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NordicTrack is an American company that manufactures
treadmill A treadmill is a device generally used for walking, running, or climbing while staying in the same place. Treadmills were introduced before the development of powered machines to harness the power of animals or humans to do work, often a type o ...
s, strength training equipment, ellipticals, exercise bikes, and accessories. It is best known for its Nordic ski machines, low-impact exercisers, ellipticals, and incline trainers. NordicTrack is owned and managed by iFIT Health & Fitness Inc. and is headquartered in
Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 census recorded the population was 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Cache County and Franklin ...
. The company has been manufacturing
exercise equipment Exercise equipment is any apparatus or device used during physical activity to enhance the strength or conditioning effects of that exercise by providing either fixed or adjustable amounts of resistance, or to otherwise enhance the experience or ...
since 1975.


History


Founding: 1970s

NordicTrack was founded by Edward and Florence Pauls in 1975, when Ed Pauls invented the original NordicTrack ski machine in his garage in
Chaska, Minnesota Chaska is a city and the county seat of Carver County, Minnesota, United States. An outer ring suburb of the Twin Cities, Chaska is home to the Hazeltine National Golf Club and is known for its historic downtown area located on a bend of t ...
, in an effort to train for the local VJC cross-country ski race. Ed Pauls was an engineer, usually got home after dark, and was motivated to beat his Swedish friend in the race. At the time, the Pauls were making the Flip Ski (a crutch ski used by leg-handicapped downhill skiers) as a part-time mail order business in their basement. Several of their first machines were branded "Nordic Jock", as their original market was anticipated to be college ski racers. The product's name was changed to NordicTrack. The company was moved to the Jonathan industrial park in Chaska, where it first rented and later built a number of buildings for manufacturing, mail and phone sales, and warehousing. The sales concept was mail-order. Ads were placed in magazines, including '' Smithsonian'', '' National Geographic'', ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issue ...
'', and ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''. The ads were different in that they were mostly script explaining the benefits of
cardiovascular exercise Aerobic exercise (also known as endurance activities, cardio or cardio-respiratory exercise) is physical exercise of low to high intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process. "Aerobic" is defined as "relating to, invo ...
, and usually a small picture of the machine being used. The company was built and operated on the cash-and carry basis, and no money was ever borrowed during the Pauls' ownership from 1975 to 1986.


1980s

In the new era of out-sourcing manufacturing (the 1980s), the Pauls family, having a mechanical background, chose to manufacture the machines in-house. From the start, machines were built one at a time on special benches. The company later moved to an assembly line that could put out several thousand units a day. From the start, the woodworking, varnishing, welding, machining, sewing, assembly, packaging, advertising, mailing and sales were all done in-house, mostly by local Chaska residents who were trained by NordicTrack for their specific jobs. As sales grew, more specialized automated procedures were brought in. A UV-varnish conveyor line, full powder coat paint line, robotic welders, two level assembly lines, and a full printing operation and bulk mailing facility were added. The use of the new VHS video technology was pioneered as a way to show the new buyer during the 30-day trial period how to use this somewhat difficult machine unboxed at home. A NordicTrack ski machine takes the average person some time to learn; like a bicycle, it takes balance and coordination to operate. The advent of disposable VHS tapes helped to teach and prove to the new owner that this thing worked. This is why the ski machine has never sold well in stores; people were embarrassed to fumble in public, whereas at home with the video, they mastered it in short order. The 30-day returns dropped drastically after the video addition. The NordicTrack was shipped in two boxes and was designed to just squeak under the UPS weight limit. In 1975
United Parcel Service United Parcel Service (UPS, stylized as ups) is an American multinational shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company specializing in telegraphs, UPS has grown t ...
changed from a limited-destination to a full national and international shipping company. Both companies grew and benefited from the daily truckloads of exercisers rolling out. Around 1984 Ed and Flo decided that it was time to move on, as they were getting older and managing a new startup takes a whole different personality than managing a name-brand, multi-national corporation. In 1986 NordicTrack was sold to CML Corporation (CMLK), which moved operations out of Chaska. CML opened retail stores nationally, focused marketing on
infomercials An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dir ...
, and even began manufacturing other exercise products that were in direct competition of the original NordicTrack. Additionally, CML bought up a number of
mom and pop ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestat ...
startup companies during the 80s. When competitors emerged and the market became over-saturated, CML (NordicTrack and its subsidiaries) could not sustain the debt incurred from expanding its retail division and marketing operations. Now a bloated multi-national, CML couldn't stay ahead of its spending. It closed its 300+ retail stores, and filed bankruptcy in 1998.


Acquisition

In 1998, Icon Health & Fitness acquired NordicTrack. Since then, NordicTrack has thrived and the company continues to manufacture their classic skier, but this model is declining in popularity. NordicTrack treadmills are the top-selling brand worldwide. They also carry a full line of elliptical trainers and exercise bikes. In 2009, NordicTrack pioneered the incline trainer, a specialty treadmill that can reach an incline of up to 40%. These are some of their most popular machines today.


Recent Developments

In January 2019 at the
Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event ty ...
in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...
, NordicTrack released a hybrid of a
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), e ...
gaming product with an stationary bicycle. This system allowed integrated a
virtual reality headset A virtual reality headset (or VR headset) is a head-mounted device that provides virtual reality for the wearer. VR headsets are widely used with VR video games but they are also used in other applications, including simulators and trainers. VR ...
with "gaming 8-axis yoke" handlebars to gamify the workout. The propulsion in the game comes from pedaling the bike through various landscapes and sync with gameplay. The NordicTrack VR bike also comes with an iFit connection that automatically adjusts resistance, incline, and decline based upon commands from an online personal trainer. In late March 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported that NordicTrack saw a dramatic sales spike in NordicTrack fitness equipment due to the
coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...
stay-at-home policies issued around the world to deal with the crisis.


Awards

In August 2019, the
Boy Genius Report Boy Genius Report (also referred to as BGR) is a technology-influenced website and covers topics ranging from consumer gadgets, to entertainment, gaming, and science. Founded in October 2006 by anonymous web personality Boy Genius (also referred ...
picked the NordicTrack T Series treadmill as their "Best Overall" at-home treadmill.


Consumer reports

In 2017, Consumer Reports gave NordicTrack one of their models a Best Buy and three models received a Recommended rating. Two NordicTrack products received the ''Consumer Reports'' Recommended Buy awards, and two NordicTrack treadmills received Best Buy awards in 2016.


Best buy

* NordicTrack C1650 (2017) * NordicTrack Elite9700 Pro (2016) * NordicTrack 790 Pro (2016)


Recommended buy

* NordicTrack C970 (2017) * NordicTrack C990 (2017) * NordicTrack Sport 7.5 (2017) * NordicTrack Commercial 1750 (2016) * NordicTrack C1650 (2016)


See also

* Bowflex * Soloflex


References

{{Reflist


External links


NordicTrack.com
Exercise equipment companies Manufacturing companies based in Minnesota Manufacturing companies established in 1975 Exercise-related trademarks