Lowrance (Navico Australia), Company

Lowrance, a designer and manufacturer of Sonar, GPS and Aviation instruments, got its start in Joplin, Missouri in 1957. Carl Lowrance, an avid fisherman with an inquisitive nature, shared his love of the sport with his two sons, Darrell and Arlen. Darrell and Arlen were among the first inland skin divers, and through this activity learned that most fish in any given body of water were generally found in schools and in specific areas. It became obvious to the Lowrances that an instrument was needed to show fishermen where to concentrate their fishing efforts. They designed the world's first high frequency transistorized sonar for sport fishing and boating with several things in mind. It had to be portable, compact, lightweight, contain its own batteries and be relatively inexpensive. The advent of transistors into consumer electronics products was very important to the unit's concept. In 1957 commercial sonar units were selling for more than $2000. The first Lowrance unit sold for less than $150...... In 1998 a new series of hand held GPS mapping products were introduced, shipped with Lowrance's breakthrough IMS MapCreate™CD-ROM which includes all of Lowrance's IMS SmartMaps, IMS WorldMaps, rural roads, coastal navigation aids and wrecks and obstructions data enabling the upload of customizable maps into the units. In 2002 the Lowrance LCX-16ci SONAR/GPS combo was presented the prestigious "Best of Show" Award at ICAST 2000. During 2001, the Company announced an entire new family of SONAR and GPS-mapping products in totally new compact case designs. Lowrance announced over 15 new models for 2003...from entry-level fishfinders to mega-screen color combos. Lowrance presently offers the most complete range of sonar and GPS products available from any one manufacturer for nearly every fishing, boating and outdoor need.