CALEDONIA, Minn. – The word around this southeast Minnesota town, population 2,700, is that the Miken softball bat factory is being moved to China. The factory, which employs 85 persons, was sold in 2018 to a moneyed, low-profile acquisition company, Seidler Equity Partners of Marina del Ray, California. Seidler has made no announcement about its plans. Nor has it responded to queries. The firm has $2 billion in assets with some operations abroad, notably in Australia. Also with an interest in Miken has been MBL Properties, a component of Major League baseball.
Miken bats. Its composite-fiber bats retail for $100 to $300. The product us sold in 600 stores in the United States.
Miken profile
Miken was established in Caledonia in 1999. The initial product was composite-fiber golf club shafts. The golf product was dropped and production shifted to less labor-intensive softball bats — a growing market with 40 million registered players in sanctioned softball leagues in the United States. The company also may make other products from composite fiber. Miken has a patented vacuum transfer molding process that it says allows its bats to be created with incredible structural qualities while maintaining low weights. The bats hit like the best high-performance aluminum bats but don’t dent. The company was acquired was sold to Seidler Equity Partners in 2018 in a package with Rawlings Sporting Goods for $325 million. Under various ownerships over the years, Miken had been associated with the historically significant Rawlings brand. Rawlings was founded in 1887 in St. Louis.
Who calls the shots? Seidler co-founders.
Mark Seidler.
Robert Seidler.
Eric Kutsenda.