The Mitchell legend...... began in the heart of the Avre valley in Cluses, France. Cluses, however, was not originally famous for the production of fishing reels. As early as 1720, the city was engaged in the art of clock making. By 1848 the city had become so well-known that a prestigious clockmaking school, l’Ecole d’Horlogerie, was established in Cluses by royal decree. Louis Carpano, one of the first graduates of the school, was highly regarded for making fine quality watch works. After working in a Geneva clockworks factory for a few years, Carpano returned to Cluses and formed a partnership in 1868 with Francois Jacottet. Jacottet’s clockmaking factory became Carpano’s four years later. In 1902, Mr. Carpano gave the factory to his nephew, Constant Carpano. Clockmaking continued to prosper until WWI when the factory was refitted to produce munitions for the war. After the war, production returned to watch parts and gears. Upon Constant Carpano’s death in 1927, a partnership was created among his heirs and son-in-law, Charles Pons. Carpano & Pons became an industrial firm of broad scope making clocks, household appliances, rods, reels, and lures. Maurice Jacquemin, a Carpano & Pons engineer, was the inventor of the Mitchell reel as we know it today. His goal was to produce a reel which was not only a container to hold line, but a tool which would cast the lure at a great distance with precision and recover the line without tangling. After two years of research, the revolutionary Mitchell 300 was born in 1948. Mr. Pons named the reel in honor of his brother, Mitchel. A marked departure from the reels of its day in mechanics and appearance, the Mitchell 300 was the beginning of a chain reaction that rapidly propelled the company to international renown. THE ORIGINAL MITCHELL 300 SPINNING REEL In 1965, upon the death of Mr. Pons, Mitchell and other Carpono & Pons divisions became separate companies. The future was bright as production reached 12,000 reels per day in 1970. Unfortunately, the oil crisis and strong international competition in the late 1970s forced Mitchell to declare bankruptcy in 1981 Philippe Blime took over Mitchell in 1982 with plans to revitalize the business. He strived to turn the company around using the Mitchell brand’s prestige and tradition of quality. His restructuring strategy was to rejuvenate the product line, reduce costs, increase distribution, and innovate throughout, while at the same time respecting the tradition. In 1983-1984 stiff international competition forced Mitchell to subcontract the manufacture of its products to the Pacific Rim. Although Mitchell reels were no longer produced in France, French engineers still maintained control of the products’ concept and design. On January 2, 1990, Mitchell was acquired by Johnson Worldwide Associates, as a complement to JWA’s already successful Johnson Reel line. At that time, nearly 30 million Mitchell 300s had been sold worldwide, since its introduction in the early 1950s. In addition to being known as a great fishing reel, Mitchell has become a leader in protecting our environment and educating young people. In 1987 Mitchell got involved in the protection of French rivers by starting a program called, "1 franc per reel." The program donated one franc from each reel sold to fund projects for organizations committed to preserving France’s rivers. Mitchell also developed a teaching package for river and ocean fishing for use in schools. By 1990, fifty schools throughout France had taught more than 2,000 young people with the assistance of these materials. Mitchell was purchased by Pure Fishing in 2000 as part of the JWA fishing products acquisition. Pure Fishing is proud to add this fine brand to its family of leading fishing tackle names which also includes Berkley, Abu Garcia and Fenwick.