[1] It specializes in mass-produced expanded polystyrene boards pressed in molds designed by established surfboard shapers.
[2][3] Surftech was founded in Santa Cruz, California in 1992 by surfboard shaper Randy French, who wanted to see the industry expand from its focus on individually-shaped boards to efficiently manufactured mass production.
[2] French had previously owned a sailboard manufacturing company called Seatrend, where he developed the production techniques he later employed at Surftech.
The success of his initial product attracted the interest of other professional shapers such as Dale Velzy, Reynolds Yater, Donald Takayama, Mickey Munoz and Robert August.
[2] Surftech came to the fore at a time of increased focus on new technologies within the surfboard production industry.