With its origins in Sweden, Thule is now a truly global brand
In 1942, Thule was founded by the Thulin family, when Erik Thulin, a true lover of the outdoors, put the Thule name on a Pike Trap that he designed and began selling to the fisherman of Scandinavia. It wasn't long before he added other practical things to his company's portfolio. Business boomed, gaining profitably year after year.
By the 1960s, the company began to concentrate its business on car-related products, and before long the first roof rack was born. New product categories were added in the 1970s and new markets were opened worldwide (e.g. US, Japan).
The Thulin family sold Thule to the publicly listed company Eldon in 1979. It continued to grow both organically and through acquisitions (trailers and rooftop box manufacturing), and Thule has been in growth mode ever since. New markets have been opened, product categories have been launched and several companies have joined.
In 2004, the Thule Group acquired Italian snow chain manufacturer König. An ensuing close collaboration resulted in a series of Thule branded snow chains for passenger cars. In 2015 Thule sold to the Austrian manufacturer Schneeketten ag, the parent company of Pewag snow chains who subsequently reinstate the König brand name. https://konigchain.com/about-the-konig-brand/
View the König snow chain website