Beercan Boards of Douglas, Georgia, manufacture customized skateboards from recycled aluminum extrusions. Joel Rawlins, the owner and creator of Beercan Boards said he woke up one day with the idea of an aluminum board with an adjustable wheel base (trucks). The recycled aluminum in the board comes from two sources: Elixir Industries, Inc. in Georgia, and Taber Extrusions in Mississippi. The extruded aluminum is composed of 50-55% post-consumer recycled manufactured waste. The alloy used is a 6005.
Rawlins had connections in the aluminum industry, having been a part of the antique auto parts industry for many years. “We used rolled, formed, and extruded aluminum and we were called Metro Parts. Our parts were used for cars on the big screen in shows like Nash Bridges and the Fast and the Furious movies” said Rawlins. The Metro Parts name was sold to a company in California, but Rawlins still sells auto parts under the name Douglas Parts.
Rawlins says that there are many advantages to an aluminum board versus a traditional wood board. “The aluminum board is light and torsionally rigid, meaning it doesn’t twist — so, it’s good for carving (quickly weaving from side to side), it turns easier and faster,” he explained. The adjustable wheel base lets a Beercan Board rider decide on the responsiveness of turning since the board will turn faster or slower depending on the position of the wheels in relation to the board. The lightweight aluminum makes it a breeze to carry, yet it is also very strong and is able to support a rider weighing up to 350 lbs.
The aluminum boards are completely customizable with nine shapes to choose from, as well as 10 different vivid powder coated colors, and 20 options for wheel colors. The grip tape comes in standard, deluxe, or do-it-yourself designs. Lengths and widths can be adjusted based upon a rider’s specific style, size, and requirements.
According to the company website, their vision is “to spark a revolution in the skateboarding industry by creating a unique and durable aluminum longboard which gives you more control in the way you cut the concrete. The Beercan Board is the All-American, Revolutionary Longboard. It was created with environmental friendliness in mind, made with 100% recycled aluminum and 100% recycled plastic accessories.”
Environmentally speaking, the company stands alone in that they offer to not only make the recycled boards, but also handle the recycling of used boards, replacing the old board with a brand new discounted board as extra incentive.
Beercan Boards has several utility patents in the U.S. and has been making boards since 2013. Recently, the demand for customized laser cut grip got to the point where the company was finding it difficult to keep up with the amount of requests. They recently held a Kickstarter campaign to crowd fund new laser cutting machines to keep up with the demand and ended up exceeding their funding expectations. The company just signed a deal with Vans® and after many years of hard work, Beercan Boards are on the fast path towards success.