Since 1919
A century of darting passion.
The British history of dartboard manufacturing began in earnest in the early twentieth century. Between them, our three companies have spent a collective 225 years at the forefront of the industry.
- Nodor is founded
- 1919
- The first bristle dartboard goes on sale
- 1935
- Winmau launches the Blade
- 1997
- Combined years of Nodor, Winmau and Red Dragon
- 225
Key milestones
1919Nodor
Founded
Ted Leggatt invents Nodor modelling clay, so called because it had “no odour”.
1923Nodor
The first Nodor dartboard
The Nodor Plasticine Dartboard is first marketed.
1927Nodor
A new home in East London
Nodor moves to larger manufacturing premises in East London and adds darts to the range.
1932Nodor
The bristle patent
Kent publican F.T. Dabbs makes a dartboard from rope ends. Leggatt refines the idea and files for a patent with Dabbs.
1935Nodor
The Original Bristle
The Nodor Original Bristle dartboard is first marketed, and Ted Leggatt founds the National Darts Association.
1936Nodor
The dartboard is standardised
The present-day “clock” pattern is adopted as the standard board worldwide.
1938Nodor
100 staff
The Nodor workforce reaches 100 people.
1941Nodor
The war years
Nodor moves out of London to Devon. Raw materials are scarce, but production continues.
1945Winmau
Elm boards
Harry Kicks Snr invests his demob money to start making elm dartboards in London’s East End.
1945Nodor
Export markets open
US servicemen learn to play darts during the war, and an export market begins to develop.
1946Nodor
Back to London
Nodor returns to London and the original patent is extended by six years. Production and sales soon surpass pre-war levels.
1946Winmau
The Kicks factory
With paraffin lamps for light and a coal fire for heat, Kicks delivers his boards to Watney’s Brewery via the London Underground.
1951Nodor
Johnny Ross joins
World-famous player Johnny Ross joins Nodor as Works Manager.
1952Winmau
Cabinets
Kicks adds handmade dartboard cabinets to the range.
1953Nodor
Dunlop
Dunlop Sports agrees to market Nodor’s entire bristle dartboard production.
1966Nodor
New owners
The Grisley family buys the Nodor Company.
1969Winmau
Haverhill
H.A. Kicks & Sons relocates to Haverhill, Suffolk, as part of London’s regeneration programme.
1970Winmau
A reputation for quality
The business prospers as Kicks becomes known for quality.
1970Nodor
Nodor moves to Wales
Nodor leaves London for the last time, relocating to a purpose-built factory in Cardiff after the compulsory purchase of its London premises.
1972Winmau
Winmau is named
Harry Kicks renames the company Winmau (“win-more”), after the first letters of his wife’s names, Winifred Maud.
1973Nodor
Brackla Engineering
Ford Motor Company engineer John Bluck founds Brackla Engineering.
1974Winmau
Winmau World Masters
A breakthrough deal with Olly Croft of the British Darts Organisation begins a relationship lasting nearly 50 years.
1976Red Dragon
Red Dragon is launched
Brackla Engineering launches Red Dragon as the first direct-to-consumer darts brand, with tungsten darts priced for the working man.
1978Winmau
The first World Championship
Wales’ Leighton Rees wins the inaugural World Professional Darts Championship, played on a Winmau bristle board.
1980Winmau
Argos
Winmau supplies Argos for the first time, beginning a relationship that continues every year to the present day.
1982Winmau
Bullseye
Winmau supplies the TV show Bullseye, a British institution for 15 years with audiences of up to 20 million.
1983Nodor
The Bluck family
Nodor passes to the Bluck family and merges with Red Dragon, by now the leading manufacturer of tungsten darts.
1984Nodor
Supabull
The world-renowned, patented Supabull is invented and takes the market by storm.
1986Nodor
More patents
Further patents are granted to Nodor, greatly enhancing board features.
1987Nodor
Room to grow
Nodor acquires a 122,000 sq ft manufacturing facility from Hawker Siddeley Group plc to support long-term growth.
1993Winmau
US distribution
Accudart, Winmau’s US distributor, becomes majority shareholder in the company.
1994Nodor
The first PDC World Championship
Nodor supplies its premium Supawire boards to the inaugural PDC World Championship.
1995Winmau
Development begins
Winmau starts work on the most technically advanced dartboard in the world.
1995Nodor
A bullseye record
John Lowe breaks the world 10-hour bullseye record, scoring 1,320 bulls on a Nodor Supabull 2.
1997Winmau
The Blade
After two years of development, Winmau launches the Blade “Ultimate No Bounce” dartboard with staple-free technology.
1997Nodor
The largest promotional order in darts
Nodor manufactures nearly 600,000 bristle dartboards for the US market.
1999Nodor
Production moves to Kenya
Dartboard production relocates from Wales to Kenya, home of the finest sisal, the key ingredient of a bristle board.
2002Nodor
Nodor acquires Winmau
Winmau production is integrated into the Group’s state-of-the-art facility in the sisal-growing heartlands of East Africa.
2002Winmau
Blade 2
With Nodor’s engineering behind it, Winmau launches Blade 2.
2004Winmau
The Viking
Crowd favourite and Winmau legend Andy “The Viking” Fordham becomes BDO World Champion.
2005Winmau
Blade 3
Blade 3 launches worldwide.
2006Winmau
A 17-year-old wins the Masters
Michael van Gerwen wins the Winmau World Masters aged 17, starting a career that makes him one of the finest players of all time.
2010Winmau
Blade 4
Blade 4 is showcased at the Lakeside World Championship for the first time.
2010Red Dragon
Snakebite signs
Red Dragon signs Peter “Snakebite” Wright.
2013Winmau
Dual Core
Patented Dual Core technology optimises board compression for durability and dart retention.
2015Red Dragon
The Iceman signs
Red Dragon signs Gerwyn “The Iceman” Price.
2018Winmau
Blade 5
Enhanced wiring and the new Rotalock stabilising system feature in Blade 5 and Blade 5 Dual Core.
2019Nodor
100 years in darts
Nodor celebrates its centenary.
2020Winmau
MvG signs
Winmau signs three-time World Champion Michael van Gerwen.
2020Red Dragon
Peter Wright, World Champion
Peter Wright wins his first World Championship as darts booms during lockdown and the Group grows rapidly.
2021Winmau
Blade 6
The Blade 6 series launches, including Blade 6 Dual Core and Blade 6 Triple Core Carbon.
2021Red Dragon
Gerwyn Price, World Champion
Gerwyn Price wins his first World Championship.
2022Winmau
The official board of the PDC
Winmau signs an exclusive deal with the Professional Darts Corporation, which selects the Blade 6 Triple Core Carbon as its official board worldwide.
2022Red Dragon
Three in a row
Peter Wright wins his second World Championship, Red Dragon’s third consecutive world title.
2023Winmau
Madison Square Garden
MvG wins the New York Darts Masters at Madison Square Garden on a Blade 6 Triple Core.
2023Nodor
Nodor International Inc
Nodor International Inc opens offices and a warehouse in Dallas, Texas, to serve the growing US market.
2024Red Dragon
Luke Humphries, World Champion
After a run of major titles in 2023, “Cool Hand” Luke Humphries wins the World Championship and becomes world number one. It’s Red Dragon’s fourth world title in five years.
December 2024Nodor
Inflexion invests
Inflexion, a leading European mid-market private equity firm, invests in the Nodor Group.
May 2024Nodor
The King’s Award for Enterprise
Nodor International receives the King’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade.
With thanks to Patrick Chaplin, the world’s leading darts historian.