Karpen Flyfishing & Karpen Sportfishing
Karpen Sportfishing AB is a Swedish company engaged in the distribution of fly fishing tackle brand Karpen™ and Zimsen™. We welcome all inquiries from tackle manufacturers, from retailers, fishing guides, fishing organizations or anglers simply interested in our products.
Karpen Flyfishing International AB is a Swedish manufacturing company in the fly fishing industry. With OEM agreements the company produces fly fishing tackle on demand, based on each customer's individual requirement and description.
Both companies have the same ownership structure and the two former separated business ideas is now merging into one platform under our name Karpen Flyfishing. But, Like most people allready do, we simply call ourselfs Karpen.
Karpen has an uncompromising philosophy... we deliver the highest quality, selected and serious fly fishing tackle to the sport’s most discriminating anglers. The staff at Karpen come from the fly fishing industry and the rods we now work with, design and build are produced with the same attention to detail, refined design and finish as the fly rods we have spent our careers working with.
Thomas Berggren brings years of graphite rod engineering knowledge to the processes we use to design the Karpen™ fly fishing rods. We know this is a unique advantage to focus the costs in materials that makes the function better. we are keeping reel seats simple but functional and spend the most on graphite, resin and taper. Things that are essential for the rod action properties. We are confident our customers will continue to feel and appreciate the difference. Those who have had the chance to fish our rods are very satisfied with the result.
All of our rods are assigned specific values during the design process and are measured for consistency during construction and assembly. We carefully control the processes in order to confidently assure the quality and consistency of the finished product. The result is a product of industrial-style design and construction which lives on to fish year after year as opposed to a cheaply produced consumer product bought off the shelf at a tradeshow and styled to order with paint and logotyping!
Karpen Sportfishing AB is formed of three principals with many years experience within the flyfishing industry together with an innovative, strategic business-investment organization which provides high-level guidance and calculated professional direction. From the design, testing, manufacturing and packaging processes, to logistics, delivery, administration, guarantee and customer service, absolutely nothing is left to chance.
In addition to those directly involved in the company, we are strongly connected to industry pros, guides and ordinary anglers who know the sport and have valuable insight to share. We listen to what they say and our attention is reflected in our products and our service.
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Who we are...
In 1979 Tony Karpestam formed Karpens Flugfiske och Fritid together with one of his childhood friends and Karpens Fly Fishing later opened in 1981 on Valhallavagen in Stockholm. The firm acquired the distribution rights for Sage fly rods in the Nordic countries and became sole distributor for the Danielsson original large-arbor fly reels. Karpens was eventually re-named Loop Tackle Design and Tony controlled the administration and finances for nearly thirty years until he sold his share of the company in 2007.
After a few years’ break, Tony recently decided to re-enter the industry along with Thomas Berggren and Tomas Zimsen. The three formed Karpen Sportfishing and Tony brings his experience, national and international industry connections to the firm in the capacity of director and senior advisor.
Thomas Berggren is Sweden’s most accredited fly casting instructor (MCI & THCI). He has been fly fishing since he was a kid and involved in the fly fishing industry within the Loop organization since 1987. In the initial stage of his career with Loop, Thomas worked as a rod builder together with casting guru Göran Andersson and ultimately evolved to a leading role in Loop’s product development of both rods and lines before leaving the company in 2012.
Thomas started his casting instruction career at Göran Andersson’s fly fishing school in 1988 and has since ascended to the highest level of casting instructor accreditation. Thomas completed the EFFA CI exam in August 2007, followed by the FFF CI and FFF THCI in February 2008 and passed his FFF MCI in March 2009.
Parallel to the work within fishing equipment industry, Thomas is the owner and operator of the Lilla Malma Fishery, a very popular and sought-after fishery and fly fishing school in Sweden. The fishery is located just outside of Malmkoping, approximately 100 km south of Stockholm. Thomas lives at the Lilla Malma fishery together with his family in a house 50 meters from his own watershed and the trout operation.
Earlier in his professional life, Thomas ran his own company and also worked in the banking and finance world before deciding to take the step into a full-time career in fly fishing. Now Thomas brings his many years of expertise in rod engineering and development into the conventional sport fishing industry together with Tomas Zimsen and Tony Karpestam.
Tomas Zimsen moved to Sweden 25 years ago. He has dedicated his life to fishing around the world. Tommi, as he is called by his friends, originates from Iceland, where he still lives every now and then. Apart from fishing in the family´s local salmon river, Tommi also puts together fishing expeditions around Iceland and serves as fishing guide. With his vast experience from this field Tommi has now taken the step into the fly fishing business where he will be an asset to the product development within Karpen Sportfishing.