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Rapala is the world's largest manufacturer of fishing lures and other fishing related products. It was founded in Finland in the 1930s by Lauri Rapala. Their most popular product is a balsa wood minnow imitation lure called the Original Floater.

Rapala sells over 20 million lures each year, in 140 different countries. 242 all-time world-record fish were set on Rapala lures, and 15 new records in 2005. It is currently the only fishing lure manufacturer that mass produces balsa wood lures.

Background
Lauri Rapala spent summers working as a fisherman in central Finland using long trotlines with up to one thousand baited hooks targeting perch and northern pike. He would observe the way fish behaved, especially when feeding. In the early 1930s, Lauri conceived an idea for making an artificial lure that could catch more fish than live bait and additionally save time as hooks on trotlines would not have to be baited.

Original Floater
Lauri Rapala made his first successful artificial lure in 1936. The design was conceived through trial and error and consultation with a fisherman, Toivo Pylväläinen, and Lauri's friend Akseli Soramäki. The lure was made from cork with a tinfoil covering. Melted photographic film, a cheap and innovative alternative to lacquer, was used to coat and seal the lure. The design of the lure created a wobbling movement that closely mimicked wounded minnows. The lure was slightly bouyant, but would be pulled under water by a small lip at the front of the lure. This combination of movements, or action, is meant to entice predatory fish into attacking the lure. This basic lure design remains today as the Original Floater. The Original Floater is still one of the best selling lures in the world.

Early Production
The lure Rapala had created soon increased the number of fish he caught daily. Other fisherman heard of the lure's success and were eager to purchase them. With the help of his family, Rapala created a business producing his lures using simple machinery. Using these simple methods, Rapala and his four sons produced around 1000 lures each year. Lauri insisted that each lure be tested before they were sold, ensuring each lure had the specific wobbling action that made them so successful.

Finnish immigrants moving to North America brought Rapala's lure with them. Athletes at the 1952 Summer Olympic games in Helsinki purchased the lure from local shops and helped spread a few of the lures throughout North America.

Rapala Company and Normark
The stories of the lure's fish catching ability spread and eventually reached Ron Weber, a tackle sales representative. In 1959 Weber purchased the Rapala made lures from a Finnish store owner in Minnesota, he promptly tested them. Soon after Weber sent a letter to Lauri Rapala asking for 500 lures. Weber convinced Roy Ostrom, an owner of a sporting goods store and friend of Weber, to stock the lures made by Lauri Rapala. The duo initially called the business the Rapala Company. Sales were slow at first as the price of $1.95 was twice that of typical lures on the market. However, as salesmen, Ostrom and Weber knew that they needed to market the lures they were importing from Finland. Rapala Company worked to establish connections in the outdoor sports market, even financing fishing films for outdoor sports television shows and clubs.

Expansion
The most influential exposure gained by the Rapala Company came from an article in Life magazine in 1962. Coincidentally, the issue featured Marilyn Monroe on the cover shortly after her death, causing the issue to sell more than usual. Consequentially, Rapala Company received approximately three million orders for the Finnish lures. Production by Rapala Oy (Lauri Rapala's family company) and imports by the Rapala Company could not maintain pace with consumer demand. Weber soon traveled meet Lauri Rapala in Finland to discuss production increases. Weber proposed financing a small factory, which soon provided the additional lures needed to keep up with the booming demand. Weber and Ostrom renamed the Rapala Company, choosing Normark which roughly translates as “north land”.

In 1963 a new model of lure used for ice fishing, the Original Finnish Jigging Minnow, was introduced to the U.S. Additional products soon joined the U.S market. In conjunction with the Original Finnish Jigging Minnow, a Finnish ice auger was imported. Weber reached out to a Finnish knife maker, Lauri Marttini, to design a flexible fillet knife. The Fish 'N Fillet has become one of the most successful products produced under the Rapala name. At one point it contributed 40% of total revenue for Normark. By the end of the 1960s another lure, the Countdown – a sinking lure, was introduced.

The 1970s brought about a period of even greater development and diversification in Normark. In addition to marketing the current Rapala lures extensively, Weber and Ostrom worked with the anglers and Rapala Oy to create new lure designs for an increasing variety of fish. The Rapala Magnum, the first saltwater lure produce by the company, was introduced in 1970; the Shad Rap was introduced in 1974.

Customer education became a important portion of Rapala-Normark family of products. Rapala product guide books were soon produced with titles like How to Fish a Rapala and How to Clean a Mess of Fish Without Making a Mess of the Fish. Professional anglers included Rapala products in their books as well.

Compasses, rod racks, clothing and other products were incorporated into Normark. Although generally successful, there were notable failures. Normark attempted to enter the cross-country ski market in the early 1970s. Competition for other producers, several seasons of poor snow fall, and changing consumer demands led to the failure and eventual elimination of this portion of the Rapala-Normark company in the late 1970s.

Blue Fox Tackle Co.
In 1968 Weber and Ostrom had purchased Minneapolis-based National Expert Bait Company. The purchase was made in part due to fears that the escalating Cold War could be detrimental to the supply of lures. The new lures did not garner much interest, however. It was not until 1979 when the company was reformed under the name Blue Fox Tackle Company, that the lures became successful. A series of spinner baits marketed in conjunction with professional angler Roland Martin expanded Blue Fox's market into the southern U.S. Create lures based on scientific principles gained popularity among a growing number of anglers interested in a scientific method of fishing.

Restructuring
Lauri Rapala died in 1974 amid booming production and success in his company. However, by the 1980s sales had slowed down as a result of economic recession and a changing market place where small independent tackle retailers were being replaced by large corporations. Production needed to increase to meet the demand of the large retailers while maintaining the quality that Rapala had built a reputation on.

Jarmo Rapala took control of Rapala Oy in the 1980s and sought to further expand the company internationally and improve cooperation with Normark. In 1990 Weber and Rapala agreed to consolidate Rapala Oy and Normark into Rapala-Normark Group Ltd.

This period also saw the introduction of the first plastic lures made by Rapala. The Rattlin' Rapala was very successful among bass and walleye anglers and led to the development of future plastic lures.

Recent Years
By 1999, 225 million lures were sold under the Rapala name. Rapala continues to sell 20 million lures annually and is the only mass producer of wood lures. Rapala brand lures have more fishing world records than any other brand - well over 200.

Lures and products
Top-running lures (3 feet or shallower): Skitter Pop, Skitter Prop, Skitter Walk, Jigging Shad Rap and Jigging Rap.

Medium diving (about 3-10 feet) lures: Original Floater, Twitchin' Rap, Long Cast Minnow, CountDown, X-Rap, Shallow Shad Rap, Husky Jerk, X-Rap Jointed Shad, X-Rap 14, Rattlin' Rapala,  Jointed Shad Rap, Shad Rap, Dives-to Series, Sure Set Series, Super Shad Rap, Glass Fat Rap, Dives-to Flat,  and Fat Rap.

Deep diving Lures (10 feet or deeper): Magnums, Down Deep Husky Jerk, Saltwater Sliver, X-Rap Magnum 30, and Deep Tail Dancer.

Other Rapala products: crankbaits, jigging lures, lipless crankbaits, surface poppers, fillet knives, fishing rods, reels, and various fishing tools.