Voit
The Voit Corporation is a sporting goods and Watch company founded by German American entrepreneur William J. Voit of Worthington, Indiana (1880–1946) 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. They also developed highly accurate pocket and wrist watches during this period.
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 processed.
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:
- The Swimaster line of professional dive equipment. Voit was one of the 5 original USA diving gear makers: US Divers, Healthways, Voit, Dacor, Swimaster.
- 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).
Watches/V-Shock
Voit is also a pioneer in the pocket watch and wrist watch industry. Having everything from Swiss movements in their mechanical watches to having shock absorbing structures for their sport watches. Voit has branded their sport watch line V-Shock not to be confused with Casio G-Shock brand. V-Shock was Voit's inexpensive alternative to the casio G-Shock watches. Although not quite as durable but still supreme compared to others competitor's watch brands. The Voit V-Shock line of watches debut in the late 1990s. The V-Shock's were only available in digital display and came in a wide variety of styles, colors, and variations. Features included a water resistance to 30 meters, electroluminescent backlight Voit's name for the backlight was Glow-Maxx, shock resistance, stopwatch, alarm, hourly chime, 12-24 hour time, chronograph. Voit's V-Shock's have since been discontinued. However Voit still continues to manufacture analog watches and digital sport watches, the V-Shock's are now vintage and collectable.
- Thunderball (film) tie-in scuba gear.[3]
Voit is based in Mexico City.
Voit sponsorship in football.
-
Salamanca FC - Mexican primera division's referees
References
- ↑ Maria L. LaGanga (29 September 1987). "Voit Workers Recall a Bygone Industry". Los Angeles Times (LATimes.com). Retrieved 2011-05-23.
- ↑ "History". Voit.com. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
- ↑ Voit Scuba Gear
External links
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