Something that intrigued me was this past post from 2005. swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=246210;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25; If you read the enough of the posts on that thread you will find quite a bit of talk of mass production. Mass production of surfboards that is. One of the problems I see with mass producing surfboards is their simplicity.
When I say simplicity I will refer to Bill Barnfields mention of a bicycle wheel containing one hundred parts and a surfboard containing four parts. Technically the assembly of a surfboard in it’s most common form isn’t that difficult. That’s probably why 60% of the industry are backyarders. And low barriers to entry are probably a huge no no to most corporations. Not all, but most I would say. Take Starbucks for example. They make coffee.
Not exactly rocket science. But not the death of the local coffee house either. At least not in NZ. I think the construction of surfboards is too simple to lend itself well to mass production mainly because it’s too easy for other people to do as well.
Which is one of the reasons I can’t see a lot of cheap mass producing surfboard companies lasting. Or is it good business sense to mass produce something that is not too difficult for other people to produce themselves?
Now Firewire and Surftech. Firewire would have to be the hardest to make yourself with the carbon rod thingees with Surftech probably not too far behind in the difficulty to produce stakes. Also with what I think is the cheap Asian surfboard thing not being so cheap before too much longer would this not push the prices of Firewire and Surftech higher?
They are already not cheap in NZ. $1,200 NZD for a Firewire. If the prices did go up who out of the mass producers would mostly likely survive? I think Firewire I think as I believe it is the hardest to “emulate” and has a higher barrier to entry for a competitor. I also believe that with the right marketing they would be the most likely choice for the real high end consumer. As for the rest of the mass producers and possibly increasing prices for them, well…