BY ERIN WALL

Lake Wales, FL –  Former USBC Managing Director of the National Governing Body Neil Stremmel has been hired by Kegel to serve as the company's new Director of KBT and Sport Research.

Stremmel will relocate to Florida and officially begin his position at Kegel next month. He will work alongside Dennis Sheirs, VP of Chemical Product Development and Support to oversee KBT (Kegel Bowling Technologies) which includes Kegel’s line of lane conditioners, lane cleaners, and other chemical products. In addition, Stremmel will focus on a variety of research projects designed to enhance the understanding of the sport and influence future products.

“I am very excited to be joining the Kegel team,” Stremmel said.  “Over the years, I have worked with many of the individuals at Kegel and I am humbled to be working amongst them.  They truly are a great group of curious bowlers and I hope to help answer some questions with them.”

Stremmel has been involved in bowling since he was a child when his parents owned a center in Stillman Valley, Ill. In March of 2000 he began working at bowling headquarters as Director of Research and later Technical Director.  Later with the United States Bowling Congress he was named Managing Director of the NGB (National Governing Body). While working for USBC, Stremmel oversaw teams including Coaching, Equipment Specifications, Team USA and Rules. He was also a spokesperson for USBC concerning technical issues facing the sport of bowling. After 16 years in bowling, he departed the industry to work for the Acoustical Society of America as their Standards Manager.

Testing and research were a major focus for Neil at USBC and he also oversaw the design and construction of the International Training and Research Center (ITRC), the ball motion study and a variety of other research projects. As an advocate for education, he and his team authored many publications about his research and experience in the bowling environment.

Stremmel served on the World Bowling Technical Committee, the Executive Board of the Pan American Bowling Confederation, the American Zone Technical Committee, and was a resource to the Hong Kong Sports Institute for the design of their Bowling Training Center. He also had heavy involvement in Championship Tournaments as a Technical Delegate, Tournament Manager, and Tournament Director.

Chris Chartrand, Kegel CEO, said, “We are thrilled that Neil Stremmel is joining the Kegel team.  Our sport is very distinctive and its challenges are unique and nuanced. Acquiring top technical talent to help solve problems and expand our understanding can be a challenge because it requires a deep understanding of bowling. This is why it’s so exciting to add someone of Neil’s caliber to the family. His deep and diverse technical bowling expertise isn’t shared by many. Bringing his knowledge and passion back to bowling will be a great benefit to Kegel, but also to the bowling industry overall.”

As a mechanical engineer with a Bachelor’s Degree from Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., Stremmel has previously worked in various engineering roles within nuclear power, aerospace and the acoustical industries.