Garmin: GPS chartplotters, fish finders and LiveScope live sonar

Garmin was born in 1989 in Kansas, first under the name ProNav. Its founders, Gary Burrell and Min Kao, met at King Radio, a maker of aviation electronics. The name Garmin combines their two first names, Gary and Min.

The brand's first product was a GPS for boats, the GPS 100. It was shown in 1990 at the IMTEC show, a marine industry trade event. In 1991, Garmin opened a factory in Taiwan. Since then, the brand has kept control over the manufacturing of a large share of its devices.

Garmin then turned to what happens under the hull. Panoptix sonar arrived in 2015. In 2017, Garmin acquired Navionics, the Italian marine chart specialist based in Viareggio. One year later, in 2018, the brand launched LiveScope, a live sonar that shows fish in real time. This sonar and the ECHOMAP chartplotters now equip fishing boats at sea and on fresh water.