The Voit Corporation is a sporting goods company founded by German American entrepreneur William J. Voit of Worthington, Indiana (1881–1958) in 1922. In 1957, the company was purchased by AMF.[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.
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.
Other developments and patents later in the 1950s and '60s included:
Voit is based in Mexico City.
Voit sponsorship in soccer.