Aldila (NASDAQ: ALDA) is a sport equipment manufacturing company based in Poway, California, USA. The company specializes in OEM and consumer golf club shafts, but also manufactures other carbon fiber products such as ice hockey sticks.
Aldila manufactures OEM shafts for many of the major golf club manufacturers including Callaway, TaylorMade and Ping, in addition to a range of Aldila branded consumer shafts. Production of golf shafts takes place outside of the United States, Vietnam and China, while prepreg production occurs in Poway.
Aldila, is an Italian word, meaning “the next life”, “the after life” or “above and beyond” depending on the context in which it is used.
In 1994 Aldila set up Aldila Materials Composite Division and starting manufacturing prepreg to support their Golf Shaft division.
Aldila is public listed company listed at NASDAQ as ALDA with about 1,400 employees in different locations.
The technologies used by Aldila are:
S-Core Technology:
S-Core or stabilized core is a high-modulus carbon stabilization rib running the length of the shaft. Aldila’s patented S-core Technology dramatically stabilizes the shaft’s cross-section through the use of an internal carbon-fiber rib system. S-core Technology increases the VooDoo’s hoop stiffness by 80% over conventional graphite and as much as 60% over competitors’ attempts at cross-sectional stabilization. That increased stability allows the VooDoo to better resist shaft ovaling and deformation during the swing -thus maximizing energy transfer to the ball and yielding unparalleled distance and accuracy. And because the shaft’s symmetry is maintained throughout the swing, it loads and unloads more consistently, enabling you to more reliably deliver the club head to the ball every swing. S-Core technology is employed in Aldilas Voodoo graphite shafts.
RIP Technology:
The RIP’s technology is completely different than the VooDoo’s S-Core. RIP stands for Reverse Interlaminary Positioning. Basically they have reversed the order of graphite layers so the strong layers of graphite are on the outside. The “bias” layers are the strongest layers and by moving them to the outside Aldila has discovered that this allows them to strengthen the tip significantly without extra layers, which add weight. So the end products are custom made golf clubs that have stronger torsional stiffness with less weight. In layman’s terms, the tip is stiffer and reduces spin but the shaft can remain lighter.
Micro Laminate Technology:
Aldilas revolutionary Micro Laminate Technology was first introduced in the Aldila NV, then enhanced in the VS Proto and is now perfected in the new DVS. By incorporating ultra-thin, aerospace grade carbon fiber with carbon nanotubes, Aldila engineers have taken golf shaft technology and performance to the extreme. This new exclusive technology offers the player enhanced performance and feel.