Bummer!
Posted on 12/06/2005 10:37:05 PM PST by BurbankKarl
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. - Clark Foam, which held a virtual monopoly on the manufacture of blank forms used to create the world's surfboards, has closed its doors because it has violated pollution and safety regulations and would need millions of dollars to comply in the future, its owner said.
The company, a pioneer in the design and production of polyester boards, announced Monday that it was closing immediately.
That left surf shops and board manufacturers scrambling.
"They've been the lifeblood of the surfboard manufacturing business for 40 years" and produced perhaps 90 percent of the polyester foam blanks, said Chris Mauro, editor of Surfer Magazine, which broke the story.
The company made 700 to 1,000 blanks a day and its closure will throw hundreds of employees out of work, not to mention small-time surfboard manufacturers, Mauro said.
Larger manufacturers may be able to get some blanks from Australian and other manufacturers but in the short term there will be higher prices and a shortage of product, he said.
Local surf shops reported raising their prices, in part to prevent hoarding by people who apparently planned to make a quick buck by selling the boards on eBay.
"We've had several calls saying "Can I buy 12, can I buy 15?," said Jefferson Wagner, owner of Zuma Jay Surfboards in Malibu, where the price for a polyurethane-core board was up $100.
"I think it's going to be much higher than that in a few weeks because there won't be any more," he said.
Some blanks may come from Asia but there is not a big industry there and anyway it will take time.
"It's four to six weeks on a ship and then a couple of weeks in customs," he said.
Wagner said he had about 200 boards in stock and perhaps 50 to 100 more available.
"Then it's dead time. Out of business," he said.
"This was the last bastion of American manufacturing," Mauro said. "I'm sure somebody will start up a factory in China and start importing them but in the meantime the quality is really going to suffer."
Surfboard maker Rusty Preisendorfer in San Diego said he is trying to patch together a list of suppliers but expects he may have to temporarily lay off some workers and make fewer boards.
He said the end of Clark Foam could mean the loss of hundreds of jobs, ranging from surfboard crafters to those who sell accessories.
"There is going to be a significant ripple effect," he said.
In a Monday letter to customers explaining his closure, owner Gordon Clark said he has increasingly been in trouble with state and local government.
"They simply grind away until you either quit or they find methods of bringing serious charges or fines that force you to close," Clark wrote.
"For owning and operating Clark Foam I may be looking at very large fines, civil lawsuits, and even time in prison," he wrote.
He had no immediate plans to reopen the business.
"My full time efforts will be to extract myself from the mess that I have created for myself," he wrote.
"When Clark Foam was started it was a far different California," Clark wrote. "Businesses like Clark Foam were very welcome and considered the leading edge of innovation and technology. Somewhere along the way things have changed."
Clark said that he has run afoul of local, state and federal fire and environmental agencies for releasing chemicals into the air, including toluene diisocyanate, a carcinogen, and more than two tons of styrene fumes per year.
The company also has safety issues.
"Our official safety record as an employer is not very good," he wrote. "We have three ex-employees on full Workman's Compensation disability - evidently for life. There is another claim being made by the widow of an employee who died from cancer. According to the claim, the chemicals or resins at Clark Foam caused the cancer."
>> Sooner or later it's going to catch up to all of us big time.
IF we are EXTREMEMLY fortunate, it will not catch up to us in the form of a Chinese ICBM. And that is a truly humongous "IF".
Have a good evening (morning ;-).
Move it across the border, dude!
This is rotten. And I'm glad to be hearing Clark Foam owner telling his story. I only wish it would get MORE attention.
I most certainly agree with your post. Bttt.
"I am not moved to tears, considering the political leanings of the few surfers I know."
Jane, you ingorant slut.
I had a good buddy who ran an idustrial chrome shop, primarily serving the transit (bus) and heavy duty (class 8 truck) industries. IDEM (Indiana environmental management) fined and threatened to close his shop because of the release of ammonia in his waste gases. They stated that the waste stream was safe to breath, but was above state standards. We walked out the front door of his shop and pointed to a farmer that was knifing (applying) raw ammonia to his field across the street from his operation.
Common sense is a rare commodity with these people.
idustrail=industrail
Bummer!
North Carolina.
That's bad stuff all-righty, and while Mr. Clark is responsible, he is not solely responsible.
The real problem is that systems capable of controlling 90% of the fumes are cheap, while those abating 100% are hideously expensive.
Guess which system the bureaucrats want?
So for years, Mr. Clark goes on poisoning his workers unnecessarily while fighting to stay alive. That's just one aspect of what's wrong with government control systems.
California supplies a LOT more federal revenue than it receives in return.
Atlas is shrugging.
This website (and it's owner) you're presently enjoying the freedom of using without charge for your unchristian rantings about people you don't know happens to originate from the state you loathe ...fool.
Nothing like a real hot mix of surfacing resin.....
You got that right!
Conservative Surfer here...
How ironic for all the environmental wackos on the left coast in the surfing community? State laws and EPA shutting down the main supplier in the world for surfboard blanks.
On the other hand a friend of mine has a startup business manufacturing S-Foam blanks and his phone has been ringing off the wall today.
Three! Three Red States for surfing! Ah ah ah!
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia (Yes), Florida, Alabama (yes) and Texas. That makes 7 red states for surfing. ah aha ah
Seven! Seven Red States for surfing! Ah ah ah!
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