--- title: "History | Nodor Group" description: "From Nodor modelling clay in 1919 to the official board of the PDC: a century of milestones from Nodor, Winmau and Red Dragon." url: https://nodor-darts.com/history/ --- ![A craftsman checking a tungsten dart through a loupe](https://nodor-darts.com/_astro/craft-loupe.ZYGQP3yp_ZE0gho.jpg) 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. - **1919** Nodor is founded - **1935** The first bristle dartboard goes on sale - **1997** Winmau launches the Blade - **225** Combined years of Nodor, Winmau and Red Dragon ## Key milestones ### 1919: Founded (Nodor) Ted Leggatt invents Nodor modelling clay, so called because it had “no odour”. ### 1923: The first Nodor dartboard (Nodor) The Nodor Plasticine Dartboard is first marketed. ### 1927: A new home in East London (Nodor) Nodor moves to larger manufacturing premises in East London and adds darts to the range. ### 1932: The bristle patent (Nodor) Kent publican F.T. Dabbs makes a dartboard from rope ends. Leggatt refines the idea and files for a patent with Dabbs. ### 1935: The Original Bristle (Nodor) The Nodor Original Bristle dartboard is first marketed, and Ted Leggatt founds the National Darts Association. ### 1936: The dartboard is standardised (Nodor) The present-day “clock” pattern is adopted as the standard board worldwide. ### 1938: 100 staff (Nodor) The Nodor workforce reaches 100 people. ### 1941: The war years (Nodor) Nodor moves out of London to Devon. Raw materials are scarce, but production continues. ### 1945: Elm boards (Winmau) Harry Kicks Snr invests his demob money to start making elm dartboards in London’s East End. ### 1945: Export markets open (Nodor) US servicemen learn to play darts during the war, and an export market begins to develop. ### 1946: Back to London (Nodor) Nodor returns to London and the original patent is extended by six years. Production and sales soon surpass pre-war levels. ### 1946: The Kicks factory (Winmau) With paraffin lamps for light and a coal fire for heat, Kicks delivers his boards to Watney’s Brewery via the London Underground. ### 1951: Johnny Ross joins (Nodor) World-famous player Johnny Ross joins Nodor as Works Manager. ### 1952: Cabinets (Winmau) Kicks adds handmade dartboard cabinets to the range. ### 1953: Dunlop (Nodor) Dunlop Sports agrees to market Nodor’s entire bristle dartboard production. ### 1966: New owners (Nodor) The Grisley family buys the Nodor Company. ### 1969: Haverhill (Winmau) H.A. Kicks & Sons relocates to Haverhill, Suffolk, as part of London’s regeneration programme. ### 1970: A reputation for quality (Winmau) The business prospers as Kicks becomes known for quality. ### 1970: Nodor moves to Wales (Nodor) Nodor leaves London for the last time, relocating to a purpose-built factory in Cardiff after the compulsory purchase of its London premises. ### 1972: Winmau is named (Winmau) Harry Kicks renames the company Winmau (“win-more”), after the first letters of his wife’s names, Winifred Maud. ### 1973: Brackla Engineering (Nodor) Ford Motor Company engineer John Bluck founds Brackla Engineering. ### 1974: Winmau World Masters (Winmau) A breakthrough deal with Olly Croft of the British Darts Organisation begins a relationship lasting nearly 50 years. ### 1976: Red Dragon is launched (Red Dragon) Brackla Engineering launches Red Dragon as the first direct-to-consumer darts brand, with tungsten darts priced for the working man. ### 1978: The first World Championship (Winmau) Wales’ Leighton Rees wins the inaugural World Professional Darts Championship, played on a Winmau bristle board. ### 1980: Argos (Winmau) Winmau supplies Argos for the first time, beginning a relationship that continues every year to the present day. ### 1982: Bullseye (Winmau) Winmau supplies the TV show Bullseye, a British institution for 15 years with audiences of up to 20 million. ### 1983: The Bluck family (Nodor) Nodor passes to the Bluck family and merges with Red Dragon, by now the leading manufacturer of tungsten darts. ### 1984: Supabull (Nodor) The world-renowned, patented Supabull is invented and takes the market by storm. ### 1986: More patents (Nodor) Further patents are granted to Nodor, greatly enhancing board features. ### 1987: Room to grow (Nodor) Nodor acquires a 122,000 sq ft manufacturing facility from Hawker Siddeley Group plc to support long-term growth. ### 1993: US distribution (Winmau) Accudart, Winmau’s US distributor, becomes majority shareholder in the company. ### 1994: The first PDC World Championship (Nodor) Nodor supplies its premium Supawire boards to the inaugural PDC World Championship. ### 1995: Development begins (Winmau) Winmau starts work on the most technically advanced dartboard in the world. ### 1995: A bullseye record (Nodor) John Lowe breaks the world 10-hour bullseye record, scoring 1,320 bulls on a Nodor Supabull 2. ### 1997: The Blade (Winmau) After two years of development, Winmau launches the Blade “Ultimate No Bounce” dartboard with staple-free technology. ### 1997: The largest promotional order in darts (Nodor) Nodor manufactures nearly 600,000 bristle dartboards for the US market. ### 1999: Production moves to Kenya (Nodor) Dartboard production relocates from Wales to Kenya, home of the finest sisal, the key ingredient of a bristle board. ### 2002: Nodor acquires Winmau (Nodor) Winmau production is integrated into the Group’s state-of-the-art facility in the sisal-growing heartlands of East Africa. ### 2002: Blade 2 (Winmau) With Nodor’s engineering behind it, Winmau launches Blade 2. ### 2004: The Viking (Winmau) Crowd favourite and Winmau legend Andy “The Viking” Fordham becomes BDO World Champion. ### 2005: Blade 3 (Winmau) Blade 3 launches worldwide. ### 2006: A 17-year-old wins the Masters (Winmau) Michael van Gerwen wins the Winmau World Masters aged 17, starting a career that makes him one of the finest players of all time. ### 2010: Blade 4 (Winmau) Blade 4 is showcased at the Lakeside World Championship for the first time. ### 2010: Snakebite signs (Red Dragon) Red Dragon signs Peter “Snakebite” Wright. ### 2013: Dual Core (Winmau) Patented Dual Core technology optimises board compression for durability and dart retention. ### 2015: The Iceman signs (Red Dragon) Red Dragon signs Gerwyn “The Iceman” Price. ### 2018: Blade 5 (Winmau) Enhanced wiring and the new Rotalock stabilising system feature in Blade 5 and Blade 5 Dual Core. ### 2019: 100 years in darts (Nodor) Nodor celebrates its centenary. ### 2020: MvG signs (Winmau) Winmau signs three-time World Champion Michael van Gerwen. ### 2020: Peter Wright, World Champion (Red Dragon) Peter Wright wins his first World Championship as darts booms during lockdown and the Group grows rapidly. ### 2021: Blade 6 (Winmau) The Blade 6 series launches, including Blade 6 Dual Core and Blade 6 Triple Core Carbon. ### 2021: Gerwyn Price, World Champion (Red Dragon) Gerwyn Price wins his first World Championship. ### 2022: The official board of the PDC (Winmau) Winmau signs an exclusive deal with the Professional Darts Corporation, which selects the Blade 6 Triple Core Carbon as its official board worldwide. ### 2022: Three in a row (Red Dragon) Peter Wright wins his second World Championship, Red Dragon’s third consecutive world title. ### 2023: Madison Square Garden (Winmau) MvG wins the New York Darts Masters at Madison Square Garden on a Blade 6 Triple Core. ### 2023: Nodor International Inc (Nodor) Nodor International Inc opens offices and a warehouse in Dallas, Texas, to serve the growing US market. ### 2024: Luke Humphries, World Champion (Red Dragon) 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 2024: Inflexion invests (Nodor) Inflexion, a leading European mid-market private equity firm, invests in the Nodor Group. ### May 2024: The King’s Award for Enterprise (Nodor) Nodor International receives the King’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade. With thanks to Patrick Chaplin, the world’s leading darts historian. ## See how it’s made today. [Manufacturing](https://nodor-darts.com/manufacturing/)