MOTIV Bowling is an American company involved in the manufacture and sale of
bowling balls
"Bowling Balls" is a song written by Esham and Violent J, Joseph Bruce for Insane Clown Posse's 2004 album ''Hell's Pit'', and the fourth single released by the group that was not produced by Mike E. Clark. The song's lyrics describe decapitation ...
. The company headquarters are in
Spring Lake, Michigan
Spring Lake is a village in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,323 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Spring Lake Township.
History
In 1837, Captain Benjamin Hopkins purchased land in the area an ...
, with the main manufacturing facility in nearby
Muskegon Heights
Muskegon Heights is a city in Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,856 at the 2010 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.
The city is surrounded o ...
.
History
MOTIV had its beginnings in the 1990s as Wilbur Products, a company that engineered cores for other high-performance bowling ball brands.
[ When its largest customer ( Brunswick) chose to move its manufacturing from Michigan to ]Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, Wilbur Products embarked on a project to start its own bowling ball production,[
]
Patents
MOTIV patented a process called NeoMark M/small>, 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.)[
]
Current company
MOTIV continues to operate out of the Muskegon, MI area, and employs approximately 65 people. It has become a notable high-performance brand among league, tournament and professional players, and is now one of four parent companies (with Storm
A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere
An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmos ...
, Brunswick and BIG Bowling) producing balls authorized for use on the PBA and PWBA Tours.
MOTIV-sponsored professional bowlers
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.Dick Allen
Richard Anthony Allen (March 8, 1942 – December 7, 2020) was an American professional baseball player. During his fifteen-year-long Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played as a first baseman, third baseman, and outfielder, most notably ...
* Andrew Anderson
* A. J. Johnson
*Chris Loschetter
Chris Loschetter (born May 24, 1980) is an American professional bowler from Florida, currently on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. Chris attended Florida State University, and was on the bowling team there in the 2002–03 and 2003 ...
*Sean Lavery-Spahr
* Wesley Low
*Erin McCarthy
Erin McCarthy (born July 7, 1990) is a right-handed American professional ten-pin bowler from Elkhorn, Nebraska, known for winning the 2022 U.S. Women's Open. She bowls professionally on the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour, ...
*Maria José Rodriguez
*Tom Smallwood
Thomas Smallwood (born November 4, 1977) is a 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 ...
*E. J. Tackett
Edward Dean Tackett Jr. (born August 7, 1992) is an American professional ten-pin bowler from Huntington, Indiana, now residing in Bluffton, Indiana. A member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) since 2012, Tackett has won 19 PBA Tour ...
*Santtu Tahvanainen
References
{{Bowling
Ten-pin bowling equipment manufacturers