Since 1941, every point in the National Football League has been scored with a football made by Chicago, IL-based Wilson Sporting Goods. According to the company, the partnership between Wilson and the NFL is one of the longest in sports history.
This week, the NFL and Wilson not only renewed their partnership, once again naming Wilson the league's official football, but the football maker also unveiled a new and improved football factory right next to the old one in Ada, Ohio.
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Every NFL game ball is handcrafted through a 20-step process that includes cutting, sewing, turning, lacing and molding at Wilson's facilities in Ada. The previous facility was the oldest in the world, making genuine leather game-ready footballs. Did you know that they even name them? Seriously, every NFL game ball is called "The Duke."
Wilson's new football factory will double the previous plant's production capacity. The company broke ground on the $15 million, 80,000-square-foot facility last May. It's about twice the size of the old plant.
The new plant, which is about the equivalent of six football fields, makes about 2,200 balls every day, but the company hopes to increase production.
According to Kevin Murphy, Wilson VP and GM for team sports, the company had simply outgrown its old space. Murphy described the old factory as "cramped" and said Wilson was unable to meet consumer demand in the old facility. The new factory will also give the company room to grow.
According to Wilson, it handmakes 700,000 footballs a year in Ada. The company currently has 120 employees but hopes to add 10 to 20 new jobs.
The factory will still make footballs for youth, high school and college-level sports. Wilson will also become the official football of the NFL's international flag football programs.
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