PENN

PENN is an American fishing reel brand founded in 1932 by Otto Henze, a German immigrant machinist, as the Penn Fishing Tackle Manufacturing Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The brand became synonymous with saltwater fishing after introducing the Senator reel in 1936, a big-game conventional reel used to set numerous world records for tuna, marlin, and other offshore species. PENN's International series of lever-drag reels, launched in the 1960s, remains a standard in offshore trolling, while the Spinfisher spinning reel line, first introduced in 1961, is one of the longest-running saltwater spinning reel families in the industry. Modern product lines include the Slammer, Authority, and Battle spinning reels, Fathom and Squall conventional reels, and a range of matching rods and combos. PENN reels have been associated with more International Game Fish Association world records than most competing brands, and the company promotes its heritage of full-metal-body construction and sealed drag systems built for corrosive saltwater environments. Since 2003 PENN has been owned by Pure Fishing, the tackle conglomerate that also owns Abu Garcia, Berkley, and Shakespeare, and the brand is managed from Pure Fishing's headquarters in Columbia, South Carolina.