From the outside, American Athletic’s Jefferson, Iowa, facilities look like any other advanced manufacturing hub in the Midwest. Inside, however, technicians are shaping the future of sports, hand-crafting world-class gymnastics and basketball equipment trusted from high school gyms to NCAA and professional arenas and Olympic stages.
American Athletic, Inc. (AAI) and its sister brand Spalding operate under the Fruit of the Loom family, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. Together, they produce elite-level equipment that powers some of the most dynamic sports in the world. While Spalding’s basketball and volleyball systems support play at the NCAA and professional levels, AAI’s handcrafted gymnastics apparatus; balance beams, vaults, and uneven bars, serve athletes from youth programs to the international stage.
Founded in 1954, AAI’s story began with trampolines and evolved into an international leader in gymnastics equipment. Today, the Jefferson-based company employs around 77 people across three facilities totaling more than 240,000 square feet. Despite its small-town roots, AAI has a global reach, shipping to training centers in Australia, Japan, and across Europe. “The fact that we can do it here in Jefferson means a lot,” says Kristin Russell, who has been with the company for 13 years and serves as Human Resources Manager. “It’s elite-level athletic equipment, and it’s all built by hand right here in Iowa.”
Every piece that leaves the floor, whether a set of uneven bars or an NBA-ready backboard, carries a mark of craftsmanship. “We don’t do long runs,” Russell explains. “Everything is designed to last.” Spalding, the world’s largest basketball equipment supplier, is the On-Court provider for NBA, WNBA, and the G league with every hoop, rim, and support unit crafted in Jefferson. They are also an official NCAA supplier of backstops, backboards, and goals. “People might not realize the scope,” says General Manager Steve Kohl. “When our team sees the equipment they manufactured show up on ESPN during March Madness, it’s a point of pride.”
Kohl knows that pride firsthand. While attending Iowa State University, he joined AAI and has spent the past 27 years helping the company grow into a national powerhouse. Under his leadership, the Jefferson operation continues to expand its product line and technological capabilities, including fiber tube lasers, robotic welders, and CNC wood routers. Still, Kohl emphasizes that people remain at the heart of the operation. “Our team manufactures two major brands in Jefferson with 90% of our raw materials being sourced domestically. Their craftsmanship and dedication when doing so is what sets us apart.”
Looking ahead, AAI’s ambitions continue to climb. The company has their eyes set on the 2028 Olympics being held in Los Angeles; a natural progression for a brand already serving as the official gymnastics equipment supplier for USA Gymnastics developmental program through 2029. American Athletic supplied equipment for the Olympics in 1984 (Los Angeles) and 1996 (Atlanta). They have gold medalists from each working for them currently.
For Kohl and the Jefferson team, the motivation remains simple. “Gymnastics and basketball are two sports where the athlete interacts directly with the equipment,” he says. “That connection drives us to build it better every time.”
From a small Iowa town to arenas around the world, American Athletic’s legacy is proof that world-class performance can be handcrafted right in Jefferson.
