Actually there’s a bit more to it than that…
Eventually all manufacturing industries must replace the equipment used to manufacture whatever it is they make. This is a normal part of the business cycle. A plant used to make cars, for example, has a certain useful lifetime, so even should the car model being made remain high in popularity and require very little in the way of changes or modification, eventually the machinery, etc., used to make that car will wear out and must be replaced.
At that point, since their equipment must be replaced anyway, the manufacturer can and usually does decide to modernize/upgrade their plant, equipment, etc. Indeed, it is a requirement if they are to remain competitive.
In the surfboard maufacturing industry, since the equipment needed is much simpler, this process is probably not as cut and dry as it is in the car making industry, for example, but I am sure the same basic principle applies.
I would assume that blank maufacturers, for example, have a vested interest in using their old fashioned technology (e.g., molds) and knowledge associated with polyurethane foam for as long as possible, even though polyurethane is extremely toxic and environmentally destructive. (They have probably invested in some pollution control equipment as well, but most likely only because they were required to through government regulations.)
Therefore, they push polyurethane foam blanks for as long as possible to get the most out of their investment. Eventually they will have to ‘give up the ghost’, so to speak, but in the meantime we all pay the price (i.e., the air is polluted) . Unfortunately, this is a ‘business as usual’ practice; using and polluting a common resource (e.g., the atmosphere, a river, the ocean) and passing on the costs to society in general.
But I think there is much more to the story than that. I think there is definitely a mind set among many in the industry against learning/employing new technology and methods.
For example, when I started shaping again a few months ago, I decided that I didn’t want to deal with glassing the boards as I knew what a hassle and mess it could be. So I contacted a couple local glassing companies. Two problems surfaced.
First problem: I wanted epoxy and no one wanted to deal with it, even though I offered to procure the epoxy. I was referred to a couple of companies, one up in Oceanside which no one had the contact info for, so that was of no help, and another local glassing company which I could never get ahold of, even though I left messages and waited over a week to hear from them (I have intentionally omitted the names of all parties involved).
Second problem: I was shaping balsa, and the glassers just did not want to deal with balsa, whether using polyester or epoxy!
In the end, I decided to do the glassing myself, and it has actually worked out quite well. Epoxy has turned out to be much easier to work with than I imagined, definitely much easier than polyester, I’ve learned a few new tricks and skills along the way, and since epoxy doesn’t have the same degree of environmental problems associated with polyester (e.g., negligible VOCs and much less waste), I don’t feel too guilty about using it.
