Company overview

COMPANY OVERVIEW

A new generation of training sports balls has been developed in Hungary, in Szarvas. Plasto Ball® Ltd. was established in 1992 as a spin-off from a company founded 65 years earlier that manufactured various plastic industry products. Since then, it has carried out its industrial activities at its plant in Szarvas, selling its own manufactured products both domestically and across various European countries.

At the Plasto Ball® Ltd. facility, sports balls are produced using modern rotational molding technology, making them uniquely suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. These balls offer excellent shape retention, optimal bounce, easy inflation, complete waterproofing, and high abrasion resistance. These properties are made possible by a special material: KOGELAN® sports plastic, specifically developed for sporting purposes.

Balls made from the KOGELAN® material developed by Plasto Ball® Ltd. are a perfect alternative to more expensive and quickly wearing traditional stitched leather and synthetic leather balls.

Who are we?

Plasto Ball Kft., a spin-off from a company that has been manufacturing various plastic products for about 60 years, was established in 1992 and its main profile is the production of various toy and sports balls using the most advanced rotational moulding technology.

In addition to the well-known toy balls (made of special KOGELAN plastic soft materials developed about 20 years ago), our company produces sports balls in 3 different product groups:

• KOGELAN HARD balls: refined alternatives to traditional sewn balls,
• the other two: KOGELAN Supersoft and KOGELAN Hypersoft balls are mainly used for children’s sports and other special purposes. Owing to their special, flexible material, children play with the ball without fear, and the pain felt on impact is alleviated by the material of the ball. (The use of these products is growing in the demanding markets of Western Europe.)

This all means a whole new generation of balls has been brought to life in our company, and the growth continues.

Professional expansion:

In addition to the increase in commercial turnover, KOGELAN sports balls have very quickly gained recognition in the professional segment as well. The most important facts to mention about the professional success of Kogelan footballs are as follows:

• back in 2002, Goliát McDonald’s FC, which runs football sessions for children in grades 1 to 6, identified two types of football for the training program in the “Góliát Code”: “Kogelan and leather balls”.
• Later (26 February 2016), the Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) stated the following with regard to the three types of Kogelan football used for children’s football: “in the OTP Bank Bozsik programme, this product group currently accounts for the largest share of footballs”.

The trade volume of our own products is increasing both domestically and for export: to wholesalers, sports stores, sports federations and sports associations.

Since 1951

Our company’s predecessor, a hairdressing cooperative with 14 members, was founded in 1951 by a group of displaced hairdressers in the tough period after the World War II. Initially, they continued their former work in the cooperative to adapt to the times; then, with the leadership of their entrepreneurial chair, they switched to making products (paper bags, boxes and later paper parlour games) and the company was renamed Szarvasi Dobozkészítő és Szolgáltató Szövetkezet (Szarvasi Box Making and Service Cooperative).

While the service part stagnated, the production of goods developed rapidly. In 1964, the founding hairdressers left the cooperative, which became increasingly oriented towards toy production: paper parlour games and various plastic toys began to be produced in increasing quantities. The company was renamed on 1 January 1965: Szarvasi Műanyagfeldolgozó és Játékkészítő Ktsz. (Szarvasi Plastic Processing and Toy Making Cooperative).

In 1965 and 1967, the cooperative hired young chemical engineers. The pace of development accelerated: From 1965 to 1970, sales revenue tripled to HUF 36.6 million and the number of employees increased from 171 to 370; after that, technological developments were enhanced and new profiles were established. The product mix evolved between 1970 and 1980.