02 January 2009
Norton Becomes Primary Sponsor of USA Luge
Longstanding Partnership Expanded
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (January 2, 2009) — USA Luge announces that Norton (part of Saint-Gobain Abrasives) will become the primary sponsor of the U.S. National Luge Team and the entire organization. Norton, already the Official Abrasive Products Supplier, will assume primary sponsorship immediately and retain the title through 2011.
“Our recent decision to expand our sponsorship with USA Luge and become the primary sponsor was based on our past years experience as a secondary sponsor and the level of enthusiasm and interaction this relationship has generated within our own employee base as well as with our customers,” said Mark Rayfield, Saint-Gobain’s Vice President and General
Manager, Abrasives North America. “More specifically, the products we make and the knowledge we have internally on surface preparation is integral to the success of the team, allowing them to shed tenths in a sport determined by thousandths. As we work together in the year leading to the Olympics, we are excited to build this association with prominent logo placement and R&D support with the goal to help the USA Luge team bring home the gold.”
The new agreement will give Norton, who has been supplying USA Luge with abrasive products since the 1980s, primary logo placement on the Senior and Junior National Team sleds, clothing, hats and vehicles. In addition, the Norton logo will be the only USA Luge sponsor logo to appear on the team helmets.
The abrasive products used by the team for polishing the racing steels for improved performance and paint preparation and polishing of the sled body for improved appearance include abrasive belts, discs and rolls from Norton’s high performance products portfolio of Norton SG® Blaze, Multi-Air™, Black Ice®, and Norax®.
Saint-Gobain Abrasives is a division of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, a global manufacturer and distributor of flat glass, building products, glass containers and high-performance materials. Founded in 1665, Saint-Gobain is headquartered in Paris, France, and has over 1,000 subsidiaries in more than 50 countries. The company had worldwide sales of $59 billion in 2007 and employs approximately 207,000 people globally. In the United States and Canada, Saint-Gobain employs about 24,000 people and has approximately 160 manufacturing locations and 150 distribution outlets.
Erin Hamlin of the USA Wins Luge World Championships
Excerpts from the USA Luge Newsletter:
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. --- A German woman has won every luge world championship crown since 1993. That was until Friday, Feb. 6, when American Erin Hamlin (Remsen, N.Y.) shocked Germany and the rest of the world and became the first non-German to win a World title in 16 years since Italy's Gerda Weissensteiner won the title, in Calgary, Canada.
USA Luge's Mark Grimmette (Muskegon, Mich.) and Brian Martin (Palo Alto, Calif.) had not claimed an international luge medal since the 2007 World Championships in Igls, Austria. That all changed, Friday, Feb. 6, in Lake Placid, N.Y., when the two-time Olympic medalists found themselves back on the podium... with their sixth-career Worlds bronze medal.
For vidoes, pictures and more information on the fastest sport on ice ®, visit the USA Luge website at: www.usaluge.org
See the article in Sports Illustrated on Erin Hamlin winning the gold medal in Lake Placid at : http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1151749/index.htm