[TheForge] rant concerning quality of products

Fri Apr 17 17:57:05 EDT 2009

This is not a problem with the workers, but with American managers.
People at the top are out to squeeze out every penny they can in the
short term with no regard for the long term.  Honest, committed
workers don't go along with this shit - and end up getting fired.

This is why I buy Japanese cars exclusively.  I buy only used Japanese
cars, and get upwards of 250,000 miles on them.

On Fri, Apr 17, 2009 at 11:58 AM, ries <ries at riesniemi.com> wrote:
> Terry, welcome to the 21st century.
>
> I dont know why the Italians make such higher quality small farm
> equipment, but they sure do.
> I use a 4 foot tiller on my small tractor, and I have a very nice
> Italian one. It wasnt that expensive, its machined properly, painted
> well, the welds are neat and clean, and I beat the crap out of it for
> years on end and it works great.
>
> I have bought US made small tractor implements, and they are cheap,
> shoddily made, poorly painted, and every corner you can cut is cut.
> Notable exceptions to this would be the Woods company, which makes
> good stuff that lasts. And, I am sure, there are others.
> But the cheaper, generic, accessories for 25 hp or so tractors are
> funny that way.
>
> Italy has HIGHER TAXES, HIGHER REAL ESTATE PRICES, HIGHER WAGES, MORE
> GOVERNMENT REGULATION, and they hardly ever work, between holidays and
> long lunches.
> And yet, somehow, in the categories they manufacture in, they make
> stuff that is higher quality, and the same or cheaper price, than
> american made stuff, and thats including paying for shipping.
>
> I cant figure it out.
> But I love my Italian made machinery. I have a made in Italy set of
> Angle Rolls, and they are very high quality, tough, and cost about 1/3
> of what a made in USA set would.
> Similar stories are told about Italian cold saws, pharmaceutical
> equipment, packaging machinery, food processing machines, textile and
> tile machines, motorcycles, guns, and many more products.
>
> I think part of it is that the Italian firms are mostly still family
> owned- they havent gone down the bean counter, IPO driven, greed path
> that we have.
>
> ries
>
>
> On Apr 17, 2009, at 2:19 AM, terry l. ridder wrote:
>
> hello;
>
> the past two days i have been working with a pto drive shaft.
> the pto drive shaft is manufactured in the usa . the dealer
> who sold me the pto drive line shaft told me that it had been
> inspected and greased that it was ready to go. none of what the
> dealer told was in any way shape or form even remotely being
> close to being true.
>
> the drive shaft was never greased. anywhere.
> the universal joints perhaps had minimal grease in them
> but the grease fittings have been painted over with a heavy
> coat of paint. the one universal joint is installed wrong.
> there is no way to get to the grease fitting as presently
> assembled. the yoke which contains the 6 spline hole which
> should slide onto the pto drive shaft has a heavy coat of
> paint half way up the spline hole. it is clear upon looking
> at it that this is overspray. they could have prevented this
> by just placing a little amount of white petroleum jelly on
> those areas that should not be painted. after painting and
> drying wipe the white petroleum jelly off. the drive shafts
> had to be shortened a few inches which the dealer was suppose
> to either have the factory do or his technical people do. well
> yes they were shortened but they did nothing to remove the burrs
> they created. the drive shaft protection sleeve looks like
> a beaver gnawed through it and not a professional techinical
> worker with a proper metal saw. i thought that perhaps it was
> just this one shaft and not the entire batch that i ordered.
> they are all in the same or even worse shape. i called the
> salesman's cell phone and left a long message explaining
> that i was not a happy camper and that he either came out
> bringng one of his technical people to fix the shafts on the
> spot or i was going to bring the shafts back to him and plant
> them on his desk while i waited for my money back. i have not
> heard back from him yet.
>
> have the few remaining manfacturers in the usa laid off all the
> qualified workers and kept only the lowest paid workers to turn out
> their products? i would be ashamed to deliver anything that looked
> remotely like these drive shafts.
>
> are salesmen so ignorant that they can not tell if the techincal people
> are handing them a line or not?
>
> where in all of this is the quality control inspections? have the few
> remaining manufacturers in the usa just abandoned quality control?
>
> it is sad that this has happened. i was attempting to 'shop american'
> instead of ordering the comer industry drive shafts from italy. the
> comer industry sales rep in the usa did have a lower price on the drive
> shafts and the sample he provided to me is a quality product.
>
> i have a request of proposals and request of bids out on several
> gearboxes which comer industrys in italy also makes. i have modified the
> request for bids in that they must supply one unit for my quality
> control inspection to have their bid even considered.
>
> manufacturers are crying for orders and sales but they are falling down
> on delivering the quality goods that the customer expects whether it is
> a depression, recession, or booming economy.
>
> no wonder the usa has become a third rate banana republic.
>
> --
> terry l. ridder ><>
> ______________________________________________________________
> TheForge mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:TheForge at mailman.qth.net
>
> TheForge mail list group photo site is
> http://www.photoaccess.com
> Login: blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
> Password: anvil
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
> Ries Niemi
> Industrial Artist
> http://www.riesniemi.com/
>
>
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> TheForge mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:TheForge at mailman.qth.net
>
> TheForge mail list group photo site is
> http://www.photoaccess.com
> Login: blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
> Password: anvil
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>

-- 
Bruce
NJ

The total lack of evidence is the surest sign that the conspiracy is working.