Surftech is a
surfboard and
standup paddleboard manufacturing company.
["Surftech Announces New Ownership"]
(January 07, 2015). prweb.com. Retrieved January 21, 2015. It specializes in mass-produced
expanded polystyrene boards pressed in molds designed by established
surfboard shapers.
[, p. 201.]
History
Surftech was founded in
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz ( Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a po ...
in 1992 by
surfboard shaper Randy French, who wanted to see the industry expand from its focus on individually-shaped boards to efficiently manufactured mass production.
[ French had previously owned a ]sailboard
Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...
manufacturing company called Seatrend, where he developed the production techniques he later employed at Surftech. The success of his initial product attracted the interest of other professional shapers such as Dale Velzy
Dale Velzy (September 23, 1927 – May 26, 2005) was an American surfboard shaper, credited with being the world's first commercial shaper. He opened the first professional surf shop in Manhattan Beach, California in 1950, personally hand fashio ...
, Reynolds Yater, Donald Takayama, Mickey Munoz
Mickey Munoz, nicknamed "The Mongoose", is an early surfing pioneer and surfboard shaper. He was featured in the 2004 surfing documentary '' Riding Giants''. He currently resides in Capistrano Beach, California and designs boards for Surftech, ...
and Robert August
Robert August (born 1945) is an American surfer and surfboard shaper. Raised in Seal Beach, California, he attended Huntington Beach High School where he was ASB President his senior year. He is most famous as one of the subjects of Bruce Brow ...
.[
Surftech came to the fore at a time of increased focus on new technologies within the surfboard production industry. Whereas traditional boards are made using ]polyurethane
Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) refers to a class of polymers composed of organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethane is produced from ...
foam "blanks" that are then cut and sanded to form by shapers, Surftech uses a process of blowing polystyrene into preset mold
A mold () or mould () is one of the structures certain fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of spores containing fungal secondary metabolites. The spores are the dispersal units of the fungi. Not ...
s designed by its various shapers. The blanks are then coated with polyvinyl chloride, laminated, and finished. This results in a board that is stronger and considerably lighter than traditional polyurethane boards.[
Surftech boards are now manufactured in ]Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
and shipped throughout the world.[ As of 2015, Surftech is owned by Triple D, a Thailand-based investment company.]
References
{{reflist
External links
Official site
Surfing equipment