Easton-Bell Sports, Inc. announced its largest and most aggressive commitment in skate innovation through its recent purchase of MLX Skate's technology. The newly created Easton Speed Institute will combine MLX's innovative skate insights with Easton's design and engineering prowess, leading to a new skate concept expected to be in market for the 2013 hockey season.
“As a brand, Easton is at its best when it reinvents categories with game-changing innovation,” said Chris Zimmerman, president of Easton brands. “We believe there is a unique opportunity to provide a new approach to the art and speed of skating. I am excited that Easton is committing to the skate category in a way that parallels our leadership in hockey and lacrosse sticks, baseball and softball bats, and helmets.”
Dave Cruikshank, four-time Olympian speed skater and founder of MLX, has joined the Easton Speed Institute as Chief of Speed, bringing with him a lifetime of work, skate research and development, and a new approach to making hockey players faster. As an international skater for 16 years, Cruikshank has achieved numerous skating accomplishments including: Junior World Champion 500m; Olympic Trials Gold Medalist; World Cup Medalist; and four-time USA Olympic Team Member.
“The Easton Speed Institute is about innovating a fresh approach to hockey skate designs that speaks to optimizing speed and creating the ultimate skater's skate. The Easton Speed Institute will reinvent how a hockey skate performs, and I am thrilled to be a part of this new team that will create game-changing products,” said Cruikshank.
“Bringing Dave and MLX's technology into the Easton family gives us the ability to reinvent skates in a way no one has before. Dave's remarkable insights into the world of power skating are an exceptional compliment to Easton's expertise in performance engineering and design,” said Zimmerman.
Cruikshank founded MLX to optimize the potential of both National Hockey League players and grassroots athletes by designing superior equipment with the key elements of comfort, protection and performance. The company's roots are based in using a powerful new approach to skate performance that has been known to speed skaters for the past two decades. With the development of Easton's new skate, the MLX skate brand will no longer be marketed.
Cruikshank will be joined by Easton veteran Dmitry Rusakov, who will lead a team of designers, engineers, developers and biomechanical experts to drive innovation. The Easton Speed Institute will be located at Easton's headquarters in Van Nuys, California and in West Allis, Wisconsin.
