Brunswick acquiring Ebonite?

[MajorPhoenix]

Has anyone heard about this?

[MajorPhoenix]

Apparently they’re closing the Hopkinsville plant and moving to Mexico for production.

[RobLV1]

Just read a very disturbing Facebook post by a now "former" Ebonite employee of 50+ years. It seems that the Ebonite doors were closed yesterday at 2:00 pm with no prior notice to the employees who were told to immediately leave the building. They were not even given the chance to gather their personal belongings. I realize that business often calls for making hard decisions, but this was just wrong... a real black eye on the bowling industry, IMHO. Happy holidays.

[boatman37]

Wow. Couldn't even get their own stuff? Geez. I never cared for Ebonite balls so maybe there was a reason....lol

[MajorPhoenix]

I think it's a little more complex than just ebonite making them leave. it might have been Brunswick's doing. Wonder which brands are getting the cut. I bet Ebonite and C300 are the ones on the block.

[RobLV1]

I think it's a little more complex than just ebonite making them leave. it might have been Brunswick's doing. Wonder which brands are getting the cut. I bet Ebonite and C300 are the ones on the block.

Of course it was Brunswick's doing; they're the new owners. Most likely brands on the cutting block are C300 and Track IMO.

[Timmyb]

I feel sorry for the employees, but if they thought moving the production to Mexico was going to win over the general public, bad move. I won't buy a ball if it's not made in America.

[Aslan]

Just read a very disturbing Facebook post by a now "former" Ebonite employee of 50+ years. It seems that the Ebonite doors were closed yesterday at 2:00 pm with no prior notice to the employees who were told to immediately leave the building. They were not even given the chance to gather their personal belongings. I realize that business often calls for making hard decisions, but this was just wrong... a real black eye on the bowling industry, IMHO. Happy holidays.

Suckage.

I don't think they'll necessarily cut any brands....they don't have to. They now own everything but 900Global, Storm, Rotogrip, and Motiv. They might cut staff though. Whatever staff remains now has that many more brands they can throw.

The problem with "buying American" is you don't know what is made where. I believe Brunswick still makes some bowling balls in the United States in their Muskegon, MI facility. I pretty sure Motiv makes most, if not all, their products in the U.S....also in Michigan I believe. I'm pretty sure Storm/Rotogrip make at least some of their balls in the U.S.. But I don't know about 900Global or Pyramid.

I don't like what Brunswick did...and I'd be willing to boycott anything they make in Mexico...but how do I know what is/is not until I buy it and notice a sticker? I don't see a "Made in X" on bowlingball.com's website. Don't see it on BowlerX.com either. I don't even see it on Brunswick's ball description or info sheet. Are you going to call the customer service of a company and hope you don't get lost in phone menu he(ck) to ask where its made?

What are the other options? Pay a 200% markup to buy it at a pro shop (versus online)? Decide on ONLY one brand that doesn't make ANY balls overseas? Even if that company is Motiv and they have yet to make ammends for their blatent cheating sins of the past?

AND...even if a company claims they make their bowling balls in the U.S....do you think Storm makes the rest of their product in the U.S.? Everybody bought Harley Davidson because they were made in the U.S....but I've yet to see Harley Davidson apparel made in the United States.

It's my understanding that most of the performance bowling balls are still made in the United States...much of the lower end (plastic/polyester) balls are made outside the U.S. (Mexico mostly). I don't know if that changes with this recent purchase. For all I know, Ebonite brands were probably making lower end stuff in Mexico themselves.

Of the few remaining new/undrilled balls in the "closet of destiny":

Storm: Made in USA (Utah)
900Global: Made in USA (San Antonio, TX)
Pyramid: Made in China
Lane Masters: Made in USA

Of the drilled balls I have (Track, Ebonite, Columbia300, Brunswick, DV8)...only the Brunswick Guardian polyester spare ball is marked "Made in USA" on the ball.

[RobLV1]

I'm really surprised that more members here have not commented on this. In case you are not aware, this means that every major bowling ball brand with the exceptions of Storm, Roto Grip, Global, and Motiv will be manufactured by Brunswick. Never mind that they will all be produced in Mexico, they will all eventually be produced using the Brunswick approach to cover materials which will be radically (no pun intended) different from what you are used to getting in any of the Ebonite brands.

[boatman37]

I'm really surprised that more members here have not commented on this. In case you are not aware, this means that every major bowling ball brand with the exceptions of Storm, Roto Grip, Global, and Motiv will be manufactured by Brunswick. Never mind that they will all be produced in Mexico, they will all eventually be produced using the Brunswick approach to cover materials which will be radically (no pun intended) different from what you are used to getting in any of the Ebonite brands.

I don't like the thought of one company having a monopoly. As in any market, competition helps keep prices down and technology advancing. If you control 100% of the market then there is no reason to dump more money into R&D and you control the pricing structure. I don't see Brunswick taking over Storm/Motiv, etc but then again I doubt many thought Ebonite would go under. I'm a fan of Brunswick/Radical but I would rather see competition out there.

Where does Hammer fit into this? Are they under the Brunswick umbrella?

I am into boating (yeah, my username kinda gives that away....lol) and our last boat was a Sea Ray. Sea Ray is owned by Brunswick, as is Mercruiser (their powerplants) and a few others. Their structure has been that Sea Ray is their 'top shelf' brand and their others are purposely lower quality. Not so much to keep Sea Ray at the top but to offer a cheaper alternative. It could very well be possible that Radical (or any of their other brands) are the 'top shelf' and the rest are at various levels of affordability and quality. I will add that last year Brunswick sold the Sea Ray brand.

Ne interesting to see how this plays out. On a side note, a teammate uses DV8. He mentioned about thinking about the new ball (has the Pit Bull now) and said he doesn't want to spend $200. I mentioned that the Brunswick/Radicals are at the most $179 at our shop. He said DV8 are more expensive than those. Any idea if this is true and why?