The Birthplace of Jofa Hockey

The birthplace of Jofa was based in Malung Sweden known as the leather capital of Sweden. The presence of many tanneries in Malung shows a strong connection to the leather industry which contributes to the identity and economy. Most of the farmers in Malung had to supplement their revenues because farming wasn’t lucrative in sustaining a family unit in 1926. Niss Oskar Jonsson founded Jofa in 1926. Most of the leather he sold went to shoes and necessities. But Niss Oskar Jonsson true love was hockey. He was able to materialize his organization and his manufacturing efficiency in building a brand. The same sequences also happened in Canada whereby a farmer from Rockwood Ontario built a tanning operation out of his farm. His raw hide leather was the best in the world. It supplied virtually every sporting goods industry to manufacture hockey equipment. White Tanning still exists today as a premium tannery that supplies the world with Canadian raw hide leather.

Because of growth and expansion Jofa became a silent subsidiary to Volvo. It was at the time when the greatest hockey player came to fruition. Wayne Gretzsky was able to expand hockey beyond America and into Europe. Great hockey players are able to expand and capture the imagination of the entire world, not only for revenue but for the growth of the industry itself. Even when Karhu/CCM purchased Jofa I was confounded that a strong identifiable brand was terminated. In fact, in the 1970’s to 1980’s I sold more Jofa helmets than the other 3 dominate brands Bauer, Cooper and Winnwell combined. When you take a look at Jofa helmets on eBay many are selling above the $19.99 price tag that was given to them to sell to the consumers.

Niss Oskar Jonsson loved hockey not only with the respect with the physicality of the game but also involved a degree of intelligence to get the puck into the net. Niss grew his business as a part of the war effort even though Sweden established neutrality during World War II. It was a country paranoid of Germany and Russia invading. Sweden built many tunnels towards Denmark, fulfilling their duties by providing leather shoes, armaments and contributing to the war effort. These farmers in Malung were notorious warriors just like the many farmers in Canada that built tanneries in Ontario that still exist today as a patron towards freedom. Jofa is a great brand but I think CCM is simply not proud enough to bring it back. Even Bauer brought the Easton stick back. Niss Oskar Jonsson achieved a great legacy in the sporting goods industry. Not only as a contributor to the war effort but his products are being accumulated by collectors at a substantially higher price than when they were originally introduced. Good luck trying to find a Jofa goalie pad.