Relocalising the SUP industries

It seems that the conditions that make possible relocalizing the SUP manufacturing in the countries purchasing the products (us on this forum :-) are now happening:
- salaries increases in China (x8 for Gong), without a significative increase in expertise (plus the drop of the euro for us in europe)
- a political will for (some) developed countries to bring back jobs home (with public help for professionnal training)
- positive use of the environment regulations: innovating in ways to make the workplace safer (venting, ...) plus financial incentives from governments to built cleaner factories
- a SUP market that may not be the explosion some dreamed of, but is real
- a deep surf culture

Basically now, a skilled shaper/glasser/sander in Portugal is not much more expensive than a Chinese one...

Gong is in the process of relocalising its production in Europe, in Portugal, in a new factory in Peniche, a true "surf city", see details in www.gong-galaxy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=7802
They are not the first of course, Hobie did this some years ago with is Raw line, and I guess others. Naish has been producing in different asian countries for its different construction for some years too...

Things are not so simple, and mass production of entry-level, price-driven goods is still hard to move out of Asian countries(*), But let's hope more will go this route!

(*) Gong for instance had to create a new simpler and cheaper line of inflatable (1 model, 3 sizes, for less than 400?) to keep producing in China, while the more elaborate shapes will be produced in Portugal.

Do you now other examples of companies relocalising?

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bobajob said..
Lets hope that it is good for local shapers and manufactures as they've been left out for a long time now.

I was wondering if maybe a solution could be in setting a up services that would alleviate the fears of the general public to order local custom boards:
- some way to know a range of prices (it is not as expensive as one think) from a central place
- some help in reselling... indication of the resale value, help in finding packing materials, SUP-freindly transporters, ...

?

Couldnt agree more
Went to my local factory outlet to order a new board last weekend and was very pleasantly suprised.
First up the boys have added a little shop to the back of the factory and as well as the usual shortboards and associated paraphernalia there were two custom SUPs waiting to be picked up and two stock SUPs sitting in the racks as well as a whole stack of paddles sitting in the corner. Amongst the photos on the wall of all the local short board shredders there was one of a local SUP rider giving one of the districts beachies a good going over...definitely not going to see that in any of the mainstream shops in Torquay.
Thought it was quite interesting that the two customs waiting to be picked up had been ordered by women...acccording to Fordy they wanted something light, easy to get in and out of the car and was suitable for both the surf and flat water paddling...and of course with a custom colour scheme.
First pictures are of the customs.











Time to order my new shooter and into the factory proper...First suprise was a shaped blank sitting in the corner that looked a hell of a lot like a blown up version of my current board...according to Fordy the guy who ordered it had seen one of my old "cuttlefish" designs...liked it and ordered a bigger version for himself
Picture is of the cuttle rail line

You get a better idea when you look at it from a distance

Next up mine sitting on the stand for Fordy to run the tape over before working up the dimensions on my newy...which incidently will be seven foot by thirty pont five and a hundred and five litres...you can get a bit of a feel for the factory...and yes thats another SUP on the floor and another blank in front of mine ready to be milled for another custom order

Rail and tail of the custom cuttle


Glassing with vector net is done over in Torquay by epoxy maestro Cusso again keeping it just about as local as you can get and keeping the price point competitive.
So...to sum up...one hour visit local manafacturer...two customs in the rack, one picked up...two stock in the rack, a dozen carbon paddles and a heap of adjustables in the showroom...in the factory two customs under constructions and one being ordered.
If this is an industry in decline I cant wait to see it when its booming
Cheers
Sparx

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carbine said..
10/10 would not get me anywhere near making epoxy boards, no matter how safe resin manufacturers claim their **** to be.

Long term not worth it. Will always be a stumbling block except for your backyard garage type with no employees e.g. Guy above.

Actually mate, the guy above is far from a backyard type. He pre shapes for just about all of the majors on both the West and East Coast of Vicco. He employs at least three guys on a full time basis and does his own polyester resin jobs for his own branded shapes in a fully vented glassing suite on the premises. He also provides work for any number of glassers down the line who finish boards for any number of other companies under their own labels.
Your back yard impression probably comes from the shots of my board on the stand which is sitting in the old loading bay...the messiest part of the factory cos thats where the junk ends up prior to being skipped.
Just to make it clear once again...he doesnt glass epoxies on the premises. They are sent over to Torquay where they are glassed by Cusso. Cusso is a legend in the Victorian shaping and glassing scene. He's glassed for everyone from Wayne Lynch, Maurice Cole and Greg Brown right through to being the go too for custom Rip Curl and Quiksilver shapes. Cusso has been at the sharp end of the industry for three decades...long enough to have his sh.t together one hundred percent when it comes to safety...what you would or wouldnt do is irrelevant cos what we are talking about is re localising the SUP industry...putting people in touch with local manafacturers, big and small who can service their needs without them having to spend a motza on ping pong balls...stuff that comes out of a box from Thailand.
Cheers
Sparx