American-Made Footballs in the Super Bowl

At a Small Ohio Factory, Leather and Laces Mesh – New York Times

It's not a Lean story, per se, but it's always nice to read about an American factory.

The N.F.L. is the only major sports league whose balls are manufactured in the United States. World Series baseballs come from a factory in Costa Rica. Basketballs in the N.B.A. finals first bounced on the floors of factories in China.

“I think it's really kind of cool that it's an American sport and the product is made in America, too,” said Daniel Riegle, the plant manager.

Agreed!

The factory puts out 4,000 footballs a day (they're made for customers other than the NFL).

Let's hope the NFL or Wilson don't push production to China, as well.

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Mark Graban

Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, and professional speaker who has worked in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups. His latest book is Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More. He is author of the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, as well as The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen. He also published the anthology Practicing Lean that benefits the Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation, where Mark is a board member. Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus.

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