PRESS RELEASE: Walker Foam To Step Up Production

Industry Talk
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WALKER FOAM, INC

952 Dominguez Ave.

Wilmington, CA

        90744

www.walkerfoam.com

Factory fax:

310-513-1630

Email:

From Walker Foam PR

December 14, 2005

For Immediate Release

PLEASE DON’T PHONE – SEND A FAX: 310-513-1630

One week after “Blank Monday” – December 5, 2005, a day that will live in infamy – Gary Linden, Harold Walker, Joe Boyle and the staff at Walker Foam are working 24/7 to ramp up production in Wilmington, California and South China. At the Walker Foam plant in Wilmington, California, Gary Linden has stepped in as General Manager: “We are aware that there is a lot of rumor and worry in the surfing world and I want to assure everyone that within two months, there will be foam for everyone,” Linden said. “In the meantime, we are hard at work putting on extra shifts to bring local blank production up to 700 a week, and there are containers in China being loaded as we speak. Because we are so busy, we are asking people not to phone the factory. If you have an order or a question, please fax it to 310-513-1630 or email .”

On “Blank Monday,” Gordon “Grubby” Clark announced that Clark Foam would immediately cease the production of polyurethane foam blanks to the market he had controlled for more than 40 years. Clark’s sudden “aloha” left a giant hole in the supply of blanks, estimated at anywhere from 300,000 to 500,000 a year.

Walker Foam is all too aware that many of the suppliers of Clark Foam

blanks have locked their doors and are not selling and Walker knows

that a lot of lives and livelihoods are being effected: “We are asking

people to order what they need,” Linden said. “And we will do what we

can to take care of people in the short term. In the long term Joe

Boyle, Harold’s son, is in South China right now, working with our

partners to produce the highest quality polyurethane blanks and get

them into containers. Help is on the way and we are asking people to

cooperate in the meantime. Telephone calls are lost in the roar of this

factory, so please send a fax with your needs: 310-513-1630 or use the

email at .”

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500 000 it’s a little to much 200 000 sound more realistic

US market was is forte, in Europe the sales was not that great for Clark Foam,

there was some competition there. 30% of the sales of blanks in Europe was Clark Foam 10 000 a year,

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Hi Gary,

Are you sending raw material from the USA over there or are you sourcing local raw materials? I reckon your numbers are pretty much right on.

Cheers

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Id say its safe to say they are getting it there,

INDIA is one of thel argest countries for chemical production we import alot of the materials for foam from India and china is high up there too. Im sure its cheaper to keep it all in asia.

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Price doesn’t really come into it with this stuff. The quality of the product will come from the basis of the raw material. If the ramp up Walker is looking for isn’t controlled on the Rawmat level then. Good luck on the quality side of output. Also you probably don’t want your newly found Chinese JV partner having all your secrets from day one… or is that just me. I hope it works.

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My point in that was alot of the chemicals used here are already made overseas and imported here, had nothing to do with price,

I was thinking more along he lines of

If you usually buy your TDI from Joe Schmo Petrochem, who gets his from the dow plant in india. you wouldnt buy that tdi from joe schmo Petrochem to ship it back across the pacific.

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problem with walker blanks are the rockers are limited to stock rockers. also plugs are limited. stock rockers are not very good unless shaping traditional type shapes. shrotboards rockers have too much nose rockers for most modern shorties.

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Custom rockers have and always will be available from Walker. Maybe you just didn’t take the time to find out.

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are you sure you know whats up? several of my proffesional customers that make high performance shortboards here in socal are very happy with the stock rocker on several of the walker blanks.

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Not sure about your area but I don’t know very many professional shapers using a 6-3 to 6-4 blank with 6 1/2 nose rockers.

Have you tried ordering custom rockers lately?

Are you sure you know what’s up?

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Template a few inches back from the nose, adjust the foil from the top of the nose and bingo, less nose rocker. Shape away.

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Sorry impossible to net 6’5" x 2 1/2" w 4 3/8 NR and 2 5/16 TR.

let me know if you do out of the stock rockers. I will hire you.

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Walker Article LA Times 12/31/05

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-surf31dec31,1,223005.story?coll=la-headlines-business&ctrack=1&cset=true

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don’t count on the “slow boat from China” that whole deal has been “Shanghai-ed”. If your hopes have been on the boat, your pretty much behind the 8-ball.

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BigBro is right.

From the perspective of the export businessmen* overseas, it’s like sending a container of air. 94% air, 5% solids and 1% wood.

From the perspective of some countries, the sending of blanks defeats their board sales. The rationale from the 3 Asia entities that have “the formula” and means of production is that they’d have to be out of their minds because a container full of completed boards represents a 10-fold higher yield (more applied labor) and makes so much “business sense”. (blank making alone is relatively very little applied labor)

Importation from those distances can only be a temporary fix, especially with sources closer to home inevitibly emerging. It’s ECON 101.

With this said, there are other countries where this business dynamic does not apply.

But for the Asia segment, they see a fallacy in sending blanks to the U.S. so U.S. boards can be made, which (in their view) would have otherwise been another sale out of the exporter’s container. Also unlike the domestic surf “industry”, their government steps in.

Shipping chemicals to make blanks would make more sense BUT MOST OF THOSE CHEMICALS HAVE ORIGINS FROM U.S. SOIL… …they order chemicals from U.S. toll mixers, set the combinations, palletize it there, and send it back here, C’MON!!!

Somebody please shoot me down on this rant because if I am wrong then this means I will be getting some affordable blanks.

*I really want to be wrong about this…

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Plus-One your remarks make perfect sense from an economics standpoint. I have a hunch though, that based on the sheer mass of humanity living in China, you could find people with the resources and abiltites to knock-off anything.

I don’t normally get involved in these discussions, and am not living or dying on the hope of getting my hands on PU blanks. I do have some fairly extensive experience trading in this region. My point is you may be giving the Chinese a little more credit than they deserve, with respect to being an organized cohesive Economic entity.

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so if big bro is right there probaly won’t be many contaniers arriving from australia south africa argentina brazil england same rational with cnc machice’s why ship blanks we will mill them for you glass them then ship finished boards.

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walkers deal has gone south with the chinese. it ain’t going to happen, atleast in the near future. what ever walker blanks you will have access to will be from wilmington. straight up.

other may fill in but no where near the numbers clark did. if you are a blank wrangler and relying on walker to save the industry, don’t count on it. it’s going to be a looooooooong wait.

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BigBro has good (accurate) information.

Check your PM BigBro.

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so who is your source? would like to know ? nobody said blanks were going to be here over night. you sound bitter? thank yourself for relying on only one source of materials to use in your craft. thank gordon for taking your money for years and giving you criptic warnings that he would be closing at anytime? walker foam are great people doing one hell of a job to help keep craftmens working . would it have been so hard as to tell loyal customers that hay well it has been a great ride with you all but i will be shutting my door say jan 1 or even dec 30 so be prepared? NO. but instead apanic is created people go nuts and now are starting to get mad a people trying very hard to help them keep making a living.