Company attributes
Product attributes
Other attributes
Story
Simms was founded in 1980 by John Simms, a Jackson, Wyoming fishing guide and equipment supplier. John Simms founded a company to produce higher quality waders and marsh bogs. equipment than was available at the time. In the mid-1980s, John Simms introduced high quality neoprene waders to the US market. John Simms later sold the company to Life-Link International, another Jackson-based sports company. manufacturer.
In 1992 K.C. Walsh, a Los Angeles-based management consultant, purchased Simms from Life-Link and moved the business to Bozeman, Montana. Simms employs 115 people in Bozeman and in October 2013 merged its manufacturing facilities into a new 62,000 square foot (5,800 m) facility.
Products
Shortly after K.C. Walsh purchased the company and moved it to Bozeman, Simms introduced a line of breathable waders using Gore-Tex. Simms is the only U.S. and one of only three wader manufacturers in the world licensed by W.L. Gore and Associates use Gore-Tex in boots. Simms was one of the first wader manufacturers to produce waders specifically for female anglers. In 2006, Simms introduced high quality zippered waders with waterproof zippers from the YKK Group in Tokyo. Although the Simms G4Z waders are not the first zip waders on the market, they have set a new standard for zip waders.
Environmental protection
In 2008, Trout Unlimited asked waders and shoe manufacturers and anglers to stop using boots and boots with felt soles to help combat the spread of invasive aquatic species. Shortly thereafter, Simms announced that it would be phasing out boots and felt-soled boots from its 2010 product line. Despite many states banning felt-soled wading boots, Simms announced in July 2011 that they would be introducing felt-soled wading boots again due to high consumer demand.
Philanthropy
Simms is an active participant in the Bozeman-based Warriors and Quiet Waters Foundation, a non-profit project that introduces wounded veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to fly fishing.
Products
Simms manufactures a wide range of men's and women's boots, shoes, outerwear, apparel and travel accessories for the fishing and outdoor enthusiasts. It markets its products through a worldwide network of independent fly fishing shops, major sporting goods retailers and online retailers. In 2012, 30% of sales came from international sales and Simms has warehouses in Europe, Japan and New Zealand. Simms Fishing Products has won Field & Stream Magazine's "Best of the Best" eight times since 1998, including awards for waders, boots, jackets and travel bags. In 2016, Simms was awarded the President's "E" award for its export business.
