QubicaAMF Partners With Professional Bowlers Association Regional Program

The Professional Bowlers Association today announced a partnership agreement has been signed with QubicaAMF Worldwide, the world leader in bowling capital equipment and state-of-the-art automatic scoring technologies, that will bolster the extensive QubicaAMF PBA Regional Tour program.

Under the partnership agreement, QubicaAMF’s participation assures the prize funds for the more than 150 tournaments conducted in the PBA’s seven domestic regions (East, South, Central, Midwest, Southwest, West and Northwest) will exceed player entry fee contributions, enhancing the professional experience for all competitors.
“Since the PBA Regional program was officially launched in 1970, thousands of bowlers have had an opportunity to experience PBA-level competition in hundreds of cities across America,” said John Weber, PBA Director of Regional and PBA50 Tours. “Thanks to the support of QubicaAMF, the PBA will continue to provide the future stars of the PBA with affordable, close-to-home opportunities to develop the skills they will need to compete at the highest levels of our sport. At the same time, the QubicaAMF PBA Regional Tour provides thousands of fans an opportunity to see our established and emerging stars in person.”

As titled sponsor of the QubicaAMF PBA Regional Tour, QubicaAMF’s logo will be part of all of PBA’s on-site and online materials related to the regional program.

“We are thrilled to be able to give this boost to the Regional Tour and partner with the PBA,” said Pat Ciniello, Chairman of the Board of QubicaAMF. “QubicaAMF is committed to the sport of bowling—from developing products for leagues and tournaments to the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup, this year celebrating its 53rd Anniversary, which promotes the sport of bowling at all levels across the world. We feel that supporting the PBA and the bowling centers that host the regional events are important steps to ensuring the continuing success of our beloved sport.”

The QubicaAMF announcement arrives just as the PBA Regional program springs into its busy summer season, drawing praise from PBA CEO and Commissioner Tom Clark, who described PBA’s regional directors as “the rock stars” of the PBA.

Clark referred to the regional managers as “the core of the greatest bowling tournament club ever created: the PBA.”

The QubicaAMF PBA Regional Tour is supervised by John Weber and managed by a group of men who are well-suited to mentor young players because of their extensive experience in PBA competition as well as related aspects of the sport:

● Russ Mills has managed the PBA East Region since 1997. A former PBA Tour and Regional competitor, Mills also was a former Ebonite district sales manager.

● Sam Zurich assumed management of the PBA South Region in 2012 after eight years assisting former South Regional director Harry O’Neale. Zurich is a two-time PBA Tour and 40-time PBA Regional title winner.

● Bobby Jakel has managed the PBA Central Region since 2006. A former collegiate bowler and USBC Open Championships “eagle” winner, Jakel bowled in PBA competition for 2 1/2 years before assuming his administrative role.

● Rich Weber was co-manager of the PBA Midwest Region between 1984-1998, working with his late father Dick Weber and younger brother John, before assuming full-time responsibility for the region in 2006. A two-time PBA Regional titlist in his own right, Rich Weber also was PBA50 Tour Director from 1990-98.

● Pete McCordic has managed the PBA Southwest Region since 1997. He came into the role after bowling on the PBA Tour for 18 years, winning two PBA Tour titles, bowling a nationally-televised 300 game, and winning seven PBA Regional titles. His twin brother Paul is currently active on the PBA50 Tour.

● Gary Mage, who does double-duty as PBA West and Northwest Region manager, is in his 51st year of involvement with the PBA. He bowled on the PBA Tour from 1968-1981, winning one title. A former bowling center owner, he was founder of the PBA Northwest Region in 1978 and has managed the program ever since, adding the PBA West Region to his duties in 2004.

Over the past three years, the QubicaAMF PBA Regional program has conducted an average of 165 tournaments each year, paying out more than $6.5 million in prize money.

To follow the QubicaAMF PBA Regional Tour, including upcoming events and results, visit pba.com and click on Menu/schedules/ “Regional Tours.”

