Voit 1654862 224697103 2008-07-10T00:38:48Z Foofbun 5241433 {{Expand|date=April 2007}} {{Unreferenced|date=April 2007}} {{otheruses|Voit (disambiguation)}} '''Voit Corporation''' is one of the oldest [[sporting goods]] companies in the world. It was founded by William J. Voit of [[Worthington, Indiana]] (1881-1958) in 1922 and was formerly part of [[American Machinery and Foundry|AMF]]. In the late 1920s Voit developed and patented the first full-molded, all-[[rubber]] [[inflatable]] [[ball]] and the first needle-type air retention [[valve]]s in the late 1920s. 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. 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: * The [[Swimaster]] line of professional dive equipment (used by the famous aquatic explorer [[Jacques Cousteau]]). Voit was one of the 5 original USA diving gear makers: [[US Divers]], [[Healthways (scuba gear company)|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 club]]s). * The first rubber-bodied [[water polo]] ball (which was adopted as the official ball of college, international and Olympic competitions). *''[[Thunderball (film)]]'' [[tie-in]] scuba gear<ref>[http://www.jamesbondtoys.co.uk/collection/Voit/voit.htm Voit Scuba Gear<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Voit is based in [[Mexico City]]. Voit sponsorship in soccer * {{flagicon|MEX}} [[Club San Luis]] * {{flagicon|MEX}} [[Necaxa]] == References == <references/> ==External links== *[http://www.voit.com/ The Official Website of Voit] *[http://www.voitsoccer.com/ The Official Website of Voit's soccer products] [[Category:Sporting goods manufacturers of the United States]] [[Category:Sporting goods manufacturers of Mexico]] [[Category:Companies based in Mexico]] [[Category:Companies established in 1922]] [[Category:Diving engineering]] [[Category:Soccer engineering]] [[Category:Greene County, Indiana]] {{sport-stub}}