C4 Waterman, Inc. is excited to announce that it has completed negotiations to have all its SUP models manufactured at a new factory in Asia. Three weeks after canceling its exclusive licensing agreement with Boardworks Surf, C4 has entered into a joint venture with the factory, an innovative, molded-composite builder that will be the exclusive manufacturer of the company’s 12 radical new SUP models as well as its substantial legacy line.

C4 Waterman CEO Todd Bradley and shaper/designer Dave Parmenter have collaborated with the technicians at the new factory to develop C4′s new FeatherCore Composite™ fabrication technique, an advanced form of composite sandwich construction based on the engineering principles related to the unique core-to-skin ratio of stand-up paddleboards. The FeatherCore Composite™ process achieves lighter, friskier SUPs, possesses enhanced molecular and mechanical bonds of all the laminants/facings to the lightweight core, and delivers it all inexpensively and with ‘greener’ materials than the norm.

“I am very pleased with our new factory and partners,” said C4 CEO Todd Bradley after his recent visit to the new factory. “They’re young, eager, highly-educated individuals, and they are all VERY talented in composite technology systems. They’ve already got most of our molds on the floor and will begin to ship product immediately, allowing us to be ready for full global distribution by Spring 2012 season, and at a very competitive price.”

The Republic of the Marshall Islands is now home to the world’s largest shark sanctuary. The Nitijela, the Marshallese parliament, unanimously passed legislation this week that ends commercial fishing of sharks in all 1,990,530 square kilometers (768,547 square miles) of the central Pacific country’s waters, an ocean area four times the landmass of California.

“We salute the Republic of the Marshall Islands for enacting the strongest legislation to protect sharks that we have seen,” said Matt Rand, director of global shark conservation for the Pew Environment Group, which is spearheading efforts to establish shark sanctuaries, where targeted fishing for these species is prohibited. “As leaders recognize the importance of healthy shark populations to our oceans, the momentum for protecting these animals continues to spread across the globe.”

While surfing has long been a passion for Patagonia’s founding Chouinard family, the company has only recently begun to be recognized for its advancements in surf product. Fletcher Chouinard, son of legendary founder Yvon, is pushing boundaries with his FCD surfboards, and Patagonia has been slowly building its reputation in some of the top surf shops by pushing the boundaries of technological innovations in the wetsuit world. Add in one of its best looking surf apparel lines for 2012, and next summer is looking to be a break out surf season for the brand.

At the helm of the Surf Division is Jason McCaffrey, a self described surf bum who paid his dues working up through Patagonia’s retail division, living in the parking lot of FCD’s shop, becoming best friends with Fletcher, and eventually going to Pepperdine to get his MBA, which helped him land the position of director of the surf division five years ago. These days McCaffrey has his sites set on nothing less than revolutionizing the company’s surf group by leading the charge with ground breaking wetsuits. We caught up with McCaffrey to learn more about his vision, how surf became the company’s fastest growing division, and how Patagonia’s culture makes it possible.