Is there anyone blowing foam here in Canada?
No. Not to my knowledge What coast are you on? There is a supplier in BC.
I’m in BC. I’ve been thinking about blowing foam here (homeblown). I figure before I look at how many blanks are being sold here…and thus it’s financial feasability…I’d see if anyone was doing it first.
as McDing said Aftanas over in Tofino is selling surfblanks america i think its just PU blanks other than that Theres Fiberglass supply in washtion has US blanks which are EPS its only couple hour drive from Vancouver if you don’t want the stuff shipped.
i havent seen anyone closer that has blanks
Do you see a need for MDI blanks being made in Canada (on the island) in your neck of the woods?
Honestly man I think such a venture would be a loser. I've got a warehouse full of MDI and TDI from two failed manufacturers. First you invest money in a facility. Develop molds and purchase chemicals. Then you go thru the R&D testing etc. in which you produce inferior blanks that no one wants. Homeblown failed in San Diego. Just Foam didn't make it. Bennet, King-Mac, Warvel, Echotech etc. etc.etc.
Howzit McDing,I am sorry to hear that " Just Foam " didn'tmake it since Imet the owner on Kauai a few years back when he came over for our Pine Trees LongBoard Classic Contest and he is a reat guy and he gave away a blank for a prize and the foam was really nice,guess it's just a tough market to mak it in even with Clark gone. Aloha,Kokua
Can you make blanks that taste like Maple syrup? That'd be fun!
How about some surf wax that smells like Maple syrup?
@Mcding, I have access to molds and formula is set I could set up fairly quick and produce a very good product.
@Kokua, the market got even harder after Clark closed since there’s so many that jumped into the market and
flooded it with product…some not so good and some very good. Not all the ones that are still around are producing
the best foam, and some that got out were producing pretty good foam, but were a victim of the crash since many
of them had only been around for a few years and weren’t quite in as good of state financially as they’d like. The
profit margin on blowing foam isn’t high. And at least one that I know of closed doors because they didn’t manage
their money very well.
I’m only looking into starting it up here since it would be nice to have one more part of our local surfboard manufacturing
be made in Canada. I know a lot of surfers that only buy from local shapers and maybe more would be lured into buying
a local board if their board was made here and somewhat biodegradable. I have a unique schedule that would allow me
to do this and work, and shop space can be had fairly cheap. There’s a myriad of issues I have yet to look at, but you
have to start asking/looking somewhere, eh?
It's a great idea but be careful with MDI. I shaped and supported all the MDI manufacturers. Overall the MDI blanks, yellowed quicker, soaked up way more resin (heavy), have different flex characteristics, etc. than TDI blanks. A friend of mine is at one of the blank companies and he advised "if MDI worked don't you think they would all be using it".