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S
even years ago, Rob
Russakoff was leading a
company that sold personal
cooling products at retail, but he
saw sales quickly heat up when the
teamdecided tomove the product
into the promotional industry.
“We experienced tremendous
growth and built mutually
beneficial relationships with
distributors—we knew we’d made
the right choice,” says Russakoff.
“In 2014 we sold that company,
which is still a PPAI member, and
we began to make customized
inflatable paddleboards.”
Atlantic Beach, Florida-based
supplier Tribal Boards (PPAI
645271) manufactures three sizes
of inflatable boards, two sizes
of inflatable kayaks, and three
sizes of inflatable and solid resin
boogie and skim boards. The
company includes the necessary
accessories, such as paddles and
backpacks for toting the boards,
with each order as part of a
complete package, says Russakoff.
To ensure consistent product
quality, Tribal Boards instituted
a 90-day training program
two years ago that every new
employee is required to complete.
“Each of the six processes needed
to create a board has its own
program, and employees are
cross-trained after six months of
employment,” he adds.
In the early stages of
production, the team was only
able to add a single logo to the
deck of the board, “which in our
opinion just wasn’t enough of an
impact,” says Russakoff. “We felt
we had to find a way to utilize
more of the 60 square feet of
space on each board. We failed
many times to discover how to
print on various materials that
would withstand wear and tear.”
Success came when the team
found a way to customize Tribal
Board products with a full-color
digital printing process on
military-grade PVC treated with
a UV coating. “This allows us to
create anything a customer can
imagine,” he says. “In addition,
we now include screen print on
our paddles and backpacks.”
Russakoff says despite the
rapidly growing popularity of
paddleboarding, paddleboards
were unknown in the
promotional products industry
when Tribal Boards was
launched. “Having a new and
unique product for distributors
to present to their clients is truly
exciting for us,” he says.
“Our original 11-foot inflatable
paddleboard remains our top
product; however, the five-foot
inflatable and resin boards are
quickly catching on,” he says,
adding that the smaller boards
take up much less space when
used for display.
Tr i ba l Boa rds
A Stand-Up Success
Tribal Boards
makes waves
with inflatable
paddleboards
and kayaks for
the promotional
industry.
by
Jen Alexander
74
|
APRIL 2017
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