Surfboard manufacturer making waves in Minden

Although Minden is hours from the ocean, it's home to a cutting-edge surfboard company trying to revolutionize the industry.

Thirty-five-year-old Gardnerville resident and lifelong surfer John Omohundro is the owner of Aviso Surfboards, located on Airport Road.

The small manufacturer exports about 2,500 boards a year, but they're not your typical polyurethane foam boards. They're made of carbon fiber, and they cost about twice as much as standard boards.

"The main thing is trying to figure out how and where to sell these boards," said Omohundro. "It's like trying to sell a Ferrari. After four years of being punished, we've really dialed in, selling to 35-year-olds, not 18-year-olds."

Omohundro comes from a family of composite engineers. His grandfather worked on materials in the aerospace and defense industry. His father started a sail boat parts company, now called Solution Inc., that serves as the umbrella company of Aviso Surfboards.

It was his father that moved Omohundro to Carson Valley 15 years ago to start the maritime manufacturing business. Omohundro had grown up in Newport Beach, Calif., surfing and making surfboards. Four years ago, he decided to apply what he had learned from family members to the surf industry. He began buying designs from surfboard shapers, offering a 7 percent royalty. Instead of starting from foam planks, he constructed detailed molds for each shape, into which layers of carbon fiber and high density closed-cell foam could be laid and fused together, making hollow, but highly durable, lightweight, tensile boards.

"The mold process is unique," Omohundro said. "We're duplicating the shapes with our technology."

The company now offers more than 80 surfboards, of all shapes and sizes.

"The big advantage is performance and durability," Omohundro said. "A normal board will last me three months. We have boards made four years ago that guys are still surfing on everyday."

Omohundro said Aviso's biggest market has been overseas.

"About 60 percent of our boards go to Japan," he said. "Our clientele is sophisticated, and they love technology."

However, marketing is a bit tricky, Omohundro said.

"It's a funny cottage industry and it's easy to take for granted how much effort is needed to sell a couple thousand boards a year," he said.

Omohundro relies on the Internet more than anything else, on the company's Web site as well as surfing Web sites where Aviso routinely receives publicity, like the Japanese Web site nakisurf.com.

With a little more than 20 employees, Aviso is a relatively small operation. But Omohundro hopes to enlarge his manufacturing space and increase production in the future.

"Some people think, 'What in the world? Why are you in Nevada?'" Omohundro said, "But California is a harsh environment to be a manufacturer in. They're driving out those jobs. In Nevada, people are friendly, and they want those jobs here. It's a great business environment, plus it's a cool place to live."

Carson Valley is also within a day's drive to the coast.

"I haven't been surfing as much as I'd like to, though," Omohundro said.

For more information about Aviso Surfboards, visit www.avisosurf.com.