Bill Bahne, a veteran of the surfboard building industry, has joined Firewire as the Head of quality control (QC) and a member of the R&D team. Bahne served as President of SIMA’s Board Builders Committee Member in 2008. Bahne also received criticism in some sections of the industry for his decision to move to Asia to embrace boards manufactured there after earlier advocating the plight of local shapers.

“Aside from the tangible performance of our surfboards and Taj’s incredible accomplishments on the WCT, much of Firewire’s success has been as a result of our talented staff across all company functions”, said CEO Mark Price, “and Bill is as qualified as they come. As we continue to push the boundaries of performance through new materials and construction methods, we’re stoked to have his energy and encyclopaedia of knowledge at our fingertips”.

Bill added, “In all the years I've been involved with the surfboard industry, I’ve strived to create innovative methods for surfboard manufacturing and performance. For example, fin systems and CNC shaping machines. Having said that, I'm stoked and proud to be working with Firewire Surfboards. We share the same enthusiasm for advancing surfboard design, construction and performance. This is a win-win situation for all surfers”.

Bahne will spend much of his time at Firewire’s wholly owned Thai factory and he will report directly to Firewire’s Operations Manager.