Harken, Inc. is an international manufacturer specializing in performance sailing hardware, headquartered in

Pewaukee Pewaukee is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. The population was 13,195 at the 2010 census. The Village of Pewaukee, which was incorporated out of the town before it incorporated as a city, is surrounded by the city. The name of the city ...

, Wisconsin, United States. The company was founded in a 60-foot trailer in 1967 by brothers Peter Harken and Olaf Harken. Originally, the brothers manufactured

sailboats 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 ...

under the name

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...

and kept the hardware business separate so they could sell to competing boatbuilders.

Gary Comer Gary Campbell Comer (December 10, 1927 – October 4, 2006) was the founder of mail order clothing retailer Lands' End.Dennis Hevesi"Gary C. Comer, 78, Founder of Lands’ End, Dies,"''New York Times'', October 6, 2006. Early life Born on the Sout ...

, founder of

Lands' End Lands' End is an American clothing and home decor retailer founded in 1963 and based in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, that specializes in casual clothing, luggage, and home furnishings. The majority of the company's business is conducted through mail o ...

clothing company, advised and helped them distribute their first blocks by placing them in the Lands' End catalogue. In 1986, Vanguard Sailboats was spun off to Stephen Clark in

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

so that the brothers could focus on hardware. Harken hardware has been a dominant force in the racing segment for many years, making its

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

and

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

debuts in 1976 and 1977, respectively. Harken's primary manufacturing plants are the Pewaukee headquarters and the Italian office in

Limido Comasco Limido Comasco (locally or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan and about southwest of Como. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,579 and an are ...

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

. Harken has sales and service offices in USA (

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

), France, Japan,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

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, an ...

, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Harken equipment may be found on racing boats as small as the 7-foot

Optimist (dinghy) The Optimist is a small, single-handed sailing dinghy intended for use by young people up to the age of 15. The Optimist is one of the two most popular sailing dinghies in the world, with over 150,000 boats officially registered with the c ...

mega yacht A superyacht or megayacht is a large and luxurious pleasure vessel. There are no official or agreed upon definitions for such yachts, but these terms are regularly used to describe professionally crewed motor or sailing yachts, ranging from to ...

s and ocean racers.

References

{{reflist
"Harken Named Company of the Decade."
boats.com; December 10, 2000. * Decker, Eric. "Harken's Innovation Created International Market for Sailing Gear." Small Business Times; June 23, 2006. * Sailing World Hall of Fame, Sailing World Magazine. April 24, 2002
Sailing World Magazine

"Ernst & Young 2008 Entrepreneurs of the Year."
Twin Cities Business; August 2008.

The Milwaukee Journal; August 12, 2007. * Rovito, Rich

The Business Journal of Milwaukee; June 30, 2006. * "Honor roll of U.S. exporters." Business America; March 12, 1990.
"Honor roll of U.S. exporters – President's "E" Award."
Business America; April 5, 1993.
"Saving Sailing."
Sailing Anarchy; September 16, 2009. * Bednarek, David
"Sailing Around the World: Harken wins National Award for its Success with Exports."
The Milwaukee Journal; August 16, 1993. * Maloney, Lawrence. "Sailing into the Future." Design News; June 17, 1991. * Cole, Tim
"No Sitting Duck."
Popular Mechanics; August 1990.
"Concept Yacht."
Popular Mechanics; August 1986. * Quandt, Matt
Local Library Gets an Observatory.
Astronomy.com Blog; May 22, 2009. Sailing equipment manufacturers American boat builders Companies based in Wisconsin Waukesha County, Wisconsin