Leupold & Stevens - History

History

Leupold & Stevens was originally founded by the German Markus Friedrich (Fred) Leupold and his brother-in-law Adam Voelpel in 1907, under the name Leupold & Voelpel. At the time, the company specialized in the repair of survey equipment. In 1911, Leupold & Voelpel was contracted by John Cyprian (J.C.) Stevens to manufacture a water level recorder he had designed and patented. After the initial success of the product, he was made partner in 1914 and the company was renamed Leupold, Voelpel, and Co. Besides the first water level recorder, the company invented several other innovative pieces of equipment, such as the Telemark water recorder which was patented in 1939. This device could transmit water level information via telephone, allowing for remote monitoring of water resources to become feasible.

In 1942, the company name was changed to its present form, Leupold & Stevens. Surveying equipment, rifle scopes, and related products are sold under the "Leupold" name, while water monitoring instrumentation, such as level and flow recorders, are marketed under the "Stevens" brand.

After World War II Leupold & Stevens began making gun scopes after Marcus Leupold failed to hit a deer with his rifle. His scope fogged up and he is reported to have exclaimed "Hell! I could build a better scope than this!" as the deer bounded off. By 1979, the Leupold scopes were generating twice the total revenue of Stevens instruments.

In 1969, the company acquired a majority interest in the company Nosler Bullets (also a family company), and then sold off their portion in 1988. Other ventures include Biamp Systems 1985-1986 makers of sound equipment and Fabmark 1984-1990 a sheet metal fabrication division that serviced high technology companies.

By 1996, the company had sales of $100 million. In 1998, the water monitoring portion of Leupold & Stevens was spun off into its own privately held Portland-based business, Stevens Water Monitoring Systems, inc., with Leupold & Stevens also retaining the “Stevens” name as part of their corporate identity. In 2002, Leupold & Stevens won a Wausau Insurance Gold Award for workplace safety at the company’s factory. By 2006, the company employed 600 people at its Beaverton facility. The company is now in its fifth generation of ownership.

In 2008, Leupold & Stevens purchased Redfield Optics along with its brand name and all intellectual property rights. In 2010, the company added almost 100 employees, bringing total employment to almost 700 by November of that year. In late 2010, a Portland Business Journal article gave the company's annual revenue as approximately $160 million, citing Reference.com for the estimate.