Calfornia breaks the back of another business icon. Virtually supplied 90% of the surfboard blanks to the world from Laguna Niguel Ca. Hmmm. Where do you think they will go. Arizona.....Maybe Nevada ---Or maybe someone will wake up.----Steve
Calfornia breaks the back of another business icon. Virtually supplied 90% of the surfboard blanks to the world from Laguna Niguel Ca. Hmmm. Where do you think they will go. Arizona.....Maybe Nevada ---Or maybe someone will wake up.----Steve
He's not going anywhere. Article in the LA Times and KFWB both reported that the business is being shut down.
May be a repercussion of the "Eminant Domain" fiasco. Once the surfboard factory shuts down, the guy will have to sell the land. A developer will buy it, build some shitty condos or a strip mall and the city/county will reap the tax benefits. No wonder they want him gone. That's a prime piece of land. Can't be wasting it on a small business!!!
Why doesn't the guy pack up and go somewhere more friendly to his bottom line? He can start F-Cali Surfboards" from Arizona.
He has had compliance issues for years. The guy handles aromatic isocyanates, TDI (polyurethane)- really nasty stuff. Hundreds if not thousands of birds die each year on the roof of his building where the TDI is vented to. He has had unreported hazardous spills and gotten popped for illegal dumping.....which is pretty much day to day for anyone who uses TDI in any kind of volume. CA does not want that stuff around. They have been after Foamex in Orange for years.
The cleanup of the Clark Foam property is going to be $$$. That is why he is not moving. He needs to shut down, go bk, and let the city of Laguna pay for the cleanup. He can't afford to move. But trust me, there will be a replacement and it will be the usual suspects running the company either publicly or behind the scenes.
There is a surfboard manufacturer in Long Beach that does mostly exporting. He blows his own foam and CNCs the blanks. He could pick up much of the slack as he had tremendous capacity on blanks.
BTW - my dad sold urethane to Clark when he used to make it out of his garage.
Monday December 5th, 2005 was a dark day at shaping bays and in surf shops around the country. Orange County-based Clark Foam -- far and away the world's largest supplier of surfboard blanks -- shut its doors after over 45 years in business due to a series of ongoing environmental and safety concerns.
The main issue, as outlined by Gordon 'Grubby' Clark in a seven-page fax that was circulated among shapers today, is a toxic chemical in use at Clark Foam called Toluene Di Isocynate, commonly called TDI. Most companies using this chemical have already left California; in 1999, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implemented a slightly weaker version of California's existing anti-TDI law, while California itself instituted stronger laws. The Orange County Fire Authority repeatedly reported Clark Foam to other government agencies, including the 9th district of the EPA, who gave the blank manufacturer a 10-page citation that is still unresolved. "The seriousness of the citation could mean that I have to go to prison and be fined an astronomical amount of money," Clark writes in the fax.
Other issues contributing to the closure were, according to the fax, polyester resin, dust, trash, and the fact that almost all the technology inside the factory was designed and/or built by Clark specifically for making surfboard blanks. And due to the fact that all Clark's equipment is original, the EPA claims is does not meet industry standards.
"The only apology I will make to customers and employees is that I should have seen this coming many years sooner and closed in a slower, more predictable manner" Clark writes. "I waited far too long, being optimistic rather than realistic."
The fax is slightly cryptic, because, as Clark writes, "I have been advised by my attorney to say as little as possible. I do not want this document to be used as an admission of wrongdoing nor am I going to help the government prosecute me." But while its explanations were less that clear, its effects were immediately felt around the world.
San Diego-based boardmaker Rusty Preisendorfer received his regular shipment of blanks at noon today, and the fax came through at 2pm. "It was a really heavy afternoon," Rusty said. "And it was really sudden -- I wish he'd have given us a little warning. I have a whole warehouse of employees to think about, not to mention everyone else in the industry."
And it's not just a few SoCal surf companies or shapers that'll be affected, either -- anyone that buys surfboards will be hit. It's estimated that 90% of the world's blanks came from Clark Foam. Grubby developed, designed and built all his own technology and guarded it ferociously and his well-known aggressive business practices and unending pursuit of innovation assured him the lion's share of the market. Sure, there are other blank manufactures in Australia and a few here in the US, but no one is prepared to deal with the huge gap left by Clark Foam's closure. Surfboard prices will go up overnight and shapers still aren't quite sure what will happen next.
Ryan Sakal, of Sakal Surfboards in Huntington Beach is concerned. "I've never used anything other than Clark Foam," he says. "I don't have any backup or any contacts on how to get anything else."
Some folks think Clark Foam's closure is the beginning of the end. "The culture around the custom shaper is getting smaller," Allan Seymour, longtime industry observer, surf auction organizer and friend of Clark's explained. "This is definitely the end of an era."
"In the short term, it's a really big challenge," Rusty continued. "But I'm sure we'll find other sources of foam."
Other big name shapers are reeling but optimistic as well. Rich Harbour of Harbour surfboards posted the following on his website: "I have been on the phone non-stop for the past 6 hours. I have talked to many old friends in the industry and we all are confident that this billion-dollar industry will survive. There are many options, such as Australian foam, overseas foam and PVC foam. Over the next few days we will look into all of these and come up with some solutions. We have a stock of blanks on hand, but customers will have to be a little more flexible on their choices. In closing, Harbour Surfboards has been at this since 1959 and have no thoughts of quitting. There will be a solution, and we will find it."
Gordon Clark himself sees an end of an era. "When Clark Foam started it was a far different California," he writes. "Businesses like Clark Foam were very welcome and considered the leading edge of innovation and technology. Somewhere along the way, things have changed."
Stay tuned to Surfline as this story unfolds.
I heard from a friend who shapes that Grubby is or atleast was considering manufacturing in BC, Mexico ?
Long time traditions sometime change. This is one of them. A lot of mfg's who don't sub out their work have changed to other technologies already. The most hurt will be independent shapers.
Wonder if Mitch's has any foam instock or if local shapers bought it all up? hmmmmmm.... Maybe my Clark Catalog will be a collector's item some day
"The only apology I will make to customers and employees is that I should have seen this coming many years sooner and closed in a slower, more predictable manner" Clark writes. "I waited far too long, being optimistic rather than realistic."
Sadly too many good old boy business people make this same mistake. Technology, if added in a controlled manner over longer periods of time allow the business to modernize in accordance to tecnology and regulations.
I've witnessed firsthand a number of business that let things slide too the point it was an overwhelming financial burden to catch up.
Of course if he were to sub all this out to offshore manufacturers he would be accused of sending jobs out of the country and be slammed unrelentingly.
And HM's clarification shows the government is doing their job to suspend unsafe practices. TDI is bad stuff and needs to be regulated closely.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote