O. Mustad & Son A.S. is a Norwegian company that manufactures and sells fishing tackle and accessories since 1877. The Mustad product range includes fish hook

Fish hook

A fish hook is a device for catching fish either by impaling them in the mouth or, more rarely, by snagging the body of the fish. Fish hooks have been employed for centuries by fishermen to catch fresh and saltwater fish. In 2005, the fish hook was chosen by Forbes as one of the top twenty tools...

s, multifilament and monofilament

Monofilament

A monofilament may be:* Monofilament fishing line, a type of thread* A monofilament as used in a monofilament test in a neurological examination* Monomolecular wire, a fictional type of wire consisting of a single strand of molecules...

 fishing line

Fishing line

A fishing line is a cord used or made for angling. Important parameters of a fishing line are its length, material, and weight...

s, fishing lures

Fishing lure

A fishing lure is an object attached to the end of a fishing line which is designed to resemble and move like the prey of a fish. The purpose of the lure is to use movement, vibration, and colour to catch the fish's attention so it bites the hook...

, fishing flies

Artificial fly

An artificial fly or fly lure is a type of fishing lure, usually used in the sport of fly fishing . In general, artificial flies are the bait which fly fishers present to their target species of fish while fly fishing...

, fly hooks, terminal tackle and fishing clothes. The corporate headquarters are in Gjøvik

Gjøvik

is a town and a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Gjøvik.In 1861, the village of Gjøvik in the municipality of Vardal was granted town status and was separated from Vardal to form a separate municipality...

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

.

History

Mustad can trace its roots back to 1832 in Vardal

Vardal

Vardal is a former municipality in Oppland county, Norway.It was created in 1837 as Vardal formannskapsdistrikt. According to the 1835 census the municipality had a population of 2,921...

. Then the farmer Hans Schikkelstad

Hans Schikkelstad

Hans Hansen Schikkelstad was a Norwegian businessperson and politician.He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament in 1833, representing the constituency of Kristians Amt. He served only one term....

 established the factory "Brusveen Spiger- og Staltradfabrikk" for the production of nails, steel wire and various metal products. Later, Skikkelstad's son-in-law Ole Hovelsen Mustad

Ole Hovelsen Mustad

Ole Hovelsen Mustad was a Norwegian businessperson and politician. He was instrumental in shaping the company O. Mustad & Søn, and served one term in the Norwegian Parliament....

, took over the company with his son Hans

Hans Mustad

Hans Mustad was a Norwegian businessperson. He was instrumental in shaping the company O. Mustad & Søn.He was born in Vardal as the son of Ole Hovelsen Mustad. He was a brother of Kristian Mauritz Mustad and uncle of Sigbjørn Mustad; both were jurists and politicians. Ole Hovelsen Mustad was a...

 and changed its name to "O. Mustad" and later "O. Mustad & Son".

By refining and industrializing the manual production of fish hook

Fish hook

A fish hook is a device for catching fish either by impaling them in the mouth or, more rarely, by snagging the body of the fish. Fish hooks have been employed for centuries by fishermen to catch fresh and saltwater fish. In 2005, the fish hook was chosen by Forbes as one of the top twenty tools...

s in 1877, the company managed to become a global market leader in just a few years. In some parts of the world 'Mustad' is in fact the local word for a fish hook.

Mustad today

Still owned by the family, the company is currently being run by the 6th generation Mustad. In later years, Mustad has expanded from their core business of manufacturing hooks and terminal tackle to a varied range of other fishing accessories.

The company has established sales offices in Auburn NY and Miami (USA), Porto Alegre (Brazil), Cape Town (South Africa), Singapore and Wuxi (China), and has production facilities in Norway, China, Singapore, Portugal, Malaysia and the Philippines. Mustad’s products are present in more than 160 countries.