Garmin was founded in 1989, and currently operates in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, with headquarters in the United States. Garmin first entered the aviation industry with its groundbreaking GPS navigation products nearly thirty years ago. Since then, Garmin’s product range has expanded to cover the aviation, marine and automotive industries. Today, Garmin is a leading company in the aviation, marine, automotive, outdoor and fitness markets. Built on a healthy product ecosystem, and combining exciting and inspiring design, top quality, and super-reliability into an exceptional user experience, Garmin is working hard to become the number one brand for life enthusiasts.
OUR MISSION
To be a strong company by creating superior products for automotive, aviation, marine, outdoor and sports that are an important part of our customers’ lives.
OUR VISION
To be the global leader in every market we serve, and that our products will be sought after for their beautiful design, high quality, and best price.
OUR VALUES
The foundation of our culture is honesty, integrity and respect for our associates, customers and business partners. Each associate is fully committed to serving customers and other associates by delivering high performance and fulfilling what we promise.
Garmin Founder
Garmin was founded in 1989 by then-graduate electrical engineers Gary Burrell and Min H. Kao. Gary was born in Kansas, and was a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Min was born in Zhushan, Taiwan, and earned a doctorate in electrical engineering at the University of Tennessee.
Both worked on the former high-end satellite positioning technology while working under their former boss on a project for the US Department of Defense.
Their goal was to “popularize GPS and change the world,” but this ran counter to their former boss cutting R&D funding. Hence, they decided to start their own business. The company, and the name Garmin, is a combination of the two founders’ names-Gary and Min.
Garmin started the business by integrating cockpit navigation devices into all-in-one designs, which became very popular. Its GPS technology then slowly expanded into the wearable products it is today, expanding into the aviation, marine, automotive, outdoor and sports sectors.
Garmin’s business philosophy of valuing fundamentals and “tackling the hardest tasks first” has carried the company through all sorts of challenges over 30 years, and its “vertical integration” business model has resulted in high customer satisfaction.