ANNA WEBBER
Staff Writer
Surfers on Malibu’s shore may find it more difficult to buy the boards they love at a reasonable price.
The largest supplier of polyurethane foam surfboard blanks in the world swung its gates closed in early December as a 7-page statement was sent out to surfboard shapers and manufacturers across the globe. Blanks fill the hard shell of the surfboard to make the boards buoyant and more durable.
On Dec. 5, 73-year-old Gordon “Grubby” Clark, owner of Clark Foam and co-developer of the polyurethane foam board announced the company closure due to the toxic chemicals involved in his industrial processes.
Because of the equipment and materials used, Clark faced continuing problems with the Orange County Fire Department, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, South Coast Air Quality Management District and the state of California.
The state and the county government was concerned about the toxic chemical Toluene Di Isocynate and the use of polyester resin, dust, trash, and some of the equipment Clark had built. Clark wrote that several ex-employees are disabled for life on full workers compensation disability after working for Clark Foam. Lawsuits are pending with other employees and a widow, and according to their claims, the chemicals and resin used at Clark Foam causes cancer.
Clark’s closure will disrupt surfboard production for months, force shapers out of business, and significantly affect the retail price of boards, according to the Dec. 6 edition of TransWorld Business Magazine.
Clark’s statement included explanation for his actions, though not a full disclosure of his problems.
“For owning and operating Clark Foam, I may be looking at very large fines, civil lawsuits and even time in prison,” Clark wrote.
Clark could not be reached for comment, and said in his written statement that he will not be answering questions for the next few years.
He will not be selling his factory, any of his equipment, or the process, according to the fax.
“We understand it costs money to comply with codes and regulations, however we feel it’s a good investment because we want to keep your company in good standing with the law, to prevent harm for the environment, yourself, employees and community,” EPA Spokesperson Francisco Arcaute said.
“My equipment and process has a negative economic value,” Clark wrote in his statement. “Why sell something for a dollar when you are risking a lawsuit that could cost you anywhere from the dollar to everything you own?”
Jefferson “Zuma Jay” Wagner said it’s important to understand that Clark’s equipment was proprietary equipment: specialized equipment for his business only. Everything has already been dismantled and sent to the scrap heap.
Clark said in his written statement that by choosing not to sell his ideas and techniques to other companies, he hoped to evade any future liability for the products his company manufactured before closing.
The effects are seen far and wide. Hundreds of board shapers and manufacturers depended on Clark’s specially mastered blanks, which could be produced at a higher quality and on a mass scale, while other companies struggled to keep up.
“You’d be better off figuring out who didn’t use his blanks, you could probably count them on one hand,” junior Joe Mullins said.
Other companies like U.S. Walker Foam and Australian companies could take up the task of producing the surfing industry’s foam, using epoxy and carbon fiber alternatives
“Walker will never be able to keep up with the demand. Reality is, he is making a couple hundred blanks per week, while Clark was making a thousand per day,” Wagner said.
Since the shutdown, the Malibu surf has been choppy, but surfers are hopeful that blank technology will improve. They said within the next six months, they will be shredding epic waves on more sophisticated, less fragile boards.
“It’ll revolutionize the market and spark innovation. There’s a lot more technology available today that wasn’t there when Clark Foam started,” senior Andres Quiros said.
The consensus among these avid surfers is hopeful — the industry will rebound as a whole while new alternatives will be dropping in to the market.
“This guy had the market, and that was mainstream,” junior Sean Oppenheimer said. “Now no one will know what the hell mainstream is, so we’ll be trying everything.”
01-19-2006
