Málama Composites

MANUFACTURING: Company’s Ideas Borne Out of Surfboard Industry Experience

By Andrea Siedsma

Ned McMahon is not only passionate about the environment, he also plans to nab a piece of the multibillion-dollar, global clean technology market at a time when energy efficient and green building materials are at the forefront of government mandates and funding.

The surfboard shaper-turned-clean-tech-entrepreneur and an environmental champion will do this through his San Diego-based company, Malama Composites. Malama, which means “take care” in Hawaiian, is a clean tech manufacturer and innovator in the composite materials industry whose primary product is a plant-based polyurethane rigid foam used in making various composite products “greener.” These include wind turbine blades, air cargo containers, structurally insulated panels, trade show booths, air passenger cabin walls, walk-in freezers, movie props and recreational products such as surfboards. McMahon and his company have entered a $9.5 billion global market for polyurethane foam — a market that he believes Malama can make at least a modest impact in.

Social Responsibility vs. Profitability

Malama is the first and only manufacturer of rigid polyurethane foams made from plant-based raw materials. The company’s core technology, AinaCore, is a bio-based foam that enables customers to produce products that are strong, lightweight and cost-competitive, McMahon said. Aina Core reduces the use of toxic chemicals, and can be easily reused or recycled. Traditional polyurethane foams, he pointed out, emit volatile organic compounds and are difficult to reuse or recycle.

“As a company, what we’re trying to look at is to continually push that envelope and balance ourselves with the environment, create social accountability and have a business that makes a profit,” McMahon said.

Besides taking full advantage of government incentives supporting energy efficiency and environmentally preferred purchasing, McMahon and his five-member crew at Malama plan to launch a national promotional campaign at the Las Vegas Composites Exposition in February 2010 to further develop market share and enhance visibility for the company. McMahon said the majority of Malama’s sales will likely occur through national distributors.

Privately-held Malama Composites is currently seeking $1 million in funding, McMahon said. The company also plans to hire three to four more people in the first quarter of 2010.

To help execute Malama’s robust business and marketing plan, McMahon hired local veteran business executive David Saltman as Malama’s CEO in July.

“He has CEO experience in both energy and composite companies and he brings the business side of our technology forward,” McMahon said.

Applications In Many Industries

Manufacturers in construction, transportation, packaging, furniture and recreation are already prototyping with Malama’s AinaCore. Malama is currently involved in a variety of composite projects where cleaner, greener foam using more sustainable materials and less energy to produce is used in place of other more toxic foam choices or expensive balsa and honeycomb cores. The company is currently collaborating with manufacturers to develop innovative solutions that meet their price and performance objectives, including Knight & Carver Wind Group for lighter, more durable wind turbine blades; Melhorn Construction for structural insulated building panels; Ebert Composites Corp. for lighter, stronger air cargo containers; Nida-Core Corp. for a foam-filled honeycomb used in high-speed rail; OMNI Pacific for ultralight, green office system furniture; Endless Break for eco-friendly wakeboards; and Aptera Motors for various automotive trim components.

Malama’s future products will include AinaCore HD for high-density, structural panel products; AinaCore FR for fire-rated products for homes and buildings; and AinaCore 100 for 100 percent plant-based, carbon neutral products.

Todd Johnson, director of business development for Chula Vista-based Ebert Composites, believes that Malama will create its biggest footprint in the market by targeting these niche industries. Ebert, a research and development-based firm that has been developing new processes for the manufacturing of composite materials and new structures, is currently using Malama’s eco-friendly foam in replacement of polyurethane foam for an R&D project for the Navy.

“Malama is a commodity product competing against really big companies,” Johnson said. “Most end customers that use foam aren’t too concerned with the composition of the material. However, I think if Malama goes after industries like windmill blade manufacturers that are looking for more sustainable manufacturing practices, they will have an impact in the industry.”

McMahon knows and admits that most manufacturers do not have being “green” at the top of their list, making it harder for companies like Malama to push the green envelope, he said. However, when it comes to quality and enhancing profits, Malama can be competitive.

“The green issue is not the No. 1 issue for many companies,” he said. “You can’t be a lot more expensive and say, ‘but it’s green.’ So we have to be hitting the performance goals and we have to be competitive with our product.”

Malama was born out of McMahon’s experience as a surfboard shaper and his grave concern about how “dirty” the surf industry is in terms of the materials used to make boards. A majority of surfboards are shaped using polyurethane foam blanks. The abrupt 2005 closure of Clark Foam — the surf industry’s main supplier of polyurethane foam blanks — led to the exposure of how environmentally unfriendly that industry really was after the Environmental Protection Agency slapped a lawsuit and investigation on Clark Foam’s use of the toxic chemical Toluene Diisocyanate, or TDI. Exposure to TDI particles in the air can cause severe and chronic lung problems.

“After Clark Foam closed, many surfboard manufacturers went south of the border to get around EPA issues,” said McMahon, who started making soy-based foam blanks shortly after Clark Foam’s closure. “I don’t see how they think that it is OK to poison people and the environment in Baja.

“We, as a society, must accept the responsibility to use the resources available to us and in a very responsible way that is also thoughtful,” he added. “What I mean by that is, I don’t care if you believe in global warming or not. There are 6 billion people living on a small globe floating around and we have limited resources. There is a finite amount of resources and we have to be careful how we move forward.”

Andrea Siedsma is a freelance writer for the Business Journal.

