Riddell opens plant for making football helmets
Riddell, the Illinois sporting goods company that designs and develops football helmets, protective sports equipment, head impact monitoring technologies, licensed collectibles and clothing and accessories, recently opened its first Ohio assembly and distribution facility in North Ridgeville, in Lorain County.
Inside the 347,205-squarefoot building, Riddell workers assemble football helmets and custom shoulder pads, as well as provide equipment reconditioning and team laundry services.
All of Riddell’s football helmets will be made in North Ridgeville, including its Varsity and Youth SpeedFlex, helmets with “InSite Impact Response System” installed, and its new Precision-Fit line, which the company said “makes this facility integral to our longstanding commitment to improving player protection.”
The North Ridgeville facility also makes Riddell’s full-size collectible football helmets for NFL and college teams, and serves as a distribution center for football gear and apparel.
Riddell sells its consumer products, including licensed collectibles, apparel and football accessories, directly to institutions and football organizations, so there is no retail store in North Ridgeville.
“As the industry leader, Riddell is constantly working to improve player protection and move the game forward through innovative new technology,” the company said. The Riddell Speedflex, introduced in 2014, was the first helmet with a flexible shell, face mask and face mask attachment system, to reduce the impact on the player.
Riddell’s InSite Impact Response System is a head impact-monitoring and alerting technology designed to indicate exposure to “significant on-field head impact.” Its Precision-Fit helmets for collegiate and NFL players uses 3D scanning technology to build a completely custom-fitting helmet for the individual player.
Riddell also said all of its helmets feature Patented Side Impact Protection, side shell extensions and side liner extensions designed to help reduce the forces from side impacts.
Riddell opened in North Ridgeville, consolidating some operations that had been in nearby Elyria and moved here from Illinois, because of incentives that included:
■ A $100,000 JobsOhio Revitalization grant.
■ A $478,000 Roadwork Development Grant from the Ohio Development Services Agency to the City of North Ridgeville (for roadwork, traffic signals, turn lanes, and keeping 298 jobs, as well as creating 16 more).
■ A $5 million tax-increment-financing grant from the city of North Ridgeville for public infrastructure improvements for its new home. The project will also benefit the North Ridgeville City Schools and enable the city to repay the cost of those improvements, Mayor G. David Gillock said.
Riddell built its facility on 30 acres adjacent to the Ohio Turnpike, on what used to be a strip shopping center. The building has the capacity to employ nearly 500 people during peak season, including seasonal workers.
“Our investment in the North Ridgeville facility is representative of the strength of our business, commitment to better servicing our customers, and focus on leading football to a strong future,” said Dan Arment, president and CEO of Riddell and BRG Sports, a corporate holding company for Riddell and other sports brands, in a written statement.