	[[Altor Fund IV and Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division]]
Number of employees	1,800 (2019)

Navico is a specialist marine electronics company providing navigation, marine instruments and fish finding equipment to both the recreational and commercial marine sectors.

The Navico Recreational Marine Division is the world's largest provider of leisure marine electronic products. Lowrance is aimed at fishing, particularly in freshwater and near coastal areas. Simrad Yachting is focused on powerboat owners for cruising and sportfishing and B&G serves the sailing market.

The Simrad Commercial Marine Electronics division also offers a comprehensive portfolio of navigation solutions for the commercial market, while C-MAP provides cartography and digital solutions to both recreational and commercial markets.

Navico has its headquarters in Egersund, Norway, and the group has manufacturing facilities in the United States, UK, Norway, Mexico and New Zealand.

Time line

1947 Simonsen Radio was founded by Willy Simonsen (NOR) leading the development of echo sounding equipment. Simrad Yachting was born from the union of Simonsen Radio and other marine technology pioneers.

1955 Brookes & Gatehouse (B&G) was founded by Major R.N Gatehouse and Ronald Brookes (UK).

1957 Lowrance Electronics created by Darrell Lowrance (USA) and launched the first recreational sonar product for anglers – the Fish-Lo-K-Tor, also known as the ‘Little Green Box’.

2003 Simrad Yachting acquired B&G.

2005 Altor 2003 Fund acquires Simrad Yachting AS from Kongsberg Group.

2006 Altor 2003 Fund acquires Lowrance Electronics.

2006 Navico was created through the merger of Simrad Yachting and Lowrance Electronics by their common owners, Altor Equity Partners, a Swedish private equity firm.

2007 Navico acquire the marine electronics business of Brunswick New Technologies creating the world’s largest supplier of marine electronics for recreational boats.

2016 Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division and Altor Fund IV signed an agreement to acquire Navico Holding AS (Navico) and Digital Marine Solutions Holding AS (Digital Marine Solutions), owner of Jeppesen Marine, from the Altor 2003 Fund.

2016 Navico expands manufacturing plant in Ensanada, Mexico adding 50,000 sq ft

2017 Navico acquire C-MAP, providing cartography products and services for all types of leisure boaters, from fishermen and sailing enthusiasts to powerboat owners around the world.

2019 Knut Frostad appointed as President and CEO of Navico.

Brand summaries

B&G

Formerly Brookes and Gatehouse, B&G was founded over fifty years ago and manufactures advanced instrumentation systems for sailing yachts. B&G systems are used by competitive raceboats as well as amateur sail racers and sailing superyachts. The B&G range encompasses instruments, pilots and navigation equipment, plus tactical racing software and other high-end performance measurement and analysis solutions.

Eagle

Eagle is a popular brand of marine electronics headquartered in the USA. The Eagle range of products focuses on fishfinders and navigation instruments specially developed for coastal waters and inland lakes. Eagle manufactures fishfinders and chartplotters as standalone and combined units.

Lowrance

Lowrance Electronics has been a major manufacturer of maritime electronics for over sixty years. The Lowrance range of products includes fishfinders, chartplotters, marine VHF radios and handheld GPS units. Markets include the automotive, aviation and outdoor sectors as well as angling and recreational boating enthusiasts. The company has a long-standing reputation for product development and innovation.

Northstar

The Northstar brand has a 35-year history and is a major manufacturer of navigation systems for boats of all sizes. Northstar has particular expertise in the development of integrated navigation systems, and also has a reputation for designing units that are stylish as well as capable. In 2008 the Navman marine electronics line, acquired along with Northstar by Navico in 2007 as part of its purchase of Brunswick New Technologies Inc, was rolled into the Northstar product family.

Simrad Yachting

Simrad Yachting traces its roots back over sixty years ago when its founder patented new wireless communications for fishing vessels. Simrad Yachting is now a major marine electronics brand which manufactures a wide range of instruments for recreational craft and coastal commercial vessels. The Simrad Yachting range includes integrated navigation systems, communications equipment, autopilots, safety electronics and GPS / DGPS systems under the MX Marine brand.