Today Echelon Snowboards announced that they’ll be on-shoring manufacture of their snowboards to the USA, and further confirmed that ALL production runs — not just design — will be overseen by one of the industry’s leading board designers, right here in Michigan.

This move is in contrast to what many brands in all industries have been doing for decades, but it’s a move that Echelon believes will give them an edge.

Echelon has moved to the USA not out of blind nationalism, but to achieve new levels of technical performance, precise quality, and as always an uncompromised commitment to your riding and the fun of snowboarding.

While the factory of choice has yet to be confirmed, collaborating with a ski company (rather than one of several MI-based competitors) would make the most sense for both parties. Chatting with Jason from MISkiReport.com, the likely choice seems to be Shaggy’s Copper Country Skis in Boyne, Michigan :

Shaggy’s seems like the obvious choice — Jeff is a manufacturing engineer, and John is steeped in construction and production knowledge. They’ve also been investing in new technology (damn I wish I knew where my pictures were when I toured their facility!), so for Michigan manufacturing, this would be the likely factory to partner with to produce next-level skis or snowboards.

In addition to on-shoring production of next year’s snowboards, Echelon has completely re-imagined their lineup, “from the core outward”, even their proprietary 3D base technology. While I’ve seen a few previews (the boards look sick!), all of their new board shapes and technology will be officially revealed at SIA in Denver later this month.

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I’ll update with previews of the future lineup, and confirmation of the factory of choice, as soon as this information is publicly available, for now, you can view Echelon’s current lineup at EchelonSnow.com.

The full announcement was made earlier today via their Facebook page.