Molten Corporation
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| Molten Corporation 株式会社モルテン |
|
|---|---|
| Type | K.K. |
| Founded | November 1, 1958 |
| Headquarters |  1-8 Yokogawashinmachi, Nishi-ku, Hiroshima, Hiroshima 733-0013, Japan |
| Industry | Sports equipment/Auto part/Building material/Nursing and welfare equipment |
| Employees | 680 |
| Website | www.molten.co.jp |
Molten Corporation (株式会社モルテン Kabushiki-gaisha Moruten?) is a Japanese Sports equipment and automotive parts company based in Hiroshima, Japan.
Their football, basketball, volleyball and handball are often used for official matches, games and competitions. Notably, Molten basketballs are the official balls for all FIBA worldwide competitions, and numerous domestic leagues outside of North America. Through the 2006-07 season, it supplied balls for the elite Europe-wide Euroleague, but the league's organising body, ULEB, has since switched to Nike as its basketball supplier.[1] Molten is also the official volleyball producer for USA Volleyball.
They offered their technology to the Teamgeist project and supplied the official football as OEM to Adidas for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
[edit] Notes and references
Founded in 1958 with its worldwide headquarters in Hiroshima, Japan, Molten is the world's largest ball and sports equipment manufacturer. Molten USA, Inc. was established in 1983 to bring these quality sports balls to the United States marketplace. Originally located in Southern California, Molten USA, Inc. moved to Northern Nevada in 1988 and continues to call the Reno-Sparks area its home.
Molten has a storied history. By 1964, only six years after their founding, Molten basketballs, volleyballs and soccer balls were the official balls of the Tokyo Olympics. Since that time Molten has been the official basketball for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000. Molten basketballs have also been the official ball for the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) for the past 25 years culminating in the Men's and Women's World Basketball Championship. This championship was held in the U.S. for the first time in Indianapolis, IN August of 2002.
Molten volleyballs became the official ball for the U.S. National Teams in 1997 and remain so to this day. In 2001 we added the boys and girls Junior National teams to this list. Today, clubs, regions, high schools, colleges and tournaments throughout the country are playing with Molten volleyballs.
