World’s largest surfboard ‘blank’ maker closes

Surfing is huge in Bali and I know several people personally who are involved in surfboard manufacturing, surf lessons and surf tours. One of the worst aspects of surfboard manufacturing is the cost of the materials.

The core of the surfboard is a polyurethane ‘blank’ which looks like a tough piece of polystyrene. It is shaped by hand, then coated with a fiberglass sheet and covered in resin, giving a hard shiny exterior. Problem for Bali surfboard makers is that they don’t make blanks here, they have to be shipped in from Australia. Add to that the resin has to be shipped from the US (its oil based and Australia has no real oil industry).

My friends have an agreement with the customs guys where tey go into a room, hand over an envelope with money and are allowed to being in as many blanks as they like. The upshot of all this is a surfboard maker can only make $100 per board, after expenses, taking into account you also have to find a customer.

A recent event in California might make these guy’s lives a lot tougher. Clark Foam, the world’s largest maker of blanks has closed, leaving the industry in short supply. Australian blanks might get snapped up and sent to the US, leaving the Bali guys short of the raw material.

In general the surfing industry globally in growing in leaps and bounds, but this latest development might hurt some of the small guys.

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