Blank icon Harold Walker joins Ice-9 Foam Works

Harold Walker, who some thought was in a position to be "Grubby" Clark's successor in the blank industry after Clark Foam closed its doors in 2005, will now help an Orange County foam company improve on foams that he formulated at his famous shop for over nearly half a century.

Recently Walker shut down Walker Foam in Wilmington, CA and headed down the 22 Freeway to join up with foam innovator Ice-9 Foam Works in the City of Orange, where he aims to help the company develop new products for the high-performance surfboard market.

Walker says Ice-9 has contracted with him to supply and consult on production of the Walker Foam blank formulas, including Walker's oiginal formula, new formula, colored foam formula, and the high density foam formula.

“I have great respect for Walker’s contributions to surfing,” said Ice-9 founder Jon Stillman. "The way I see it, by marrying Harold's incredible experience and knowledge with our updated processing and engineering, we can create the ultimate shaper’s foam."

Ice-9 says it plans to implement chemical industry best practices and engineering controls to ensure that the production of the more hazardous formula, known as TDI foam, poses no threat to shapers, surfers, or its employees. Environmental concerns were a factor in the demise of Clark Foam.