Wilson
Wilson Sporting Goods Co., commonly known as Wilson, is an American sports equipment manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois. The company specializes in producing a wide range of equipment and accessories for various sports, including tennis, baseball, basketball, American football, golf, volleyball, soccer, and badminton. Wilson is particularly renowned for its role in tennis, where it is a leading brand in racquets and balls, and in American football, where it is the official supplier of game balls to the National Football League (NFL) since 1941. Founded in 1913 as the Ashland Manufacturing Company, Wilson initially used animal by-products from the meatpacking industry to produce items such as tennis racket strings, surgical sutures, and violin strings. Transitioning into the sporting goods sector, the company was renamed Wilson-Western Sporting Goods, then later shortened to Wilson Sporting Goods. Throughout its history, Wilson has been committed to innovation in sports technology and has sponsored numerous athletes and events globally. The company is currently a subsidiary of the Finnish group Amer Sports, acquired by a consortium led by ANTA Sports in 2019.