1900
AMF starts in manufacturing

AMF began as American Machine & Foundry, a manufacturer of industrial equipment.

1938
An idea takes hold

AMF teams up with the inventor Fred Schmidt, after tinkering in his garage, to perfect his idea of the automated pinspotter.

1946
Pinspotters help bowling boom

Bowling is revolutionized by the introduction of the world's first automatic pinspotter. AMF then puts the pinspotter into full production in 1952, and becomes a dominant force in the bowling industry.

1965
The AMF Bowling World Cup is born

AMF sponsors the first annual AMF Bowling World Cup Tournament in Dublin, Ireland. At the time the tournament was called the international Masters.

1976
Keeping score becomes a snap

AMF again changes the face of bowling with the introduction of the world's first automatic scoring unit allowing bowlers the concentrate on having fun, rather than keeping score.

1977
New pins add bounce

AMF invents the world first Surlyn coated bowling pin. The AMFlite II pin becomes the most respected product in bowling because they are highly reactive and help increase scores.

1981
A revolution in ball design

The first reactive urethane bowling ball is introduced by AMF. It gives bowlers new power and performance right in their hands.

1987
High Performance Lanes set the standard

AMF HPL (High Performance Lanes) set the standard in high-scoring, easy-to-maintain surfaces. The special surface treatment helps reduce oil carry down, making play more consistent for bowlers at very skill level.

1988
Headquarters are moved

AMF relocates its facilities from Shelby, OH and Long Island, NY and establishes its Headquarters and manufacturing facility in Mechanicsville, VA, where we are still located today.

1989
Mechanical bumpers score with bowlers

AMF introduces the first mechanical bumpers system, the Gen II.

1993
AMF pins and lanes set record

The Team Event record was set at the ABC Tournament in Tulsa, OK on AMF HPL Lanes and with AMFlite II pins. The record number of pins is still standing at 3,537.

Three friends, one single idea

Understanding that bowling was entertainment as well as a sport. Roberto Vaioli, Luca Drusiani and Emanuele Govoni form Qubica to bring amusement innovations to bowlers and center proprietors worldwide.

1994
Qubica starts rolling

Guido Sorba, an Italian bowling distributor, sells over 400 lanes of Qubica scoring (10 times more than 1993) in Europe and the USA. In 1995, Guido, will become the fourth partner of Qubica Italy.

1995
Talking poker cards add a new dimension

Qubicard, a software driven,animated poker game featuring talking cards, capture league bowlers'imaginations. The game has proven so successful, it's included in all the next generations of system.

1996
AMF and lanes set more records

The record number of 299 (24) and 298 (14) games was set in Salt Lake City using AMF HPL Lanes and AMFlite II pins.

Qubica goes global

Manu, Luca & Roberto grant distribution and the Qubica name to their US partners, giving rise to Qubica USA. This exciting partnership introduces Pat Ciniello and Rich Albright into the group. The next year, the three Italians, form another partnership with Frank Mascadri to form for Qubica Asia and Qubica Australia.

1999
AMF lanes begin to glow

AMF is the first company to offer a glow pattern in their synthetic lanes in 1999, with HPL Glow Track Lanes.

The innovation continues

Qubica starts the development of the first Bowler Entertainment System (BES), the future of automatic scoring systems. It's developed to grow over the years, in the order to meet the challenges of the future. In addition, Conqueror, the most advanced Windows-based total center control system, now operating in thousands of centers worldwide, was introduced in 1999.

2002
64 perfect games come with tournament

In Billings, Montana, ABC Tournament records were again set by AMF HPL Lanes and AMFlite II pins. This time 64 games scoring a perfect 300 were bowled and ten 800 series were bowled.

Qubica grows with acquisitions

Enticed by the similarities of the amusement and bowling industries, and excited to become a new center package supplier, Qubica acquires FENIX/MENDES Corporation. The company then focuses on its exciting range of traditional & miniature bowling products and how they can help bowling center proprietors increase revenues. After only 9 years, Qubica has become one of the few full line bowling suppliers in the world.

1997
AMF goes Xtreme

Xtreme Glow-in-the-Dark bowling helps attract a whole new generation of bowlers with lights, music and fun for families, college students and casual bowlers.

Automatic bumpers expand bowlers' fun

Qubica introduces automatic lane bumpers interfaced with the scoring system so that the bumpers will go up and down, accommodating both children and adults on the same lane. Bowland is introduced. Proprietors can update existing scoring systems and offer their customers the entertainment power of Bowland—Tic Tac Toe, Qubes, Slot, and Pogo Pin, visual Lottery games—with sound & industry-first true 3D character animations.

2003
Program X brings new products

Qubica introduces its new product line, including the Bowler Entertainment System (BES), under the creative brand Program X brand. The suite of business solutions and products provides market segment-based bowling experiences for all customer types.

2004
The Bowling World Cup turns 40!

AMF hosts the 40th annual the Bowling World Cup in Singapore with a total of 95 countries entering/participating & 8 perfect games bowled!

Merger talk begins

Very discretely the merger with AMF is studied by the management team and the excitement keeps building.

2005
Legendary Dick Weber passes away

Dick Weber, AMF spokesman for almost 50 years, leaves a legacy to the sport of bowling. He had 26 PBA tour wins, was elected to the American Bowling Congress Hall of Fame, and was selected for the PBA Hall of Fame in 1975.

QubicaAMF Worldwide is born

On June 14, 2005 industry leaders AMF Bowling Products and Italian-based Qubica Worldwide announce that they will join forces. The result of this strategic alliance, QubicaAMF Worldwide, is one of the largest manufacturers of bowling and amusement products in the world.