Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Surf's Up For Innovation

Sometimes, what seems bad can actually be good, if you dig down deep enough and ride the wave long enough. Chinese surfboards, for example, only help the industry as a whole.

Confused yet? Let me explain.

With the economy still reeling and jobs as scarce as an Arizona avalanche in August, the outsourcing of jobs and the influx of cheap labor is probably a bad thing, most would agree.

But it all depends on perception.

Case in point: in today's story about the surfboard industry, the rise of cheap, Chinese-made surfboards, made by low-wage workers, who "have no idea what a surfboard is used for" seems like a bad thing for the industry.

But what was initially a scourge to the surfboard industry has turned into a blossoming on innovation from domestic producers. Indeed, as the article points out, the cheap imports have only increased the value of what domestic board shapers do.

“'The shapers out there … view themselves as craftsman and artisans rather than producers of composite material products,' says Sean Smith, the executive director of the Surfboard Industry Manufacturers Association."

DotLoop understands such home-grown innovation. Our products and services are all produced in-house, by a tight, dedicated team of experts. Quality trumps quantity and cheap knock-offs are nowhere to be found.

After all, shouldn't we all be craftsmen and artisans with our work?

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