MANUFACTURING: Company’s Ideas Borne Out of Surfboard Industry ExperienceBy Andrea Siedsma
Ned McMahon is not only passionate about the environment, he also plans to nab a piece of the multibillion-dollar, global clean technology market at a time when energy efficient and green building materials are at the forefront of government mandates and funding.
The surfboard shaper-turned-clean-tech-entrepreneur and an environmental champion will do this through his San Diego-based company, Malama Composites. Malama, which means “take care” in Hawaiian, is a clean tech manufacturer and innovator in the composite materials industry whose primary product is a plant-based polyurethane rigid foam used in making various composite products “greener.” These include wind turbine blades, air cargo containers, structurally insulated panels, trade show booths, air passenger cabin walls, walk-in freezers, movie props and recreational products such as surfboards. McMahon and his company have entered a $9.5 billion global market for polyurethane foam — a market that he believes Malama can make at least a modest impact in.
Social Responsibility vs. Profitability
Malama is the first and only manufacturer of rigid polyurethane foams made from plant-based raw materials. The company’s core technology, AinaCore, is a bio-based foam that enables customers to produce products that are strong, lightweight and cost-competitive, McMahon said. Aina Core reduces the use of toxic chemicals, and can be easily reused or recycled. Traditional polyurethane foams, he pointed out, emit volatile organic compounds and are difficult to reuse or recycle.
“As a company, what we’re trying to look at is to continually push that envelope and balance ourselves with the environment, create social accountability and have a business that makes a profit,” McMahon said.
Besides taking full advantage of government incentives supporting energy efficiency and environmentally preferred purchasing, McMahon and his five-member crew at Malama plan to launch a national promotional campaign at the Las Vegas Composites Exposition in February 2010 to further develop market share and enhance visibility for the company. McMahon said the majority of Malama’s sales will likely occur through national distributors.
Privately-held Malama Composites is currently seeking $1 million in funding, McMahon said. The company also plans to hire three to four more people in the first quarter of 2010.
To help execute Malama’s robust business and marketing plan, McMahon hired local veteran business executive David Saltman as Malama’s CEO in July.
“He has CEO experience in both energy and composite companies and he brings the business side of our technology forward,” McMahon said.
Applications In Many Industries
Manufacturers in construction, transportation, packaging, furniture and recreation are already prototyping with Malama’s AinaCore. Malama is currently involved in a variety of composite projects where cleaner, greener foam using more sustainable materials and less energy to produce is used in place of other more toxic foam choices or expensive balsa and honeycomb cores. The company is currently collaborating with manufacturers to develop innovative solutions that meet their price and performance objectives, including Knight & Carver Wind Group for lighter, more durable wind turbine blades; Melhorn Construction for structural insulated building panels; Ebert Composites Corp. for lighter, stronger air cargo containers; Nida-Core Corp. for a foam-filled honeycomb used in high-speed rail; OMNI Pacific for ultralight, green office system furniture; Endless Break for eco-friendly wakeboards; and Aptera Motors for various automotive trim components.
Malama’s future products will include AinaCore HD for high-density, structural panel products; AinaCore FR for fire-rated products for homes and buildings; and AinaCore 100 for 100 percent plant-based, carbon neutral products.
Todd Johnson, director of business development for Chula Vista-based Ebert Composites, believes that Malama will create its biggest footprint in the market by targeting these niche industries. Ebert, a research and development-based firm that has been developing new processes for the manufacturing of composite materials and new structures, is currently using Malama’s eco-friendly foam in replacement of polyurethane foam for an R&D project for the Navy.“Malama is a commodity product competing against really big companies,” Johnson said. “Most end customers that use foam aren’t too concerned with the composition of the material. However, I think if Malama goes after industries like windmill blade manufacturers that are looking for more sustainable manufacturing practices, they will have an impact in the industry.”
McMahon knows and admits that most manufacturers do not have being “green” at the top of their list, making it harder for companies like Malama to push the green envelope, he said. However, when it comes to quality and enhancing profits, Malama can be competitive.
“The green issue is not the No. 1 issue for many companies,” he said. “You can’t be a lot more expensive and say, ‘but it’s green.’ So we have to be hitting the performance goals and we have to be competitive with our product.”
Malama was born out of McMahon’s experience as a surfboard shaper and his grave concern about how “dirty” the surf industry is in terms of the materials used to make boards. A majority of surfboards are shaped using polyurethane foam blanks. The abrupt 2005 closure of Clark Foam — the surf industry’s main supplier of polyurethane foam blanks — led to the exposure of how environmentally unfriendly that industry really was after the Environmental Protection Agency slapped a lawsuit and investigation on Clark Foam’s use of the toxic chemical Toluene Diisocyanate, or TDI. Exposure to TDI particles in the air can cause severe and chronic lung problems.
“After Clark Foam closed, many surfboard manufacturers went south of the border to get around EPA issues,” said McMahon, who started making soy-based foam blanks shortly after Clark Foam’s closure. “I don’t see how they think that it is OK to poison people and the environment in Baja.
“We, as a society, must accept the responsibility to use the resources available to us and in a very responsible way that is also thoughtful,” he added. “What I mean by that is, I don’t care if you believe in global warming or not. There are 6 billion people living on a small globe floating around and we have limited resources. There is a finite amount of resources and we have to be careful how we move forward.”
Andrea Siedsma is a freelance writer for the Business Journal.