Columbia Industries

'''Columbia Industries''' was a company involved in the manufacture and sale of [[bowling balls]] and [[ten-pin bowling]]-related accessories. Their most notable brand name was '''Columbia 300''', which has produced some of the most well-known balls in the sport. Beginning in 1960 in [[Ephrata, Washington]] (near the [[Columbia River]]), Columbia Industries was the first manufacturer to successfully use polyester resin ("plastic") in bowling balls. Prior to this, nearly all bowling balls were made of a hard rubber material. The company later moved to [[San Antonio, Texas]].<ref>{{cite web|title=About Us|publisher=Columbia300.com|url=http://www.columbia300.com/about-us.html|accessdate=August 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818172905/http://www.columbia300.com/about-us.html|archive-date=August 18, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Columbia 300 pro staff members included [[PBA Tour]] champions Josh Blanchard and [[Jakob Butturff]], plus [[Professional Women's Bowling Association|PWBA]] and international champions [[Clara Guerrero]], Sandra Gongora and Missy Parkin.<ref>{{cite web|title=Team C300 |publisher=Columbia300.com |url=http://www.columbia300.com/about-us/team-c300.html |accessdate=August 18, 2017}}</ref> The company also sponsored PBA Hall of Famer [[Chris Barnes (bowler)|Chris Barnes]] in the earlier part of his long career. PBA and USBC Hall of Famer [[Glenn Allison]] bowled his famous [[900 series (bowling)|900 series]] in 1982 using a Columbia 300 Yellow Dot bowling ball.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.com/Sports/bowling-legend-glenn-allisons-decades-long-fight-recognition/story?id=43588135 |title=Texas man bowls perfect 900, while 86-year-old still fights for recognition |last=Fazekas |first=David |website=abcnews.com |date=November 28, 2016 |access-date=March 12, 2026}}</ref>

Columbia Industries purchased the [[Track International|Track]] and Dyno-Thane bowling ball brands in the early 2000s. In February 2007, Columbia announced that all of its brands had been acquired by [[Ebonite International]]. From February 2007 through November 2019, all Columbia Industries-related products were manufactured and owned by Ebonite International of [[Hopkinsville, Kentucky]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Hickland |first=Ron |title=Ron Hickland designs bowling balls at Ebonite International |url=http://www.diversitycareers.com/articles/pro/13-augsep/managing_ebonite.htm |publisher=diversitycareers.com |accessdate=29 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140430060531/http://www.diversitycareers.com/articles/pro/13-augsep/managing_ebonite.htm |archivedate=30 April 2014 }}</ref> On November 15, 2019, Ebonite International and all of its brands were subsequently purchased by [[Brunswick Bowling & Billiards|Brunswick Bowling Products, LLC]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bowlersjournal.com/brunswick-acquires-ebonite-international/ |title=Brunswick Acquires Ebonite International |publisher=Bowlers Journal |last=Johnson |first=Bob |date=November 15, 2019 |access-date=November 20, 2019 |archive-date=November 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126152043/https://www.bowlersjournal.com/brunswick-acquires-ebonite-international/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Columbia 300-branded bowling balls were manufactured in Brunswick plants run by BlueArc Capital Management as part of the merger.<ref>{{cite web|title=BlueArc Capital Management Acquires Brunswick Bowling Products|url=http://www.bowlersjournal.com/?p=10622|newspaper=[[Bowlers Journal]]|date=May 26, 2015|access-date=December 9, 2020}}</ref>

On March 10, 2026, Brunswick announced the retirement of the Columbia 300 brand as part of a strategic realignment of the company's portfolio.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Columbia 300 |url=https://columbia300.com/ |access-date=2026-03-11 |website=Columbia300 |language=en}}</ref>

==References== <references/>

[[Category:Ten-pin bowling equipment manufacturers]]