rotating drills that drill each ball four times to
produce 40 holes. By automating this process,
every ball should be exactly the same.
When drilling into plastic, there are shavings,
and Franklin has a secret heating process to
singe off and remove the shavings from each ball
to make sure the surface is smooth. The design
of the machinery is secret and the chemical
formulas are kept under lock and key at the
Franklin headquarters.
After fabrication, the balls must be
inspected. A dozen balls from each
batch in the staging area are randomly
selected, quarantined and sent to
Quality Control. There, each ball is
shot out of a pitching machine 750
times at 60 mph into a granite slab 3
feet away. If that sample passes the
test and is approved, the balls from
that batch are sent to the packaging
area where they’re packaged into
groups of 3, 12, or 100.
Consistency and durability are
primary goals and Adam is confident the
Franklin balls meet those criteria. The
company is also working on a cold-weather
ball.
Currently, Franklin produces
5,000 balls a day, with the ability
to flex up to 10 times
that amount.
“We expect
the sport to
grow at a rapid
pace. It’s no
accident major
retailers are
adding shelf space for
pickleball,” Adam says.
“It will continue to grow
through sheer visibility,
and we’ll have an exciting
announcement to make
at the US Open.” •
Fun
Facts
l Pickleballs float.
l Pickleballs are not recyclable, yet.
l There are 40 holes in an outdoor ball,
26 in an indoor ball.
l The outdoor ball is slightly heavier than
the indoor ball.
l Players should store balls at room
temperature.
l There has been a 10,000 percent growth
rate in the production of the Franklin ball.
l Franklin balls are shipped as far away as
India. They are the official ball of the 11
AIPA tournaments in India.
l A dozen balls per batch are tested by
pitching them 750 times at 60 mph into a
granite slab 3 feet away.
{
Consistency and durability are primary goals.
MARCH/APRIL 2019 |
}
MAGAZINE
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