Q & A with 900 Global Ball Designer Nick Siefers

What is your background in Bowling?

I’ve been involved in bowling for 25 years to date.  I started out as an avid youth bowler in the state of Indiana.  I was involved in several youth Leagues in my hometown of Kokomo, Indiana followed with traveling leagues across the state and also involved with Junior Olympic Gold tournaments in the late 90’s / early 2000’s.  I was also involved in Teen Masters competitions and was name Indiana Youth Bowler of the year in late 90’s as well.  I bowled part time for Purdue University and continued to be actively involved in mid west amateur adult tournaments during my later college years.  Once college graduation occurred I moved straight to San Antonio to begin my career in the industry.

When did you start bowling?

Started bowling at age 5 (I’m now 30! Yikes!).  My parents decided I needed to do something other than sit at home so they started me a youth bumper league.

What school did you attend and what was your major?

I attended Purdue University from 1999-2003.  My major was Chemical Engineering.

What made you go into the bowling field?

Late High School/Early college bowling was a part of my everyday life and I wanted to try and tie a career with a hobby I love.  I knew by studying Chemical Engineering at Purdue there would be doors open up with both coverstock and core design in the bowling industry.

Did you work for anyone else in the bowling industry before being hired by 900 Global?

I am originally from the same hometown as Brain Graham (who is currently at Brunswick). Mid Junior year of college I contacted Brian Graham who got me in touch with Danny Speranza who was the former Director of Product Research at Columbia 300.  Directly out of college in 2003 I was hired on as a Design Engineer with Columbia 300 in San Antonio.  I worked for them from 2003 – 2006.  Upon Ebonite buying Columbia 300, I went to work for the Equipment Specifications Research Department at the USBC in Milwaukee as a Senior Research Engineer during the calendar year of 2007.  During that year I concentrated on the USBC Ball Motion Study Research with a few other Ball Motion Projects and published papers.

How long have you worked for 900 Global?

900 Global started in mid 2007 while I was working with the USBC.  900 Global offered a return job as a Senior Design Engineer in early 2008.  I returned to San Antonio in March of 2008 and have been here since.

What is your favorite bowling ball, that you have designed?

Too many to choose just one...several over the years have matched up well with my personal game.  

Is it hard to keep coming up with new ideas for equipment?

Core Designs, no, because as long as it can be molded and manufactured the shape can be almost anything the designer can dream of.  Coverstocks are a bit more complex and leaps ahead with new shell material take longer to develop.

Can you explain the testing process for people that do not know how 900 Global tests each bowling ball?

We begin with our sales team setting a performance target.  Then it is up to me to come up with a few selections of covers and cores that might meet that target.  We will build test samples and gather data via laboratory and on the lanes.  The goal is to have both the data and the on lane performance point to the same conclusion of which ball will meet the target.  Sometimes we will go back and build a second or third iteration of test samples for on lane performance to get as close as we can to the original performance target.  

How many people are on your design team?

I am actually the only engineer at 900 Global.  Having said that, our sales team, myself, and staff members have input into performance traits that we design into each release.

How often do you test new coverstock formulations?

We are always working  to come up with both alterations and completely new coverstocks on an ongoing basis.  Sometimes we are testing weekly on new formulations but sometimes more design time is required and we test monthly to quarterly.

How many people test each one of the bowling balls?

During the research and design phase we have two internal testers (including myself), one external local staff member, and if an extreme breakthrough in technology occurs we will send to other staffers around the country for their input as well.

How many lane conditions are the bowling balls tested on?

We test on a THS, medium sport, and heavy sport.

How many bowling balls do you design in a year?

900 Global with all of its brands both domestic and international release about 25-35 balls per year.  Remember that is for 9G, AMF, Seismic, Lane#1, Radical, Jet, other private labels.

How many new cores do you design in a year?

Typically each brand is allowed to tool 1 or 2 completely new designs per season.

What is the amount of hours that you spend designing a core?

It depends on how the term “design” is defined.  Looking at a macro perspective we allot ~ 2-3 months in a project timeline for a new core design (concepts, CAD work, fabrication of both master and molds, first builds…etc..)

How many cores, that you have designed, have never been produced in a bowling ball?

For the most part, each core designed is done for a reason.  Thus, we use each core that is designed.  We have enough computer modeling and simulations that can help aid us in determining certain traits of the design.  We try to always keep about 2-3 cores on the shelf at all times so that we can stay ahead of our upcoming projects.

How do you come up with a new core idea?

Variety of ways….some but not limited too are as follows:

1. Physics Concepts
2. Unique Shape
3. Price Point Location
4. How it will effect performance after drilling
5. Etc…etc..

What has been some of the pitfalls that you have encountered over the years when designing bowling balls?

The biggest is making sure that the design in both able to come out of a mold and then that it is manufacturing friendly for good quality.

Do you use past core designs to help you come up with new core designs?

In some cases yes, if the designs of the past have been successful.  Others, not so much as we are always trying to push the envelope!

From core concept, how long does it take from the drawing till you see the core in an actual test bowling ball?

~ 4 – 6 weeks

Do you make several different versions of the same core (different densities to create different RG and differential numbers) when you do your initial test of a new core?

Yes, this allows us to see how it reacts differently on the lane.

What is the average time a bowling ball is tested before it is released to the bowling consumer?

Our HP balls go through what we call 3-4 iterations of testing.  For example, test #1 might involve 3 cover combinations and two core designs all trying to achieve a certain performance target.  Our testers could select the best two and then for test #2 we might make another test ball that will be thrown with the best 2 from the 1st test.  We will repeat this process until all testers and data are in agreement that a particular test ball best matches the performance target.  This will then become the ball that is placed into production.

On average, how many bowling balls are produced at 900 Global in a year?

Confidential, sorry, but cant provide answer.

*Customer question – It seems like bowling ball have some aspects of previous bowling balls made in the past, if this is the case, in the near future, wouldn’t it be safe to say that everyball made has been made in the past?  What is more important in today’s overall performance of a bowling ball; price point, performance, or durability as a designer?

There are always new creative things to consider in design.  Sometimes when an old cover is used on a new core shape, the new core shape might provide better holding’s of the original Rg/Diff values than the design from years past.  This is just one example.  Each one of the criteria listed above is equally important.  It is the convergance of all those qualities that help a ball become successful.