The newly-established Primo Sport, Inc., based in Newark, Del., creators of the technology behind Spalding's Neverflat basketball, have announced plans to launch their own sporting goods company. Primo Sport will design, manufacture and sell a range of sports products that apply the latest materials science know-how to sports equipment, starting with inflated play balls that hold air ten times longer than traditional play balls.
Company president Donald Sandusky, Ph.D., a former NASA and DuPont materials scientist, and his team, intend to shake up the play ball and soccer equipment market in much the same way their Neverflat technology, licensed to Spalding, revolutionized basketball equipment.
Primo Sport is the successor company to Primo Innovations, founded in 2003, which developed new products for manufacturers in the sports equipment, bicycle tire, vascular surgical instrument, and hygienic rubber glove industries. Following five years of helping other branded manufacturers differentiate their products, now Primo Sport has invested in proprietary technologies to reach out to the consumer market on its own.
“Through establishment of Primo Sport, we intend to become an authority in sports equipment and technical apparel by employing the latest technologies to improve the game experience,” said company president Don Sandusky.
It was Primo Sport's innovative work for Spalding that lead to development of the first basketball guaranteed to hold air up to ten times longer than traditional basketballs. Reportedly, Spalding's Neverflat basketball has been Spalding's most successful product launch in recent memory.
Primo Sport's inaugural product will be a modest first step: a proprietary play ball set to launch in spring 2008. The Primosport Neverflat Play Ball will be shipped pre-inflated and will stay that way for a year, but still can be adjusted to meet local conditions and play requirements.
The secret of its success is the new Nitroblock barrier membrane technology that works in conjunction with the same Nitroflate inflation technology used by Spalding to virtually eliminate air seepage. The play ball also features an innovative valve and cap design which prevents leaks and keeps dirt from clogging the valve.
Together, these innovations result in a product that will last at least ten times longer than traditional play balls. Starting in 2009, Primo Sport plans to expand its line with the launch of highly innovative protective equipment, inflatable balls for other sports, and team sports apparel.
Company president Don Sandusky, 41, is a 10-year veteran of Du Pont's apparel fiber business. Since founding his company five years ago, his focus has been on building a technology portfolio, a team and a company infrastructure that will allow for rapid growth.
