Hi-Tec Sports, trading as Hi-Tec, is a

privately held A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...

producer and distributor of

sportswear Sportswear or activewear is athletic clothing, including footwear, worn for sports activity or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons. Typical spor ...

and accessories, headquartered in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

History

Hi-Tec Sports was founded in 1974, in

Shoeburyness Shoeburyness ( ), or simply Shoebury, is a coastal town in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England; it lies east of the city centre. It was formerly a separate town until it was absorbed into Southend in 1933. I ...

, Essex, England, by Frank Van Wezel. The company moved its headquarters to

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...

, before relocating its head office to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. Hi-Tec Sports USA was started in Modesto, CA in 1978 by Duke and Kathy Jones. They developed the first lightweight hiking boot. This became the main success of Hi-Tec Sports USA. They also developed and named the "Magnum" boot. Duke and Kathy Jones sold Hi-Tec Sports USA to Frank Van Wezel in 1990. In 1988, the company was floated on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

. Frank van Wezel bought the company back in 2000. It was privately held through 2013. Production was in China until 2005, when Hi-Tec acquired the Falcon shoe factory in Lewiston, Maine, enabling them to offer made-in-usa branded products and compete for US Federal government contracts. In 2013, Hi-Tec founder and chairman Frank van Wezel, was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration by

Anglia Ruskin University Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public research university in the region of East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins date back to the Cambridge School of Art (CSA), founded by William John Beamont, a Fellow of Trinity College at the Unive ...

. In 2016, it was acquired by Cherokee Inc., later known as Apex Global Brands.

Awards

In 2012, Hi-Tec's V-Lite Altitude Ultra Luxe boot received a Which? Best Buy Walking Boot award. Hi-Tec's ZUUK trainer shoe was awarded Footwear Product of the Year 2013 at The Great Outdoors Awards. The UK based Hi-Tec office was announced Sports Footwear Brand of the Year 2014 and Outdoor Footwear Company of the Year 2013 at the Footwear Industry Awards.

References

{{Sports equipment brands Shoe brands Shoe companies of the Netherlands Shoe companies of the United Kingdom Sporting goods manufacturers of the Netherlands Sportswear brands Clothing companies established in 1974 1974 establishments in England Manufacturing companies based in Amsterdam Outdoor clothing brands Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Companies based in Southend-on-Sea