Xenith opened its new football helmet assembly plant in Detroit Wednesday after months of collaborating with several Michigan companies who helped move the operation from the East Coast.

The plant in Sturgis is manufacturing Xenith football helmets, featuring the company's Xenith Adaptive Head Protection, a system of patented technologies designed to provide superior fit and to help minimize the sudden movement of the head during impact. The helmets are then assembled and warehoused in the newly refurbished 65,000-square-foot Southwest Detroit space at 4335 West Fort Street owned by James Group International and leased by Xenith.  

Hundreds of thousands of players at all levels, including youth, high school and college wear Xenith. Xenith is also an authorized supplier of helmets to the NFL and worn on the gridiron across the United States along with Canada, Mexico, Europe, Australia, China and Japan.

Xenith's new Detroit facility will produce more than 1,000 helmets per day at peak production and will employ 60 to 70 full-time workers to assemble, recondition and paint its innovative protective equipment. The Detroit operation began in early 2015 and the majority of the workers assembling the helmets are Detroiters employed by Lear Corporation. Xenith also will create five new full-time customer service positions in downtown Detroit.

Xenith was founded in 2004 in Lowell, MA and its helmets were formerly assembled and warehoused on the east coast. It is now owned by Detroit-based Rock Ventures LLC, an umbrella entity that provides operational coordination, guidance and integration of Quicken Loans Founder Dan Gilbert's diverse portfolio of companies, investments and real estate purchases. Rock Ventures and its more than 110 affiliated companies across the country employ more than 24,000 team members.

After learning about Xenith's need for a new assembly facility, Gilbert contacted Fathead's CEO Patrick McInnis and COO Joe Esposito and asked them to scout Detroit locations for Xenith's manufacturing operations. Fathead is active in the sports marketing space, producing custom and licensed sports and entertainment graphics.

“Everyone involved in this move is committed to the city of Detroit, providing new jobs for residents and helping Xenith grow,” said Joe Esposito, Xenith CEO. “Fathead's extensive partnerships across the sports and entertainment industries is a natural to help with Xenith's growth.”

It also seemed natural to involve Michigan-based Lear Corporation, a global leader in providing automotive seating systems and components to the automotive industry, in the new venture.

“We currently supply performance textiles that are used in some of the biggest brand-name sports apparel in the business,” said Lear Vice President of Seating for the Americas Jeneanne Hanley. “This opportunity with Xenith will allow Lear to leverage our expertise in manufacturing and our culture of operational excellence to produce outstanding sporting equipment while bringing jobs to Detroit.”

It was also important to Xenith that as much of the helmet be made in Michigan as possible. Sturgis Molded Products in Sturgis, which is about 150 miles southwest of Detroit, is supplying the injection molding interior of the helmet as well as helmet shells and face mask clips.

“From the earliest automobiles to today's top-quality Shinola watches and bikes, Detroit's reputation for manufacturing, assembly and design is unmatched,” said Dan Gilbert, who is also a significant shareholder of Xenith. “Xenith is honored to join the ranks of so many storied brands made in Detroit. We look forward to playing a key role in Detroit's sports story, while growing a business and creating jobs alongside other quality manufacturers in our great city.”