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Cabrinha’s Twin Tip Product Manager Dave Kay (DK) gives us a peek inside the Cabrinha board factory and tells us what is so special about the Palownia wood cores.

DK on a stack of Palownia.

DK on a stack of Palownia.

“Good boards start with a good core,” said DK. “When setting up our new factory we had the option to use any material on the planet as our core material. With alternatives such as PVC foam, PUT foam, Polyurethane, Poplar, Balsa, and Bamboo, in the end we chose Palownia because it really is the best.”

Rails being poured into the word core.

Rails being poured into the word core.

Native to much of China and long since cultivated all over Asia this deciduous tree grows from a seedling to a mature tree 12-15m tall and up to 40cm across in about 10 years. After the first harvest it grows back equally as big in only eight years.

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Besides its extremely fast growing cycle, the strength to weight ratio of the lumbered boards beat the strongest hardwoods in the world. Its characteristics of rot resistance and a high kindling point make this lumber a hot commodity on the world market.

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Another benefit is that these trees grow in a wide variety of soil types. The deep roots need very little water. The leaves are used for stock food and the pretty ornamental flowers are used for honey production.

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Along with the Palownia cores and new factory, there have been other changes to the Cabrinha board line for 2013. “DK has over 10 years of experience making twin tip boards and he has literally reshaped the way our new board factory makes twin tips. The capability to have our own factory puts us in position to maintain optimal quality control at production,” says Mike Raper, Brand Manager at Cabrinha Kites.

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“We have changed the rules this year,” said DK. “The 2013 board range has been completely redesigned from the ground up. Each board from shape to layup to laminations has completely changed this year.”

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“The new factory has all of the newest technologies available. Every tiny process has been tuned and then fine tuned to insure the most controlled, reliable, and consistent production available on the market. Our knowledgeable staff takes stacks of raw lumber to the final product of, in my opinion, the best boards in the world,” said DK.

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