Manufacturing Day 2014

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Spark_Shop_Plates_raw_vertManufacturing Day, this year on October 3, is a national effort to spotlight manufacturing and manufacturing job opportunities in the United States. The mission of MFG DAY is to “address common misconceptions about manufacturing by giving manufacturers an opportunity to open their doors and show, in a coordinated effort, what manufacturing is — and what it isn’t.”

The idea is, by working together during and after MFG DAY, manufacturers can address common issues they may face, connect with future generations, take charge of the public image of manufacturing, and ensure the ongoing prosperity of manufacturing in the United States.

Spark_Shop_Pad_printingAt Spark R&D, we are proud of the fact that all of our products are manufactured and/or assembled in our shop in Bozeman, Montana, USA.  From machining to anodizing, laser engraving to assembly– everything is done by a skilled team of workers who are also passionate splitboarders.  Building and riding the best splitboard bindings in the world in our own backyard is also an advantage: In-house design and manufacturing capabilities allow our products to quickly evolve, and provides us the flexibility to cater to niche customers within the splitboarding market.

Spark_Shop_Assemble_back“There is simply no way we could offer products at our level of quality and price if we weren’t manufacturing them ourselves,” said Spark R&D founder Will Ritter.  “It also can be just as fun to figure out the manufacturing of a product as it is to design it.”

As it turns out, the benefits of manufacturing locally are many.  “I never thought of it when Spark R&D was in its infancy, but it’s been very rewarding to create a cool place for people to work,” Will continued.  “If we had an external factory, we’d have about a quarter of the employees. I’m very happy to be paying snowboarders in Montana to make as much of our stuff as possible, rather than strangers that have never been on snow in another country.”

Happy Manufacturing Day!

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