I know there are a lot of amatures on this site such as myself but what are peoples thoughts on the future of PU foam? I’m asking this because I have an opportunity to by a small blank factory.
Is PU a dieing breed…which would be undesirable to get into the manufacture of?
has the market been flooded after the Clark drought with compounded pressure put on blank manufacturers from the economic down turn?
Is there still oportunity in pu blank manufaturing and what is the best way for me to do reasearch into it’s viability?
I’ve worked in the past pouring and glueing up blanks so I feel I know the process fairly well, it’s not the most glamorous job but…
Since the closure of Clark Foam more investors have thrown money at blank company start ups than one can even imagine. Just when you think you have heard of them all, more pop up! By no stretch of the imagination there are more than 40 or 50 companies vying for a piece of the pie. TDI, MDI, XTR, soft cores, even recycling as I just posted in the announcements section of Sway’s.
Polyurethane is still very much a player in the supplying of cores for the modern day surfboard, but I would strongly advise you not to consider purchasing a ‘small blank company’ unless you are one of the idle rich’ and even that would be a disservice to many others that are barely making ends meet after large investments have been made.
I just picked up six blanks from Hawaiian Homeblown. I got a great deal but it was really sad because they were closing there door this week. Really hard working, nice guys ran the business but they could not do any more. I would suggest to really study your market before you make your investments. Also have a few unique blanks that no one else offers.
hmm…a bit disheartening how long were Hawaiian Homeblown in buisness for? You would think that a blank buisness in HI would work…where do all the shapers get foam from…FiberglassHawaii?
despite the experimentation that has ensued since the closure of clark many of the shapers I know still do only PU/PE boards, tried and true. So I say the answer is no…
Hawaiian Homeblown were around since 2006. They closed there doors last week and shipped their equipment to California. Herny does have a few more blanks at his place in the North Shore. He is comming out with a list and I might pick up a few more.
A lot of shapers here are using US Blanks from Fiberglass Hawaii.