What's up with those apples
Read all about Appletree Surfboards. How it all started and where we are now.
Appletree surfboards is a surfboard company, producing and marketing the lightest, strongest
and best performing strapless kite surf, foil boards and paddle surfboards in the world.
A shed on an apple tree farm
Founded as a full time business in 2016 by brother team Wieger and Jorrit Buurma. After experimenting as amateurs for 10 years. Producing boards in the parental back garden shed on an appletree farm. A major break through in production and materials sparked the idea that a full time future as board builders would be possible. With Jorrits background in product and material engineering and Wiegers drive to find out how things are made and passion for artisan hand work, Appletree Surfboards was founded and soon the Appletree kite surfboards and surfboards were literally flying out the door.
Born in Holland, handmade in Portugal
The shed on the apple tree farm was soon exchanged for a factory in Rijswijk, Holland. In two and a half years the factory expanded to the maximum size possible. With growing interest in the product, a new facility had to be found or built. That is why Appletree moved to Portugal in 2019. With an additional advantage that the boards can be tested in better conditions. Jorrit manages the production facility over there and Wieger is in charge of sales and marketing from the HQ in Holland.
A clean shaping bay
With the move to Portugal and the build of an own factory, Appletree has also set itself a goal: to become the cleanest surfboard factory. Sustainability is a very important aspect for Appletree Surfboards. We are aware that producing surfboards has an impact on the environment. The production process and the materials used have an environmental footprint. And as a group of (kite)surfers we all like to travel around the world to the sickest spots.
That’s why Appletree Surfboards wants to do as much as possible to reduce emissions and waste production. We believe the best way to do this is by making a product that lasts as long as possible. The longer a surfer enjoys his or her surfboard, the less impact it has on the environment.
However, we want to take it a step further. Appletree also strives to become the cleanest surfboard factory. This varies from developing filter systems to neutralize the gases emitted during the production process to reusing and recycling the foam.
Sustainable Surf
Appletree Surfboards is officially approved by Sustainable Surf. This means we can label our boards as Eco boards. An Eco board is a high-performance sustainable board. Eco boards have the same technical performance attributes as any modern water-sport board, while having reduced environmental and toxic impacts – through the use of more sustainable materials and manufacturing processes. Follow our blogs or subscribe to our newsletter for sustainability updates.
The perfect shape continues…
All Appletree boards are produced using a revolutionary production method that is completely unique in the surfing and kitesurfing world. The unique foam is machined into well designed shapes on CNC machines. These CNC machines are fully designed and built in house. The boards are one by one hand finished by the best craftsmen in Portugal. To ensure the perfect shape. After shaping, the boards are wrapped in carefully engineered layers of glass fiber and/or carbon fiber. Then the boards are vacuum injected to fuse everything together into one solid board. There is a great urge to further develop the technology and to come up with new ideas. Not only to get you the most durable board, but also to deliver a board that is genuinely responsibly manufactured!