A single United States firm, the H.G. Heim company, was contracted the exclusive opportunity to duplicate this new joint, and was granted all U.S. patents to this device. Still to this day the Spherical Rod End retains the nickname, "Heim Joint". When the Korean War was finally over, the surplus aircraft parts market literally took to the sky and numerous variations of rod end sources became available at a faction of their original cost when produced by the H.G. Heim company.

While many of these rod ends were designed for aircraft, they simply were not up to the much more demanding task of handling the forces of the suspension links for race cars required. Economical, high quality rod ends did not appear until the late 1970's where they were produced by a Japanese company, called N.M.B., which the U.S. government caught them selling their rod ends below cost into the U.S. market. N.M.B. bought a U.S. company, N.H.B.B. (New Hampshire Ball Bearing) in order to form the required U.S. presence or otherwise they would have to leave the marketplace. They continue to make aircraft-quality rod ends today.

A U.S. company, Superior Industries, began to mass produced economical rod ends for the power transmission industry as the Heim patents ran out. Over the course of a few years people from Superior formed Aurora, National, and numerous other individual rod end companies. Today there are countless American companies producing rod ends in the U.S. These products cover all the bases from super-low cost stamped steel bodies used in control links for lawn tractors, to jet aircraft and land speed cars to the space shuttle and nuclear submarines, as well as the very unique and specially designed and produced ultra-high quality Bullet Proof Spherical Steering Rod Ends™!

The Bullet Proof Spherical Rod Ends™ are made to exacting tolerances and specifications which are specifically designed solely for dedicated steering applications!

OUR SPECIALLY DESIGNED STAGE-II ROD ENDS ARE THE TIGHTEST, LONGEST LASTING AND MOST DURABLE SPHERICAL ROD ENDS IN THE INDUSTRY - NOTHING EVEN COMES CLOSE !

On a side note, there was another German aircraft component cultivated when they captured those first enemy planes in World War II. They discovered an amazing device that made it possible for the Messerschmitt fighter planes to climb higher and faster than the Allies' planes. They were equipped with a so-called "GM-1" system, as were thousands of other German aircraft. They were using Nitrous Oxide.