Our history

At the end of the 60's Jean Pierre Cardinal was one of the first surfers in La Rochelle (FRANCE). He passed on his passion for surfing to his two sons, Renaud and Thomas , by initiating them from their childhood. Renaud tried his hand at shaping at the age of 15, while his brother had a passion for graphic arts and communication channels.

Creation of UWL surfboards in its first workshop, a family outbuilding. Renaud ( 17 years old ) works on the manufacturing and Thomas ( 15 years old ) on the decorations, logos and communication. The company is promising and the projects of higher studies (sciences and fine arts) are quickly stopped by lack of time.
The two brothers quickly delivered numerous surf shops and created labels for major sports chains. The first trip to California was an initiation and gave uwl a real edge on the European market, both in terms of know-how and market trends and partners.

Invitations are quickly launched and professionals come from abroad to share their know-how and at the same time students invest themselves in the commercial development. Renaud produces alone more than 300 boards per year, while Thomas builds a digital communication very ahead of its time. All profits are reinvested in the company. The 90's included several international trips, especially to California and Hawaii, to meet the legends of the surf industry, to stay on top of things and to develop the company's professional network.

After many visits to foreign workshops, Renaud and Thomas decided to build a new 500 m2 workshop in Angoulins. The avangardist building, heritage of all the inspirations and advices collected through their numerous trips.
The 2000s heralded the beginning of digitization. In California, the workshops are already equipped with digital controls, which is not the case in France (except for Barland surfboards ) . Thanks to the acquisition of a pre-shape machine (DSD), they will be able to work with big shapers and produce their boards for Europe. The first to come and work at the workshop was Jeff "Doc" Lausch ( Surf Prescription, CA). Renaud and Thomas are present on all French and some international shows. They quickly signed partnerships with Town & Country (HI) and Sharp Eye (CA) to produce licensed boards.

From 2002 onwards the team grew to 10 people, with many young people coming to learn the surf industry. It is a period of strong increase in skills and pace. In parallel to surfing, Thomas develops the uwl communication activity by offering his services to companies in the surfing world (like surf session). In 2008, they changed their machine for the APS 3000 with the Shape 3d software, an important change that opens up more collaborations and productivity. During these same years, they carried out several R&D programs on manufacturing technologies and were rewarded that same year by winning the 1st prize in the EUROSIMA ecological innovation competition with their " GREENBOARD ". A concept on the reflection of ecological problems caused by the manufacture of surfboards. Thus, on the basis of an ecological board project awarded at the Eurosima 2004 competition, Uwl has developed new orientations on materials, processing and manufacturing techniques. UWL offers a product made of 90% natural materials, marketable and made in a global ecological reflection (waste, emissions, discharges, carbon footprint ...).

After a first stay in early 2000, the Canadian shaper Louis Robert settles at UWL with his label Addiction from 2005 to 2008 He put the twin fin fish on the front of the French scene and inspired new surfers and shapers with his retro shapes, tinted resins and his taste for pin stripping. To face the demand, Tristan Mausse aka Glass Love (now Fantastic Acide) joined the Ponceurs team. This is a very creative period for the workshop with many artistic projects set up by Thomas Cardinal, Tristan Mausse and Paul Lefèvre aka Polish (now the Son Of Cobra). An ephemeral gallery is created around their projects and local artists such as Chris Bonobo, Carrot or Delwood.
When Louis Robert left, Renaud and Thomas decided to join forces with the Addiction brand to continue to make it in Europe and Japan.
This period is also marked by the residence of other shapers such as Australians Franck McWilliams(FMS and BYB labels of Sunny Garcia) and Peter White(Classic Malibu with the Jay Lee Noserider very ahead of his time) who will have a notable influence on the future development of the workshop.

The price competition on the performance boards is pushing the company towards new opportunities. The shapers club is created with the arrival of Jeff Mc Callum, then Renaud and Thomas bring in other inspiring or legendary shapers from around the world. For the guests, it's a great opportunity: uwl takes care of their communications (catalog, website, communication on their social networks, e-mailing, prospecting surf shops) and generates orders that the guests just have to come and honor. A lot of shapers are coming to them and the segment is gaining importance on the historical labels uwl and addiction.

The price competition on the performance boards pushes the company towards new opportunities, the idea of the SHAPERS CLUB becomes obvious, shapers from all over the world flock to the workshop to work with them. For these "guests", it's a great opportunity: uwl takes care of their communications (catalog, website, communication on their social networks, e-mailing, prospecting of surf shops) and generates orders that the guests just have to come and honor. A lot of shapers are coming to them and the segment is gaining importance on the historical labels UwL and Addiction.

At the same time, the production of boards for luxury brands began with Louis Vuitton and then developed over the years(Hermès, Dior, Ysl...) to represent a significant segment in the company's production. A new rise in skills is necessary to meet the quality requirements of brands and shapers. Uwl trains many craftsmen who will become excellent shapers. The dozen shapers of the club come every year and become an international network of partners and friends.

During the 2020-2021 covid crisis, shapers club members were unable to move, condemning an important source of production. A major restructuring of the brands and labels is therefore underway in order to offer the company strong, inspiring and competitive brands. In spite of this world cataclysm, the company has achieved a 2-digit growth and recruited 3 new craftsmen.
32 years after their first board, SHAPERS CLUB becomes the main sign and the collective vision of the company, it is rewarded for the excellence of its work through the very prestigious EPV label awarded to only 1600 companies in France. Uwl is refocused on the brand of comfortable boards and longboards for a local clientele that appreciates it very much. Renaud and Thomas invest the Cardinal label with their personal post-punk universe for the performance boards that in the Addiction label, it is the fruit of these international collaborations and proposes a range of classic and progressive boards.

SHAPERS CLUB is moving and getting closer to the spots. An ambitious project supported by the whole staff and the CDC of Marennes d' Oleron. It is indeed this commune close to the most beautiful beaches of the department that will see the day the very new building.
An exceptional place of 1800m2 where surfers will be able to follow the making of their board while drinking a beer at the bar or discussing with the international craftsmen and shapers, while others will be discovering the latest models presented in the shop of 300m2. A surf skate park and a training room will be at the disposal of the most athletic. All this is the result of years and years of work and passion for surfing so thank you to all those who have contributed to this success.