A wave of success; Wakeboard manufacturer prepares to expand
0 Comments | Columbian; Vancouver, Wash., Aug 24, 2005 | by GRETCHEN FEHRENBACHER Columbian staff writer
CAMAS — Scott Parnell has caught the wave of one of America’s most popular water sports, but for him, the rush of wakeboarding these days is in the business.
From a 4,000-square-foot leased shop in Washougal, his Samson Sports makes metal frames that attach to boats for pulling wakeboarders. The devices, called wakeboard towers, are also used to store wakeboards and other accessories used in the sport.
Seven years after founding the firm, Parnell is preparing to move it to a 10,000-square-foot building at 4325 N.E. Lake Road in Camas. The building going up on property between Camas Meadows Corporate Center and WaferTech is expected to be finished by the end of September for the 10 full-time and two part-time workers. He declined to say how much it would cost.
Parnell, 43, finds himself racing to keep up with demand. He said annual sales and the work force have been expanding at about 30 percent in the last several years.
“We need more space,” he said.
“At the rate of expansion and at the rate the sport is developing, it is tough to keep on top of new ideas and new items for the sport,” Parnell said.
Samson — named for the biblical figure known for his strength — makes about 20 products, including products related to wakeboard towers. Among them are stereo speakers enabling wakeboarders to listen to music while they perform stunts over the water and rearview mirrors for boat operators giving them full view from the steerage of the boarder’s maneuvers.
Construction on the steel-frame building was begun in June by another business he owns, Parnell Construction LLC. It will include ground-level manufacturing and machine shop space and a showroom. Offices will be spread over two stories.
The building is on seven acres that Parnell bought about eight months ago. He said the site will provide room for other buildings in the future.
Samson’s aluminum wakeboard towers are generally about 6 feet wide and 4 feet tall. Resembling roll bars, the ropes that are attached to the tops of them enable wakeboarders to get needed altitude to perform maneuvers in and over the water.
Each tower is custom-made for the boat it will attach to, Parnell said. Prices begin at about $2,500 Parnell said. Samson sells its products primarily through boat dealers and retail customers in the United States and Canada, he said.
Parnell came to the business by chance.
He was building commercial fishing boats in Alaska when a friend asked him to build a wakeboard tower in 1998.
Parnell did, and learned he had a new career track.
He, too, enjoys wakeboarding.
“It is definitely an adrenalin rush,” he said, recalling the feeling of flying over the water and performing spins and twists.
Wakeboarding is considered an extreme sport — one with a daredevil edge that makes it especially appealing to youth. Still, Parnell said it is easier to learn than water skiing. He estimated that the ratio of male to female wakeboarders is about 3-to-1.
Parnell said that although there are other manufacturers of wakeboard towers, he focuses on making the best possible products, rather than making the least expensive.
Expecting the company’s growth to continue at the same pace as it has in recent years, Parnell said he expects to add four employees to Samson’s payroll in the next year.
Gretchen Fehrenbacher covers real estate for The Columbian. She can be reached at 360-759-8018 or gretchen.fehrenbacher@columbian.com.
Did you know?
Wakeboarding — evolved from waterskiing — has been compared to riding a snowboard on water.
The sport dates to 1985, when two water sportsmen independently drilled footstraps into experimental snowboards
wakeboard boat towers