MOTIV Bowling is an American company involved in the manufacture and sale of bowling balls. The company headquarters are in Spring Lake, Michigan, with the main manufacturing facility in nearby Muskegon Heights. [1] [2]
MOTIV had its beginnings in the 1990s as Wilbur Products, a company that engineered cores for other high-performance bowling ball brands. [2] When its largest customer (Brunswick) chose to move its manufacturing from Michigan to Mexico, Wilbur Products embarked on a project to start its own bowling ball production, [3] launching the MOTIV brand in 2009. [2]
MOTIV patented a process called NeoMark[TM], which integrates logos and other graphics into the cover stock of the ball. (Other bowling ball manufacturers use etching or engraving for logos and graphics.) [3] [4]
MOTIV continues to operate out of the Muskegon, MI area, and employs approximately 65 people. [5] It has become a notable high-performance brand among league, tournament and professional players, [6] and is now one of three parent companies (with Storm and Brunswick) producing balls authorized for use on the PBA and PWBA Tours. [7]
MOTIV has produced many bowling balls used in the sport by competitive players, and has several sponsorship agreements on both the PBA and PWBA Tours. [8]
List of notable MOTIV-sponsored players as of December, 2024:
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Brunswick Corporation, formerly known as the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, is an American corporation that has been developing, manufacturing and marketing a wide variety of products since 1845. Brunswick has more than 13,000 employees operating in 24 countries. Brunswick owns major boating brands, including Sea Ray, Boston Whaler, Bayliner, Mercury Marine, Attwood, Lund, Crestliner, Mastervolt, MotorGuide, Harris Pontoons, Freedom Boat Club, Princecraft, Heyday, Lowe, Uttern, Quicksilver and CZone, among many others. In 2021, Brunswick reported sales of US$5.8 billion. Brunswick's global headquarters is in the northern Chicago suburb of Mettawa, Illinois.
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John Petraglia Sr. is an American professional bowler. He is a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), where he won 14 PBA Tour titles. He has also won eight PBA Senior Tour titles. He is a member of both the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame.
Elizabeth Ann Johnson is an American professional bowler who currently competes on the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour, and in some events on the PBA Tour and PBA50 Tour. She initially became known as an 11-time winner on the PWBA Tour, which included the first of her six U.S. Women's Open titles in 1996, before that organization suspended operations in 2003.
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Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins or another target. The term bowling usually refers to pin bowling, most commonly ten-pin bowling, though in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries, bowling may also refer to target bowling, such as lawn bowls. Bowling is played by 120 million people in more than 90 countries, including 70 million people in the United States alone.
Thomas Smallwood is an American professional ten-pin bowler competing on the PBA Tour. In 2009, the right-hander won his first PBA Tour title and first major in the PBA World Championship, defeating 2008–09 PBA Player of the Year Wes Malott in the final match. Smallwood has won three PBA Tour titles, two of which are majors. He has finished runner-up in two other PBA major championships.
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