Prime Wood was founded in 1930 by a young, dedicated Italian-American business man named Ceasare Tuccinardi. Ceasare started out primarily handcrafting quality furnitire, and was very succesful in making custom breakfast nooks. Shorly after launching his business, Ceasare had his three boys Phil, Louie and Lorrie, and it wasn’t long before Prime became a family affair.
By 1964 the company had began curving plywood for some of its furniture projects. The presses the Tuccinardi family hand built for this process would eventually produce some of the earliest “kick tail” skateboards. With the new presses in place, Prime began pressing wood for early skateboard brands like Madrid and Z Products (Z Boys). The first skateboards were pressed by Prime Wood in 1968, making Prime one of the earliest mass producers of skateboards.
By 1988, Professional skateboarders Steve Rocco and Rodney Mullen felt the industry shifting, and left Sims and Powell respectively to found World Industries. The two walked through the Prime doors shortly after, and worked closely with Phil Tuccinardi to perfect the modern day skateboard. To this day Phil speaks of the countless hours Rodney spent shaping and perfecting things at the Prime factory to make top notch, quality skateboards. It was during this time Prime began making skateboards for almost the entire industry, and had a production roster that included brands like World, Blind, Plan B, 101, Shorty’s, Birdhouse,
Flip, Hookups, Baker, and the Firm to name just a portion. Prime Wood at it's peak had 220 employees, produced 2.4 million skateboards a year, and was running 24 hours a day, 7 days week.
Phil, Louie and Lorrie all retired in 2008 and sold the Prime business to longtime skateboarder and musician Scott Holloway. Scott has since relocated the USA production facility to South Pasadena in Los Angeles County. Today each and every employee at Prime is also a passionate skateboarder, which ensures that our skateboards are made by individuals who really care about the quality of our products.
We at Prime firmly root ourselves in our love for skateboarding, and believe our dedication bleeds into every skateboard product produced at Prime Wood. We proudly produce a full range of products, including 100% handcrafted quality skateboards, proudly made by skateboarders right here in Los Angeles.