[Press Release by Ramp] RAMP is very excited to announce that we are creating a new manufacturing facility in Park City, Utah! At a time when companies are moving their production to China, Taiwan and Eastern Europe, RAMP has developed a new, more modern manufacturing process that allows us to make skis and snowboards in Park City. To have total control over quality, delivery, R&D and materials is a major development.
Since the 60’s skis have been molded using very large presses that are incredibly expensive and result in a process that is not clean or efficient. They also require very expensive aluminum molds carved out with a cavity for every model and every size. These molds are typically at least $6000 each. With the new process we have invented we can avoid the huge, old presses and use a more modern vacuum-molding system like what is used to make a composite blade for a helicopter or wing. As we don’t need to use traditional molds, we can create any shape we want. This allows incredible innovation as we can test and make any shape at will, instead of being stuck with molds that quickly become outdated in this fast-moving design environment.
In addition we are going to use US-made machines and US-made materials such as tops, bases, resins and composites. Through our extensive research we discovered amazing product produced in the US that makes the traditional materials made overseas seem primitive in comparison.
The way manufacturing migrated out of the US is an interesting study. Companies took their exact same machines and processes and moved them exactly as they were to places with cheap labor to make the same types of products at a cheaper price. What RAMP is doing is spearheading an initiative to create a new, cleaner, more efficient process using materials that are better (for example: a resin that uses pine by-products versus traditional chemicals, a much greener epoxy). By throwing out the old processes we believe
US companies can produce here even more efficiently. Key ingredients of RAMP:
1) Green Initiative- we ship to customers in a padded ski or board bag eliminating thousands of boxes; our buyback program offers a $50 credit for old skis and boards which we take and make into something useful like furniture, wine racks or coat racks; and we purchase 300 pounds of carbon offsets from Native Energy for every ski and board we sell.
2) US Production- RAMP makes our skis and boards in the US using US-made machines and materials.
3) RAMP works directly with consumers and with a network of the best resort shops in the US to provide tremendous value and accessibility on world-class skis and snowboards with medals and awards at XGames, Dew Tour and Grand Prix Competitions and a Freeskier Magazine Editor’s Pick.
4) Riders Artists Musicians Project (RAMP) is a unique collaboration that brings incredible energy and creativity to the Company.
