Australian surfboard maker forced offshore

July 23, 2008

TURBULENT economic times have forced one of Australia's biggest surfboard makers to move production offshore. Firewire Surfboards has been hit by the "double whammy" of a board glut and slump in demand in the key US market.

... it has closed its Burleigh manufacturing facility - which employed about 50 people and churned out up to 400 surfboards a week - and shifted production to its low-cost factory in Thailand.

... "Like all companies, we're tightening our belts and consolidating."