Make kites in the USA?

[rtz]

It seems kite prices keep going up and up. Is the cost of living going up in China? Shipping prices causing the increase? Raw materials costs?

If you've watched kite factory videos before; watch this entire video(or most of it). Seems like they could be sewing up kites just the same? Question is though; price per unit?

[coleman]

if i had to take a guess i would say it has more to do with the degradation of the US dollar. as long as the federal reserve keeps creating currency out of thin air, we will see our dollar lose its value.

let keep our fingers crossed we dont piss russia off too badly in the coming days. the have the power to tank our economy right now if you ask me

[rtz]

In this video they say they go through 6 miles a week of those rolls of denim!



I'll drive over there if anyone is interested in setting something up.


http://round-house.com/tour/factorytour.html

[matth]

Why on earth would anyone in America work in a factory when they can sit at home in front of their 60inch plasma , smoke butts, drink buds all day, and still get a check????????????

on a serious note these types of jobs are slowly coming back. Besides pay rising overseas, you have no shipping, better quality control , lot less travel expenses etc. Also from design to finish product time would increase. I was watching a show recently about how the garment district in NY city is making a comeback.
Crazyfly claims their products are produced in Europe now. Things made in China always scare me. They are notorious for using inferior material when ever possible. Dog food , drywall, toys with lead paint, etc, The horror stories are endless. Not to mention their complete lack of environmental and human right concerns.

[norcom]

For windsurfing there are a few custom board makers in the US. I'm not familiar with any custom sail makers in the US but I'm sure there are some.

Are there any custom kite makers in the US/world?

[matth]

For windsurfing there are a few custom board makers in the US. I'm not familiar with any custom sail makers in the US but I'm sure there are some.

Are there any custom kite makers in the US/world?

I believe Northwave sails are MADE at the gorge

[toyletbowl]

In my opinion, it would have to start with someone really small or really huge to make this work.

Small and custom and would have to ask for a premium and if the demand is there, expand and get better efficiencies with volume. They would have to prove the concept and then expand.

One of the problems is the current supply chain. Most of the raw materials are also most likely made in China, so the US supply chain isn't efficiently available.

So it would take a huge effort to get the economies of scale to be competitive.

Bob
www.kiteridersllc.com

[norcom]

For windsurfing there are a few custom board makers in the US. I'm not familiar with any custom sail makers in the US but I'm sure there are some.

Are there any custom kite makers in the US/world?

I believe Northwave sails are MADE at the gorge

Yes and I think Sailworks are also made there. But I'm not sure how much of a custom (your dimensions) job you can get from them other than maybe color? But I don't know. With boards you can pretty much request whatever you want and the shaper will make it.

You would think it's easier to sew up a kite than to make a board but I guess not. I've seen videos of people making their own sails and it's quite tedious to lay out the pattern and sew it all up. I'm guessing it's even harder for a kite that has twice as much area.

Similar with mountain/road bike frames. You can get custom builders to make you a frame to your specifications. Though the custom design is quite different from high end full suspension mtb frames and usually much simpler.

[matth]

I know sail boat sails have made here in the US for a long time. I believe there are still many sail lofts around.

[poools81]

ok im in lets try and start one up!