Elan is a

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

n company, located in

Begunje na Gorenjskem Begunje na Gorenjskem (; german: Vigaun''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 146.) is a village in the Municipality of Radovljica in the ...

, specializing in the production of

sporting goods Sports equipment, sporting equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear used to compete in a sport and varies depending on the sport. The equipment ranges from balls, nets, and protective gear like helmets. ...

. It is best known for its

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...

s and

snowboard Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Mar ...

s. Other products include

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

s from length, motor

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

apparel Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

(mostly sportswear), and equipment for sports facilities. The brand became better known in the late 1970s, when Swedish alpine skiing ace

Ingemar Stenmark Jan Ingemar Stenmark (; born 18 March 1956) is a Swedish former World Cup alpine ski racer. He is regarded as one of the most prominent Swedish athletes ever, and as the greatest slalom and giant slalom specialist of all time. He competed fo ...

won three consecutive

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

overall titles on Elan skis. The company also manufactured license-built DG

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

s from 1978.

History

The company originated from a

Slovene Partisan The Slovene Partisans, formally the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Slovenia, (NOV in POS) were part of Europe's most effective anti-Nazi resistance movement Jeffreys-Jones, R. (2013): ''In Spies We Trust: The Story of Western ...

workshop that operated during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when skis were produced for the Yugoslavian Partisan forces. Begunje fielded the only specialized Partisan ski-unit of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

during the war. In 1949, the company started with production of small

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

s, like

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

s and

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

s which was later expanded into the production of FRP boats and yachts. The company has also started the production of wide range of gym equipment and sports clothing. In 1978, the production of license-built DG gliders was started. In 1991 Elan company was split into several subdivisions which continue the production. Glider production was later transferred to

AMS Flight AMS Flight is a manufacturer of gliders, motorgliders and ultralight aircraft. It is based in Begunje na Gorenjskem, Slovenia. History In 1978 the first DG-100 license-built for the ELAN company, a single-seat sailplane, was built by a team o ...

using the former Elan manufacturing facilities.

Elan SCX

Elan SCX The SCX, for "SideCut eXtreme" (or "eXperiment"), was an alpine ski introduced by Elan in the winter of 1993/4. Skis before the SCX had almost always used a shape that was slightly curved inward on the sides, typically by compared to a straight ...

changed the world ski industry by inventing

sidecut Ski geometry is the shape of the ski. Described in the direction of travel, the front of the ski, typically pointed or rounded, is the tip, the middle is the waist and the rear is the tail. Skis have four aspects that define their basic performance ...

skis, which made carve turns possible at low speeds and with a short turn radius. They were first developed in 1988 by Jurij Franko (not to be confused with the skier

Jure Franko Jure Franko () (born 28 March 1962 in Nova Gorica) is a Slovenian- Yugoslav former alpine skier, best known for winning a giant slalom silver medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. Jure Franko was born and raised in Nova Gorica ...

), who calculated a suitable flex pattern for the new kind of skis with his colleague Pavel Škofic. They organized a project dubbed SideCut Extreme ( SCX) and set out to build prototypes.Seth Massia
"The Evolution of Modern Ski Shape"
''Skiing Heritage Journal'', September 2005, pp. 33–37 Introduced in 1993, the concept was initially ridiculed by other companies, but in secret they quickly started working on similar designs and such shaping was common by the 1995/96 model year.

Voyager

In early 2021, Elan announced that it created "the world's first fully functional, folding, all-mountain ski".

Company

The Elan Group consists of 20 interlinked companies under the joint ownership of the Skimar company. Most of the group's companies use the Elan brand-name and logo as part of their projects, products and services. The company's headquarters are located in Begunje na Gorenjskem, while its various manufacturing companies are scattered throughout Central Europe: Elan skis and sailing yachts are made in Slovenia,

Elan snowboards Elan is a Slovenian company, located in Begunje na Gorenjskem, specializing in the production of sporting goods. It is best known for its skis and snowboards. Other products include sailboats from length, motor yachts, apparel (mostly sportswear ...

are manufactured in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, and its motor yachts are produced in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. The group markets its products through independent distributors in 46 countries over the world, with marketing taken over by Elan's own companies in North America, Japan, Germany, and Switzerland. On 13 March 2013 Elan's Austrian subsidiary company named „Elan Sportartikelerzeugungs- und Handelsgesellschaft m.b.H.“ located in

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...

announced bankruptcy. Elan Austria had liabilities of 8.7 million euro and assets of 6.5 million euro. 78 employees and 120 creditors were affected by this bankruptcy. The Slovenian state organisation SDH, which is in charge of privatisation activities in Slovenia on behalf of the government, gave its approval for the sale of the "state-owned ski maker Elan to Merrill Lynch International and Wiltan Enterprises Limited" The sale for 100% of the company including the snow sports and yachting divisions with the agreed purchase price not known.

In popular culture

In the 1985 James Bond series film ''

A View to a Kill ''A View to a Kill'' is a 1985 spy film and the fourteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and is the seventh and final appearance of Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted ...

'' with Roger Moore, Russians were skiing on Elan skis. Elan skis were clearly shown in the romantic comedy ''

Working Girl ''Working Girl'' is a 1988 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols, written by Kevin Wade, and starring Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, and Melanie Griffith. Its plot follows an ambitious secretary from Staten Island who t ...

''. The character Katharine Parker (

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gram ...

) was skiing with RC Elan skis and poles.

References

External links

Official website

Winter sports division

Nautical division
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elan (Company) Glider manufacturers Ski equipment manufacturers Slovenian brands Sporting goods manufacturers of Slovenia Manufacturing companies established in 1945 1945 establishments in Slovenia