Posted March 24, 2010 | Filed Under Community
Written by Shred White | Comments: 4
Burlington, Vermont (Shred White and Blue)-Wow, American snowboard superpower Burton announced in a press release that it will shift premium snowboard production from its Vermont-based Burton Manufacturing Center (BMC) to Austria.
The company says that “Product design and development will still be home-grown in Vermont, where the company will relocate its snowboard prototyping resources from BMC into a new, purely R&D-driven prototype facility at its global headquarters in Burlington. BMC, located in South Burlington, Vermont is slated to close in June of this year.”
According to the release, 43 employees will be affected by BMC’s closure.
“When I started Burton Snowboards in 1977, all we did was make snowboards in Vermont,” says Jake Burton Carpenter, Founder and Chairman, Burton Snowboards. “Thanks to the BMC staff, we’ve excelled at prototyping and developing product in Vermont, which is why all four Burton Olympic halfpipe medals were won on snowboards coming out of our local factory. But simply put, it costs us significantly more to produce a board in Vermont than we are capable of selling it for, and sadly, this is not sustainable in the current economy.”
So go ahead, Shred Patriots, and let us know how that makes you feel…
Yonder Mountain’s Ski Town Breakdown
YMSB's Jeff Austin
Mt. Crested Butte, Colo (Shred White and Blue)-Shred White and Blue dude Josh Chaiken’s favored Yonder Mountain String Band will host Crested Butte Mountain Resort’s (CBMR) first annual Ski Town Breakdown.
The main event is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on March 27th at the base of the resort and will feature opening act Pete Kilpatrick Band followed by headliner and Colorado favorite Yonder Mountain String Band.
General admission tickets are priced at $35 each and are available for purchase on the CBMR website until Wednesday, March 24th. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Adventure Center in Mountaineer Square beginning Monday, March 22nd through show time on Saturday March 27th.
//Photo by Josh Chaiken
Squaw Valley’s Ski Patrol Olympics
Squaw Valley, Calif. (Shred White and Blue)-From March 21, 2010 – April 16 through April 18, 2010, Squaw Valley USA is hosting the first ever U.S. Professional Ski Patrol Olympics.
While several regions have hosted patrol contests in previous years, never before have ski patrollers from across the continent united for one epic competition. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympic Winter Games, Squaw Valley USA has invited patrollers from the East Coast, Rockies, Sierra Nevada and the Pacific Northwest to partake in this inaugural event. Several international patrol teams have also been invited to attend.
The competition will host an array of events from sled races and beacon competitions to simulated bomb throws. The weekend kicks off Friday night from 6-9pm with the Registration Party at Squaw Valley’s Cornice Cantina. Saturday morning, the competitions get going with a randonnée race followed by a beacon competition and a GS race down The Slot.
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4 Responses to “Shred White and Snowflakes: Burton, Yonder and Patrol Olympics”
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Burton bums me out. Totally core brand that built the sport, and is now completely focused on the bottom line. I bet they sure weighed the cost of this news between the cost of making snowboard before they pulled the trigger. Just makes me wonder why they didn’t move the whole shooting match to China. Is Austria that much cheaper than Vermont?
Hey Captain America, if you want to get bummed out then look at K2. They just keep waving the flag and building stuff in China. Skis and snowboards and whatever else it is that they are peddling these days. At least Burton is building someplace where they make really good beer. And where they have really good mountains. At least that’s my criteria.
Patrick – China has some great beers in Tsingtao and Harbin. And some huge mountains. Check out an Atlas.
Captain A
I think the key element is the corporate effect. I can’t imagine Austria being any “cheaper” but Burton probably got some kind of “incentive” to go there that the state of Vermont couldn’t/wouldn’t match. Small mfrs. can make “boutique” product in the U.S. but the overall business environment is screwed when a company takes it to the next level.