BowlTech to Acquire QubicaAMF

Bowltech International B.V. and QubicaAMF Worldwide, SarL announced today that they have entered into a non-binding letter of intent for Bowltech to acquire QubicaAMF for an undisclosed cash purchase price. The proposed transaction remains subject to due diligence and various other conditions, including full agreement on definitive transaction documentation.

The combination of Bowltech and QubicaAMF will result in the largest bowling products company in the world. In addition to the industry leading line of QubicaAMF products such as BES Scoring, the Conqueror Pro Management Control System and the XLi EDGE pinspotter, the company plans to offer many of the leading brands of products currently sold by Bowltech to its customers in the European market.

In order to complete the transaction, Bowltech has partnered with a Dutch family investment office, Driestar. A Driestar spokesman stated that Driestar makes long term investments in financially sound companies and believes strongly in investing in innovation, people and products. He went on to say that the combination of Bowltech and QubicaAMF is a great opportunity and that his firm is happy to be a part of the potential new venture.

Hans Krol, the owner of Bowltech stated, “I have believed for many years that QubicaAMF and Bowltech represented a perfect marriage of two companies. We have similar beliefs and company cultures and complementary skills in the marketplace. I began talking to QubicaAMF about a potential combination of our two companies almost five years ago. It has taken a long time to reach this point, and we are not quite finished yet, but I am very close to making a dream come true. I have asked John Walker to serve as the CEO of our new combined company. John and I have developed a very close relationship over the past few years and I have full confidence that together with the rest of the management team we will accomplish great things.”

The two parties decided to go forward with an announcement at this time due to the upcoming gathering of many people from the bowling industry in Reno, NV for International Bowl Expo. John Walker, the CEO of QubicaAMF said, “We are very excited about the prospect of joining forces with Bowltech. Hans has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success over the past twenty five years in the bowling industry. He fully understands the business and what is required to succeed. Hans believes in investing in people and products to build the strength of a company for the long term and he is committed to the same high standards of customer service that we try to deliver at QubicaAMF. I look forward to working with Hans and the rest of the team from both QubicaAMF and Bowltech for years to come.”

Mr. Krol also stated that he has asked Pat Ciniello to continue to serve as the President of the new company’s U.S. subsidiary and to join the Board for the new combined company after the transaction closes. “Pat is one of the best businessmen I have ever met and he has been critical to the success of QubicaAMF in the U.S. marketplace. I am very happy that he has accepted my offer to continue working with us in the future. He understands both the bowling product and center operations sides of the business and that will be a great benefit to our future company.”

Mr. Ciniello replied, “I am convinced that combining QubicaAMF and Bowltech is the right thing to do for the future of both companies. Hans and his investment partner, Driestar, are long term investors who will do the right things for the future of both the company and the bowling industry. There are still a few hurdles to clear, but I cannot wait to get started with this new venture.”

Emanuele Govoni, Executive Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer of QubicaAMF said, “Since Qubica was founded in 1993 my partners and I have always worked to do what was best for our company and the bowling industry. We believe that joining forces with Bowltech in the near future will provide the platform to drive future growth for our company. I look forward to working with Hans and the rest of the team on completing the transaction and moving forward with integrating the two companies.”

The new company will employ over 600 people and will have worldwide headquarters just outside of Richmond, Virginia and European headquarters in Made, The Netherlands. The existing QubicaAMF operations in Bologna, Italy and Lowville, New York will continue to develop and produce the QubicaAMF line of scoring/management control products and pins respectively. Few changes are expected in either location.

QubicaAMF has changed the bowling industry many times in the past, beginning with the first mass produced automatic pinspotter introduced by AMF (a predecessor company to QubicaAMF) in 1946. AMF also created the first automatic scoring system for the industry while Qubica revolutionized the automatic scoring and management control segments of the industry, growing from a small startup company to the international market share leader in only a few years. During conversations both Mr. Krol and Mr. Walker stressed the company’s on-going commitment to investing in new product development as a key to success for both the company and the industry.