us blanks seems promising just have to wait and see did someone say
maybe april? I havent heard much about the import foam. What do
the kbrs that use imported boards think of the foam their boards are made of? durability?
This news release might be a repost, and it could be old news to some of you, but in Aprils issue of Composites Technology there this a mention of the formation of a new blank manufacturer. The article can be found at
When founder Gordon "Grubby" Clark shut the doors of fabled Laguna Nigel, Calif.-based Clark Foam on Dec. 5, 2005, citing escalating environmental liabilities, the supplier of more than 80 percent of the world's polyurethane surfboard blanks left a big hole in the market. Two groups from markedly different backgrounds — a team of former Clark employees and scientists at Sandia National Laboratories — have announced developments calculated to fill the void.
Source: Sandia National Laboratories
Former key Clark Foam employees Kim Thress and Jeff Holtby, announced in mid-March the formation of a new company, US Blanks (Los Angeles, Calif.). They've selected as partners Ted Wilson of Fiberglass Hawaii, a supplier of fiberglass and resin to the surf industry, and surfboard designer Gordon Merchant.
Thress and Holtby reportedly have put together a team of long-time Clark senior staffers and a number of highly trained ex-Clark production employees, intending to pick up where Clark left off.
Thress, the new firm's president, was quoted as saying, "We've all been doing this a long time, and have figured out just what the customers want, and we have the know-how to provide it. Right now, our number one priority at US Blanks is to get a quality foam blank back out into the marketplace as quickly as possible, at a very competitive price, and to help the industry stabilize and move forward with confidence." The company expects to offer customers a full range of options, in terms of size and density and rocker (board curvature).
The company will offer three types of foam. The US Blanks Polyurethane foam (production of the polyurethane foam has been moved to a more suitable location in California) reportedly will yield the highest level of physical properties required by a surfboard — developed, tested and proven over decades, its quality, stability and consistency has long made it the choice of the majority of leading surfboard builders. For builders preferring to work with EPS foams, the company will offer two solutions. A molded EPS polystyrene foam available in various densities, and an extruded polystyrene foam. US Blanks expects to meet or exceed all government environmental regulations and requirements.
Meanwhile, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories (Livermore, Calif.) have developed TufFoam (see photo), a low-density, energy-absorbing foam that — among other potential applications — they believe could help avoid a complete wipeout for the nation's $200 million surfboard manufacturing market. Sandia, a National Nuclear Security Admin. (NNSA) laboratory, originally conceived TufFoam as an encapsulant material to protect sensitive electronic and mechanical structures from harsh weapons environments. It is a water-blown, closed-cell, rigid polyurethane foam that features formulations as low as 2 lb/ft3 density. But beyond its use as a structural material, Sandia believes the foam's properties may be ideally suited for surfboard blanks. "It can be used for thermal and electrical insulation, and as a core material," notes Scott Vaupen, a business associate at Sandia, which is actively pursuing licensing and commercialization partners. "TufFoam might not only be ideal for surfboards, but also for car bumpers and airplane wings."
Sandia points out that all of the chemicals used to make TufFoam are commercially available in commodity quantities. Most important, TufFoam does not contain toluene diisocyanate (TDI), the chemical used in the production of existing polyurethane foam surfboard blanks and also under scrutiny with respect to environment and fire regulations. For information regarding possible collaboration towards commercialization or licensing opportunities, contact Scott Vaupen, sbvaupe@sandia.gov, (925) 294-2322.