Why We're Moving PAW Manufacturing Overseas

Making Pacific Adventure Works platforms in my hometown of Santa Cruz has been a source of pride for me. Moving manufacturing overseas was a gut-wrenching decision, and I want to explain how we got here.

The decision came down to quality and cost. We spent too much time fixing problems with our aluminum tubing, and then tariffs pushed our material costs higher. When I calculated what we’d need to charge to cover the increase, it meant doubling our prices.

I wasn’t willing to ask you to pay that. So I started looking for a manufacturing partner who could meet our quality standards at a price that would let us keep our platforms affordable.

FINDING THE BALANCE

Early prototype, and man, did we learn a lot. 

Every product involves a balance between quality and cost. We could make a sleeping platform like the space shuttle, with an astronomical price tag. We could also make something dirt cheap that breaks during assembly. Neither would make much sense for the people buying our gear.

When PAW started, we bought expensive, off-the-shelf aluminum tubing. We’re self-funded, and we needed to find out whether people wanted our platforms before committing money to custom manufacturing. The tubing was decent quality, but it was too expensive to work for us long term.

We found another supplier and had them make tubing to our exact specifications. That should have helped us improve the product and control costs. Instead, it became a huge quality headache.

We spent many, many hours reworking that tubing to meet our tolerances. Those dimensions matter: the parts need to fit and function the way we designed them to. I didn’t want to raise prices, so we kept doing the extra work to get them right.

Then our aluminum costs climbed, and the numbers stopped working.

WHY TARIFFS AFFECTED OUR AMERICAN ALUMINUM

The rising cost of US extruded aluminum. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics

The aluminum we were buying was made in the USA. It’s reasonable to wonder why tariffs on imported aluminum would affect what we paid for American material.

Tariffs can raise prices across the domestic market, too. When imported aluminum becomes more expensive, it changes the prices American suppliers compete against. Domestic aluminum can then sell at a higher price, even though that metal never crossed a border.

The U.S. International Trade Commission has documented this effect, finding that aluminum tariffs increased prices in the United States.

For PAW, buying American aluminum didn’t protect us from tariff-driven increases in the U.S. market. We were already dealing with expensive material and hours of rework. The higher costs added another problem on top of those.

When I ran the numbers, covering the increase would have required doubling our prices. That was the point when I knew we needed another solution.

THE PARTNER WE FOUND IN CHINA

I searched for an overseas supplier who could consistently meet our specifications at a fair price. I found that partner in a family-owned factory near Shanghai, China.

They’ve been making high-quality outdoor products for 25 years, including products for some of the biggest brands in the industry. Their experience gave me confidence that they could deliver the quality we needed.

The new tubing comes from China, which lets us source outside the higher-priced U.S. aluminum market. Shipping and applicable import duties still have to be factored into the costs. The opportunity is to start with more affordable tubing and work with a manufacturer who can meet our tolerances consistently.

That combination matters. A lower material price only helps if the material also meets our standards.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR PAW

Thanks for supporting us this far. I've made a hard decision to ensure you remain happy with our products.

I’m excited about this next phase, even though leaving hometown manufacturing behind was hard. I’m confident this move will help us deliver a better-quality product and avoid price increases.

Making our platforms in Santa Cruz meant a lot to me. Choosing a new manufacturing partner meant weighing that pride against what we could deliver to our customers. I want you to get well-built gear at a fair price, and this is the best path I’ve found to keep doing that.

Thank you for supporting PAW. You’ve given us the chance to build this company, learn from the challenges, and keep improving what we make.

Here’s to getting outside and away from it all.

— Reed
Founder, Pacific Adventure Works