In a surprising shift for the competitive pickleball industry, Volair has opted to license HexGrit technology from 11SIX24 rather than developing its own surface material. This partnership marks a rare instance of a paddle brand choosing to adopt a competitor's proven innovation to ensure long-term performance and spin consistency for its customers.
The Strategy Behind the Partnership
The pickleball industry is currently locked in a race to create the most durable, high-spin paddle surfaces. While many companies spend significant resources attempting to invent proprietary technologies, Volair CEO Ryan Cohen decided that 11SIX24’s HexGrit was already the industry gold standard. By licensing this technology, Volair aims to bypass the trial-and-error phase of development and provide players with a surface that maintains its performance long after the initial purchase.
The collaboration highlights several key aspects of this unique business arrangement:
- Proven Performance: Volair leadership noted that while their internal team is capable of creating new surfaces, they prioritized HexGrit because it is already established as a top-tier, long-lasting solution that provides exceptional spin.
- The Volair CMD: The first paddle to feature this integration is the new Volair CMD. Following this release, Volair intends to incorporate HexGrit into all of its future performance-oriented paddle models.
- Validation for 11SIX24: Founder David Groechel views this deal as a major endorsement of his company’s engineering. He believes the partnership validates the technology and allows 11SIX24 to expand the reach of HexGrit beyond their own brand.
- Market Positioning: Both CEOs agreed that the arrangement is mutually beneficial because the two brands often serve different customer bases, minimizing direct competition while maximizing the utility of the technology.
- Future Scalability: While 11SIX24 is open to future partnerships, Groechel emphasized that this is not an open-license product. The company has filed a patent for HexGrit and must carefully vet potential partners based on manufacturing capabilities, legal considerations, and the need to protect their intellectual property.
Ultimately, this partnership signals a maturation in the pickleball market. By choosing to collaborate rather than compete on every front, Volair and 11SIX24 have demonstrated that innovation can be found in strategic alliances as much as in independent research and development.
