Behind The Brand: NRS

Here's a great introduction to the water sport brand NRS who has just celebrated their 50th year in business. NRS is 100% employee owned and is run by people passionate water sports. Learn more below.

50 years ago, a business professor wondered if he could do the things he was teaching. Could he build a company? Better yet, could he build a company that he would want to buy from or work for? That business professor was Bill Parks.

“Now here we are, 50 years later, and I can’t say that I can do the things I was teaching, but NRS can certainly do the things.” – Bill

That approach helped create loyal, long-lasting relationships with customers, employees and business partners in the Northwest and beyond. Since 1972, NRS has grown from a mail-order business operated in Bill’s garage to a global outdoor sporting goods brand and prominent employer in the small town of Moscow, Idaho.

As Bill Parks neared his 80th birthday, he knew he needed to consider the legacy he wanted to leave behind. He could have sold NRS to the highest bidder, taken his money and floated off into the sunset, but that wasn’t his style. Instead, Bill helped finance a deal to sell the company to his employees. In 2014, NRS became 100% employee owned.

Employee ownership has done more than improve the financial futures of NRS employees; it has made us a better company. We’ve learned how eager workers can become caring owners, how small ideas can lead to big improvements, how a stake in the outcome makes every decision more meaningful. Every NRS employee-owner is personally responsible for the company’s performance, from customer service to dealer support to product development and quality control.

Sadly, Bill passed away on March 5th, 2023 but his legacy lives on through NRS and the cohort of paddlers born into this brand.