I read tons of really stupid things from the kooks in this group about China. I am not picking on you specifically, but the “union” comment was the last straw. Here’s the deal: I live in China and work at a surfboard factory part of the year and live and work at a California factory the rest of the year. The factory in China is OWNED by the workers union! You guys really are completely clueless, so I’ll clear up a few of the most common misunderstandings:
Skill Level- The average factory in California might work on 6-12 boards a day. The average Chinese factory does 40-60 per day. The Chinese factories have training manuals, expert technical ad visors and rigid standards for accuracy and quality. California factories have NOTHING like this. Chinese workers receive formal training and have very consistent work flow. I’ll put a Chinese laminator with one year of experience against a ten year vet from California ANY DAY!
Workers Pay- The average Chinese factory worker earns a middle class income for their area. The average factory in California lives below the poverty line. The average Chinese factory worker owns transportation (usually a scooter), a cell phone that takes pictures (I don’t have one of those) and lives in an apartment at least as large as the condo I am paying $400,000 for in California. They have TV’s, stereos and DVD players. They have health insurance. They are regular people. For decades California surfboard builders have been working for nearly no pay at all- just so a bunch of you guys can hold on to a fantasy.
Greed- The idea that surfboard builders who have product made in China are “greedy” is the most retarded idea ever! EVERYTHING is made in China, surfboards are just plastic, guys. Forget all your bullshit hippie ideas about magic carpets with souls. The surfboard buying public and the industry it’s self have been merciless to the board builders bottom-line. …so what, now a guy who’s been busting his ass for twenty years might finally be able to buy a house in the town where he went to high school?! Maybe now your shaper can afford to take his wife on a nice vacation to the place where half of his customers go every year?! You want sellouts? How about Quicksilver, Billabong, O’neill, DaKine and every other “surf company” that does not make boards and makes millions from selling clothes Macy’s! What’s so bad about board builders finally having an R&D budget? Do you want better boards or not?
Health and Safety- The Chinese factories have written Health and Safety Policies and Procedures. Workers are provided with respirators and fresh cartridges, gloves, aprons etc. Ventilation systems are state of the art. The factories employee full-time workers who do nothing but sweep and dust and all floors are mopped EVERY day. All workers attend Health and Safety classes. California factories are dirty eco-hazards, where guys work in dangerous conditions. I seriously doubt you could convince the average Chinese factory worker to step foot in the average California factory. The average California board builder has never even seen a factory as nice as the average Chinese factory. If a Chinese factory worker moved to San Diego any shop would want to hire them based on their skill level and work ethic and personallity, but the Chinses worker would have to accept a lifestyle down-grade to live in San Diego for what the factories there are able to pay vs. cost of living. That’s a fact, folks.
Labor- The average Chinese factory is married, middle-class and between the ages of 19-40. There is no child labor. Period. The average work day is 8:30am-5:00pm with an hour for lunch. The work week in six days (in California do I get even one day off?!). Workers Comp is paid for every Chinese worker. So is Health insurance.
As for the never-ending sniveling you backyard hacks do about “pop-out’s”, until you’ve seen one made you’ll never know how wrong you are. There are over 30 skilled hand steps involved and NOTHING is injected in a mold (save for the pre-shaped blank- just like Clark). One day surfers will build statues of Randy French for standing the stagnant surfboard world on it’s head and challenging antiquated ideas, materials and techniques. We’re trying to move toward the future of surfing and you guys are hanging on to some dream about smoking a joint, turning up the Eagles and working in your backyards. Surfing can’t move forward until boards move forward.
If, like most people on this board, you are a back yard “weekend” shaper and you don’t derive 100% of your income from making surfboards- SHUT UP with your opinions about the industry and what other people do with their own business. You don’t count.
As for all the China haters: you are really just a bunch of bigots! And for all the surfboard companies that talk shit and act like they are “home grown”- I make your fucking boards over there and I have pictures you don’t want posted, so tighten up, ya hypocrites!
I live there. I work there. Those are the facts.