Voit

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Not to be confused with Voith.
For the surname, see Voit (surname).
Voit (Industrias Voit S.A. de C.V.)
Voit
TypeS.A.
IndustryTextile, sports equipment
Founded1922; 100 years ago (1922)
FounderWilliam J. Voit
Headquarters
Mexico City
,
Mexico
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsSports equipment, sportswear
Websitevoit.com

Voit (official name: "Industrias Voit S.A. de C.V.") is a sports equipment manufacturing company based in Mexico. The company was founded by German American entrepreneur William J. Voit (1880–1946) of Worthington, Indiana. Current range of products by Voit includes mainly balls (for association and American football, basketball and volleyball), and also goalkeeper gloves, tennis rackets, football uniforms, shin guards, and swimming equipment (suits, goggles, caps, and fins) and accessories (backpacks, bags).

History[]

Voit began in Los Angeles in 1922 as a tire retreading products factory.[1] In the late 1920s Voit developed and patented the first full-molded, all-rubber inflatable ball and the first needle-type air retention valves. They also developed highly accurate pocket and wrist watches during this period.

Voit V-Shock digital watch

In 1931, Voit developed and patented the first all-rubber athletic balls, including the process of vulcanization which allowed a material to be fixed onto a separate rubber bladder. In the same year, it changed names from the W. J. Voit Corporation to Voit Rubber Corporation.[2]

Later in the 1930s, Voit developed the process of icosahedron winding, which allowed balls to be machine wound with nylon threads over the bladder, providing both strength and consistency in shape and permitting mass production by a machine process.

Those Voit patents and products made possible greatly increased athletic and recreation activity in the school systems, and led to universal use of a new type of product that now dominates sales in its field.

In 1957, the company was purchased by AMF.[1]

Other developments and patents later in the 1950s and 1960s included:

  • The Swimaster line of professional dive equipment. Voit was one of the five original USA diving gear makers: U.S. Divers, Healthways, "Voit", Dacor, Swimaster. Voit scuba gear had been featured in television, such as in an I Love Lucy ("Lucy Meets Orson Welles"), where Voit basketballs and sports equipment are displayed prominently in a department store scene where Lucy appears in Voit scuba gear (obviously an early 'placement ad') when she meets Orson Welles- - and in the movies Underwater! (1955); the TV series Sea Hunt (1958–61); and movie and TV series versions of Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea (1961; and 1964-68 respectively) where it was included in the series' closing credits; and both got a tie-in in the James Bond movie Thunderball (film)[3]
  • The Equi Staff line of professional golf equipment (which included the innovation of the "Power Plugs" or screws to adjust the balance of golf clubs).
  • The first rubber-bodied water polo ball (which was adopted as the official ball of college, international and Olympic competitions).

V-Shock, introduced in the late 1990s, was Voit's inexpensive alternative to the Casio G-Shock watches. They have since been discontinued.

Sponsorships[]

Voit has sponsored the following association football events and athletes:

References[]

  1. ^ a b LaGanga, Maria L. (September 29, 1987). "Voit Workers Recall a Bygone Industry". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  2. ^ "History". Voit.com. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
  3. ^ despite no mention in the credits.Voit Scuba Gear
  4. ^ "Liga MX presenta balón para Apertura 2017". ESPN Deportes. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  5. ^ Molina, José Pablo (20 June 2017). "El Campeón abre en Guadalupe". El Guardián (Costa Rica) (in European Spanish). Retrieved 23 June 2017.

External links[]

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