Burton moves production to Austria
Thursday March 25, 2010 - Email this article to a friend

Burton is now the biggest manufacturer of snowboards in the world.

33 years ago it was one of the smallest and was started in a converted barn by Jake Burton Carpenter.

It is a private company and now has 40% of the world snowboard market. Its sales are believed to total $700m.

Its snowboards are already being made in Austria and elsewhere, including China, but it is symbolic that the company will stop producing boards in Vermont.

At present only 7% of its boards are made at the Vermont factory.

It began producing out of Austria 25 years ago.

Much of the design team remains and proto-types will continue to be made, but the main US production line will move to Uteendorf in Austria.

43 jobs will move to the factory in the Salzburg Province.

Burton has 900 jobs worldwide. 377 people will continue to be employed in Burlington, even after the move, as its headquarters remain in Vermont.

One of Burton's competitorsThe company is reported as saying that it has simply become too expensive to make the snowboards in the USA and they can be made cheaper elsewhere in the world.

The making of a Burton board is very labour intensive with dozens of different people handllng each product.

Much money is spent on high-level graphics.

Part of a fashion statementBurton has a distinct image it has cultivated to reflect the perceived 'alternative' lifestyle of snowboarders with emphasis on freedom and individuality though it is in a very competitive market.

In addition many snowboarders are going back to skis.

The ski manufacturers have also learnt much about colours, graphics and style to sell a ski as a statement and a lifestyle, rather than just a piece of equipment to use to make a turn on the snow.

The glory days of the rapid expansion of the snowboard market are over.

Shaun White, the biggest name in snowboarding, is a Burton sponsored rider.

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