Ski manufacturers carving out a niche

Major ski manufacturers such as K2, Salomon and Rossignol have long dominated the industry, but a growing number of independent manufacturers turning out custom-made skis are snagging sales from the big brands.

Reno is carving out a position in the changing industry.

The city is home to three manufacturers of skis and snowboards Smokin' Snowboards, Moment Skis and PM Gear while Truckee is home to Praxis Skis.

Jay Quintin, 38, founded Smokin' Snowboards 13 years ago. A former pro snowboarder, Quintin cut his teeth on the mountain, as a sales rep for Palmer Snowboards and as photo editor of a snowboard magazine.

By building snowboards using an innovative edge design that helps boarders turn better, Smokin' Snowboard's sales more than doubled during the past year, Quintin says. Smokin' Snowboards sells about 1,500 snowboards annually in 14 countries, including Russia, Korea, Sweden, New Zealand, Canada and Argentina. In the United States, 70 retailers handle its products.

The company employs eight and manufactures snowboards in a 4,000-square-foot World War II-era Quonset hut in Sun Valley it purchased two years ago.

Quintin says that independent manufacturers such as Smokin Snowboards can compete against industry heavyweights such as Burton, Lib Tech and Gnu by advancing technological innovation.

"We have technology that the big guys don't have," he says. "We went from four countries last year to 14. That is how we compete."

Moment Skis, meanwhile, was founded six years ago by Douglas High School grad Casey Hakansson. The company makes 45 models of skis at its 5,000-square-foot shop on Sutro Street. The company turns out several thousand pairs of skis each year and currently is sold out on 20 skis "and the snow is not even here," says Vice President Luke Jacobsen.

Jacobsen, 24, says 16-hour days are more the norm than the exception for the company's staff.

Moment Skis has gained a loyal following, but improvements in design and manufacturing techniques have come the old-fashioned way through trial and error.

"It is not like you can go buy a "How to Build Skis for Dummies" book you have got to be creative," Jacobsen says. "Part of that is figuring out a unique process.

"The reason we got into making skis is to have fun and to make skis for ourselves," he adds. "We get to make cool new shapes every year, and the more we learn about manufacturing and materials the better the product is and the more fun we can have on our skis."

The best way to compete against multi-million dollar marketing budgets, Jacobsen says, is to create skis with revolutionary designs and graphics that create buzz among ski enthusiasts and with editors at ski industry publications.

Moment sells directly online and to retailers throughout the United States and Canada. The company also has secured international distributors in seven countries. Jacobsen predicts that 2009 will be the year Moment Skis finds its way to profitability.

"You don't get into the ski industry to make money; you get into it because you love it," he says. "Last year we were not in the black, but this year we are tracking to make a profit."

Keith O'Meara, 30, began making powder skis under the brand Praxis because he thought he could bring innovative designs to market faster than major manufacturers. He's working out of a 1,200-square-foot shop in Truckee that houses a complement of woodworking tools, a computer-numeric-controlled cutting machine, grinders, edgers and waxers and oftentimes, O'Meara himself.

Praxis Skis is in its fifth year of manufacturing, and O'Meara admits it hasn't been an easy path to follow. In retrospect, he says, he should have sought private investment capital. Thus far, he says, his main supplier of capital has been the credit cards in his wallet.

This year O'Meara is going at it solo as labor and workers compensation insurance proved too costly. Praxis Skis manufactures roughly 500 custom-made skis per year but will only turn out about 300 this year. It sells online or direct to select retailers.

O'Meara is pressing to get the bulk of his skis manufactured by January, which typically marks the end of the selling season. Praxis Skis is able to compete with larger manufacturers, O'Meara says, because it can price products lower and doesn't have to sell a huge volume of skis to turn a profit.

"If I sell 500, I break even. If we can steal sales from K2 and Volkl, so you don't have to buy corporate, stealing a small percentage of their sales is what I try to do."

Adds Moment's Jacobsen: "You are not going to take over their market. Our volume, we don't need to be K2's No. 1 competitor. They used to be made in the U.S., but now they are made in China. We always want to be handmade in Nevada."

Pat Keane founded PM Gear in 2003 and now turns out about 350 skis per year from a small shop on North Edison Way. PM Gear has taken on a dozen investors, and Keane hopes this season the company finally finds its way to profitability. PM Gear sells its popular Bro model ski in the United States, Canada, Russia, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, and Norway and several other countries.

To boost profits and sales, Keane is thinking of outsourcing manufacturing next year and opening a retail storefront.

Dennis Heffley, vice president of the National Ski Council Federation, says smaller companies have a competitive edge over large corporations because they are more nimble.

"They are very hands-on," Heffley says. "They go out with the people testing their equipment and get instant input. They are the ones doing their own marketing and developing and going to photo shoots."