Hopkinsville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population at the 2020 census was 31,180.
Ebonite is a brand name for a material generically known as hard rubber or vulcanite, obtained via vulcanizing natural rubber for prolonged periods. Ebonite may contain from 25% to 80% sulfur and linseed oil. Its name comes from its intended use as an artificial substitute for ebony wood. The material has also been called vulcanite, although that name formally refers to the mineral vulcanite.
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.
AMF Bowling is a major operator of bowling centers and major manufacturer of bowling equipment.
American Machine and Foundry was one of the United States' largest recreational equipment companies, with diversified products as disparate as garden equipment, atomic reactors, and yachts.
Slazenger is a British sports equipment brand owned by the Frasers Group. One of the world's oldest sport brands, the company was established as a sporting goods shop in 1881 by entrepreneurial brothers, Ralph and Albert Slazenger, on Cannon Street, London. Slazenger was acquired by Dunlop Rubber in 1959. Dunlop was acquired by BTR in 1985. Sports Direct acquired the business in 2004.
Spalding is an American sports equipment manufacturing company. It was founded by Albert Spalding in Chicago in 1876 as a baseball manufacturer, and is today headquartered in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It sells softballs through its subsidiary Dudley Sports. In the past, Spalding has manufactured balls for other sports, including American football, soccer, volleyball, tennis, and golf.
In bowling, a pinsetter or pinspotter is an automated mechanical device that sets bowling pins back in their original positions, returns bowling balls to the front of the alley, and clears fallen pins on the pin deck. Prior to the machine's invention, pinsetters were boys or young men hired at bowling alleys to manually reset pins and returned balls to the player. The first mechanical pinsetter was invented by Gottfried (Fred) Schmidt, who sold the patent in 1941 to AMF. Pinsetting machines have largely done away with pinsetting as a manual profession, although a small number of bowling alleys still use human pinsetters. While humans usually no longer set the pins, a pinchaser is often stationed near the equipment to ensure it is clean and working properly, and to clear minor jams.
The Simmons Bedding Company is an American major manufacturer of mattresses and related bedding products, based in Atlanta, Georgia. The company was founded in 1870. Simmons' flagship brand is Beautyrest. In addition to operating 18 manufacturing facilities in the United States and Puerto Rico, the company licenses its products internationally. According to a Simmons press release, net sales for 2005 were $855 million, and its revenue was $1.13 billion in 2007 and $1.228 billion in 2013. In 2011, Simmons ranked in third place among U.S. mattress manufacturers, with a 15.7 percent market share. In 2012, Simmons and its sister company Serta International were acquired by American private equity company Advent International. As of 2022, Simmons is a subsidiary of the American company Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC of Doraville, Georgia. On January 23, 2023, Serta Simmons Bedding filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Ebonite International was a parent company that oversaw the manufacture of bowling balls and bowling equipment. Their headquarters and primary manufacturing facility was located in Hopkinsville, Kentucky before closing on November 15, 2019.
Hammer Bowling is a company involved in the manufacture and sale of bowling balls and bowling-related accessories.
Columbia Industries is a company involved in the manufacture and sale of bowling balls and ten-pin bowling-related accessories. Their most notable brand name is Columbia 300, which has produced some of the most well-known balls in the sport. Beginning in 1960 in Ephrata, Washington, Columbia Industries was the first manufacturer to successfully use polyester resin ("plastic") in bowling balls. Prior to this, nearly all bowling balls were made of a hard rubber material. The company later moved to San Antonio, Texas.
Brunswick Bowling & Billiards was the business segment of Brunswick Corporation that historically encompassed three divisions. Billiards, which was the company's original product line, expanded to include other table games such as table tennis, air hockey, and foosball. Brunswick began manufacturing Bowling equipment and products in the 1880s. The bowling equipment line was sold to BlueArc Capital Management in 2015, which continues to use the Brunswick name among other brands. Brunswick began to directly operate Bowling centers in the mid 1960s. In 2014, the bowling centers were sold to Bowlero Corporation, which phased out the Brunswick name by 2020. The billiard operations were placed in the fitness equipment division, which was spun-off into Life Fitness in 2019. In 2022, the Brunswick Billiards line was sold to Escalade Sports.
Gilbert Rugby is a British sports equipment manufacturing brand, specialising in rugby union and netball. The company is mostly known for its rugby union balls, having been official supplier for every World Cup since 1995.
Cybex International is an American fitness equipment manufacturer for commercial and consumer use. It produces mainly cardiovascular and strength equipment such as Arc Trainers, treadmills, stationary bicycles and steppers. Cybex markets its products through distributors in over 87 countries. The company has over 600 employees and its products are manufactured in their two manufacturing facilities, located in Franklin Park, Illinois, and Owatonna, Minnesota.
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.
Bowlero Corporation is an American bowling center operator. It is the largest ten-pin bowling center operator in the world with over 325 centers, almost all of which are located in the United States. The centers have an average of 40 lanes compared to the U.S. bowling center average of 21 lanes.
Storm Products Inc. is an American company involved in the manufacture and sale of bowling balls and bowling-related accessories. The company headquarters and main manufacturing facility are in Brigham City, Utah, with two smaller facilities in California and Texas. Storm has produced many bowling balls used in the sport by competitive players, and has numerous sponsorship agreements on both the PBA and PWBA Tours. Storm currently employs about 165 people. The company manufactures about 500,000 balls a year, and ships to 70 countries.
Maurice Louis Pinel Jr was an American mechanical engineer, product designer and bowler. He is known for changing the game of ten-pin bowling with his innovative bowling ball designs, notably using asymmetric core masses which allowed the ball to curve more aggressively in its path down the lane.
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.
