[TheForge] rant concerning quality of products

Fri Apr 17 19:06:01 EDT 2009

Actually, the Kuhn tiller was perfected by the French Alsatian (hence  
the german sounding name)  blacksmith Joseph Kuhn.
Blacksmiths around the world did the same thing during the industrial  
revolution- used their ability to actually make things to create new  
products.
Kuhn is no different from Deere, or Petersen, or many other  
blacksmiths who did this.
Plenty of Italian smiths have done this too.

I am no expert on farm equipment, but I thought John Deere was famous  
for plows, not tillers.
These tillers are like a rototiller, but 8 or 10 or 12 feet wide, with  
a 4 speed gearbox to match the speed of the tines to the speed of  
travel.
Deere doesnt make anything like this for the big tractors, as far as I  
know- they make all kinds of plows, but what they call "tillers" for  
their bigger tractors are a different beast altogether.

This is what is sitting in my field-
http://www.kuhnnorthamerica.com/internet/webus.nsf/0/A5CA4D4CA917E3D9C12573C50055DA3C?OpenDocument&p=14.2.2.9.2

And Bruce- I am in no way blaming American workers- I KNOW we can  
build anything, as well or better than anybody else.
I am lamenting the profit driven state of americas CEO's and  
financiers, who chase quick bucks over building real stuff.

There are plenty of US companies that still do make quality products,  
often the best in the world- Just not as many as I wish there were.

I do feel that american workers often feel like its more secure to  
just go to work for a huge company, cash the check, and let somebody  
else worry about the bottom line- and I think that contributed to our  
downfall, though.

In Italy, where I have travelled a lot, there are tons and tons of  
small companies- and, when they start to get profitable, instead of  
selling out, cashing in, and leading a life in your 50's of toys and  
leisure, these small Italian businessmen reinvest in their companies,  
and keep working.
I have visited a lot of metalworking factories in Italy that are third  
or fourth generation, where the parents gave the biz to the kids,  
rather than taking the money and running. And that level of close  
family control really helps product quality, and focus on the product.
They had, until 2001, much higher estate taxes than we did- and, they  
still do have a lesser estate tax. So its not our tax structure to  
blame- its our mindset.
Greed.
It hasnt helped much in the USA in the last 50 years, no matter how  
much Gordon Gecko said it did.

Ries

On Apr 17, 2009, at 2:53 PM, Keziah's Forge wrote:

The irony of the image is overwhelming: a machine that John Deere the
blacksmith could not have imagined,  bearing his name, pulling   
Italian and
French versions of the implement he perfected, because the company he
founded  can't make a decent one any more.

We have a lot of work to do.

----- Original Message -----
From: "ries" <ries at riesniemi.com>
To: "terry l. ridder" <terrylr at blauedonau.com>; "Blacksmithing List
Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, April 17, 2009 3:58 PM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] rant concerning quality of products

> On the subject of Italian versus USA-
>
> I went for a walk today, and walked past my big field.
> I lease it to a real farmer, who farms around 2500 acres here, about a
> quarter of it in potatos every year.
> this year is a year for my field for potatoes- they only do em every 4
> years, and in between plant nitrogen fixing crops, peas or grasses.
> So they are out there tilling my field.
>
> Its 20 acres, and they are using two John Deere 8400T's- huge 225
> horsepower diesel tracked, as opposed to wheeled tractors. A ten year
> old used one will run you $80,000, these are hefty machines. So there
> is no question that this farmer can afford to buy the best.
> And hooked behind em, are two 10 foot tillers- one of em, a Maschio,
> Italian tiller.
> The other, a French made Kuhn.
> My guess is that for a professional farmer, its a no brainer, that
> there just isnt an american equivalent thats better than either of
> these.
> This guy is as all american as he can be- all his trucks are american,
> he owns a few million worth of John Deeres, and he would buy US if he
> could.
>
> Sad, but true.
> There is no real reason we couldnt make a tiller as good as the French
> or Italians, if we wanted to- if somebody was willing to invest the
> money to build a quality company, the market is certainly there. But
> instead, american money men buy watches, or cars, or third houses,
> they do silly, but profitable, IPO's and leveraged buyouts and CDO
> swaps.
>
>
> 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

______________________________________________________________
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/