There are numerous manufacturers of fishing equipment, and they produce everything you can think of in the branch from lures, hooks, and rods to beginner fly fishing rods. Heddon and Rapala are two names with tradition in this business. And the history of the Rapala company is told by some of the oldest items they produce such as the Rapala fishing lures. The lure production was initiated some 60 years ago. Experience and tradition definitely influence the quality of the products and the company’s track record and current unique distribution network, brand portfolio and manufacturing brand gives it a great position for further growth.
Rapala fishing lures were first produced in Finland. Lauri Rapala, the one who founded the business, was born in Finland in 1905 in a poor family, later in life making a buck by working on farms and fishing. The creation of improved lures came from the practical necessity of improving productivity. The prototype for Rapala fishing lures saw daylight in 1936 in the form of a carved lure that caused an off-center and wobbled in the water. This initial model makes the basis for a lot of the Rapala fishing lures.
Rapala company won most of its fame after the Second World War. We could actually speak of a revival of the small Rapala business. In the very beginning, all the Rapala fishing lures were made by the founder himself and later on he involved the members of his family in the process as well. Since the very first days of the company, high emphasis was put on testing, and all the Rapala fishing lures still have to go through a rigorous quality checking process.
The international episode in the Rapala fishing lures story started after the Olympic Games of Helsinkin, 1952, when foreign visitors took some of the products abroad with them. From this moment, exports started, first toSweden and Norway and then to the US. In 1957 the business got formalized and the Rapala and Sons / Rapala-Uistin company was established. Further business exposure was achieved with the publication of a complex article in the pages of Life Magazine in 1962. It was perhaps because the same magazine issue wrote about Marlyn Monroe’s death that Rapala fishing lures increased their popularity in America, even if the quality of the products contributed most to the market impression.
After the success in the States, Rapala went international, copies having been made after their products. Legal actions have been taken against unauthorized copying, yet, forged versions still exist; yet, the quality provided by Rapala still remains a good criterion of appreciation that is surely unsurpassed.
