Ka’ana Wave Co. is celebrating its successful exhibitor debut at IAAPA Expo 2021, which was held in Orlando, Florida, last month. As well as giving the team a chance to showcase Ka’ana’s cutting-edge CM7-Series wave machines in action, the show also resulted in an awards win for the new technology.

For Ka’ana, after months of preparation, planning, logistics, travel and COVID protocols, this tradeshow was a perfect way to reconnect with people and establish new relationships, as well as spending time together as a team, after working from home during the pandemic.

Innovation recognized

“Seeing someone’s eyes light up when they saw our wave shapes for the first time; or observing a smile creep onto the face of a 30-year industry veteran who just “got it” was incredibly rewarding. Those “aha” moments when someone realizes that what we are doing is unique and special and makes all the blood, sweat, and tears worthwhile,” says Andy Rogers, VP Brand and Marketing.

During IAAPA’s annual Brass Ring Awards, Ka’ana Wave Co. won first place in the Best New Concept category, for its CM7-Series product. For the team, this was a real validation of the years of work invested in bringing this technology to market.

The name Ka’ana comes from a Hawaiian word meaning ‘to share’, and speaking about the win, the company spoke about how this new technology will allow them to share the joy of surfing with a wider audience:

“The judges awarded us the prize on the merit of providing genuinely new and innovative technology was validation that we are on the right track to achieving our goals. They believed in our technology, they believed in our people, and they believed in our goal: making surfing fun and accessible.”

Last month, Ka’ana’s CEO James Watson explained the groundbreaking surf tech in more detail.