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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Genre | Diving equipment |
| Founded | 1952 (as U.S. Divers Company) |
| Founder | René Bussoz,Jacques-Yves Cousteau andÉmile Gagnan |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Don Rockwell (President and CEO) |
| Owner | Barings LLC |
| Parent | Aqualung Group |
| Website | us |
Aqualung America (formerlyU.S. Divers Company) is an American company based inDoral, Florida which makesscuba equipment. The company is a division of theAqualung Group, which was, until 2016, a division ofAir Liquide. Aqualung Group was sold by Air Liquide toMontagu Private Equity by the end of 2016.[1][2] It was acquired by Barings LLC in December 2023.[3]
After U.S. Divers Company was renamed Aqualung America, the name U.S. Divers was retained as a trademark for Aqua Lung's line ofsnorkelling equipment. In 2024, the U.S. Divers brand was sold to a California-based company called Aqua Master Sporting Technology.[4]
The "Aqua-Lung" regulator was created byJacques-Yves Cousteau andÉmile Gagnan in 1943.[5] In 1946, the company known asLa Spirotechnique (now Aqua Lung International) was established by both men together with Jean Delorme, CEO ofAir Liquide, as a division of Air Liquide to sell the Aqua-Lung regulators.
In the United States, the Aqua-Lung regulator was first sold in the late 1940s by René Sporting Goods, a sporting goods store inLos Angeles, California owned by René Bussoz. He soon obtained a contract with La Spirotechnique to import Aqua-Lung equipment into the United States for sale on thePacific coast (Spaco, Inc. had the contract for theAtlantic coast).
In 1952, Bussoz changed the name of his company to "U.S. Divers Company" and registered the Aqua-Lung trademark in the United States. In 1957, Bussoz sold the company and the trade names to La Spirotechnique.[6]
Around 2003, U.S. Divers Company was renamed Aqua Lung America after La Spirotechnique changed its name to Aqua Lung International. The U.S. Divers name is maintained as a trademark for Aqua Lung's line ofsnorkelling equipment.
