Gordon Composites was founded in 1953 by George, Don and Dave Gordon.
The Gordons’ pioneering work in composites includes the first corrugated panels made with fiberglass-reinforced plastic. They were among the first to make composite surfboards, diving boards and archery bows. Work with archery equipment led to the development of advanced laminates that today have the lion’s share of the business in that market. Capable of deep deflection with virtually no loss of memory after millions of cycles, the laminates find use wherever those properties are needed, such as in office chairs and vibratory conveyors.
Then one fateful day in the mid-1950s, a San Diego maker of archery bows named Frank Eicholtz approached them about making a better facing and backing for his laminated bows. After discussions that piqued the Gordons’ interest, the brothers started making laminates for archery bows. Early products sandwiched a wood core between layers of fiberglass-reinforced plastic.
“They started laying out, with hand lay-up, some unidirectional material and a fine scrim cloth at the surface of it,” says Gordon. “They would actually hand wind these frames, lay them on a heated table and pour epoxy (resin) down inside a cellophane wrapper. They would then wipe the frame down, squeegee it and drag the air out of it. It was a messy and slow process, to say the least.”
Later, the brothers developed solid laminates for bows. Early versions were relatively thin sheets compared to the bar stock used as bow limbs today in the most advanced archery equipment.
“I remember making 20 sheets and sliding them in to cook at about 2.5 to 3 psi pressure for 45 minutes,” says Gordon. “After they cured we would pull them out, peel off the cellophane and trim the flashing. We used to make about 150 sheets on a shift. Now we probably make 150 sheets in 10 minutes.”
In 1954 the brothers produced their own line of archery bows using a fiber reinforced laminate that George Gordon developed in his lab. For the rest of the 1950s through 1963, they produced bows under the “Royal Gordon Bows” brand. Three of the models they produced were the “King,” “Queen” and “Knight.” During this period they also developed and produced composite arrow shafts that were sold under the name “Graphlex” and “Glashaft,” which were popular in schools across the country.
During these early years, Gordon Plastics, Inc. – as the company was known then – was housed in a small metal building on Banks Street in San Diego. During the early ‘60s their landlord built a new 12,000-square-foot facility that served them through 1975. This facility is where most of the initial R & D for today’s technology took place.
During the ‘60s the brothers decided to sell the bow-making business. Since they were producing bows and also selling Bo-Tuff laminate to most of the other bow manufacturers, there seemed to be a conflict of interest with their archery customers. The Gordons decided to concentrate solely on producing high quality laminate for all bow manufacturers. In 1973 they sold the bow company to Browning Arms.
Their archery accounts during the late ‘60s and early ‘70s included all of the leading companies – Root Archery, Bear Archery, Wing Archery and Ben Pearson Archery. By now named Gordon Composites, the company also furnished limb material for some of the first compound bows produced.
“At archery competitions today we’re unique with our market position because we always win,” says Gordon. “The winning bow has always got Gordon glass on it.
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