For some people, NCAA basketball is the thrill of the year, especially when the Final Four comes in March for both the men's and women's championships.
For the workers at
Connor Sport Court in Amasa, NCAA basketball is a big part of the reason they go to work every day. Amasa is the home to a complex of four buildings housing one of the manufacturing operations of Connor Sport Court International. The company, founded in 1872, is the leading manufacturer of hardwood courts in the United States.
Amasa, which has a population of 250 people, hosts the Michigan operations for the company. The nearest towns are Iron River and Crystal Falls, which are home to several of the employees at the hardwood plant.
"We draw 70 percent of our 125 employees from the towns of Iron River and Crystal Falls, says Conrad Stromberg, manager of the plant and a Connor employee for 23 years. Stromberg lives in Amasa.
The floors used in the Final Four championship games actually begin the process of being made in September.
In addition to making the floors for the NCAA Final Four courts, Connor's Amasa plant also manufacturers about 750 playing courts every year for schools, gymnasiums, colleges and even NBA teams.
"We are very proud of the portable courts we build for the NCAA and the NBA teams," says Stromberg, citing as an example the unique parquet hardwood portable floor the company built for the Boston Celtics.
"Portable floors -- such as those used in the Final Four -- enable venues to quickly take them up and down. This means you can have basketball one night, hockey the next," says Stromberg.
The NCAA Final Four courts for both men and women are manufactured from hard maple which Connor purchased as rough lumber from Timber Products Company, located about 140 miles north of Amasa near Munising. Connor buys from about 60 different sawmills, most of them in Michigan and Wisconsin.
Writer: Sam EgglestonSource: Conrad Stromberg, Connor Sport Court International
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