TOOLS I Have A Question

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Germany is more expensive than the United States. Wages, taxes, basic standard of living. Right?

Then please tell me why WILLI HAHN can manufacture screwdrivers and pliers far superior in quality to Snap On or Mac tools that cost WAY MORE then tools that are shipped thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean and marketed here?

There is no USA competition for these tools -- Knipex is considerably more expensive than WiHa. I have no idea where Knipex is made.

There is no other word I can substitute for the following one: The USA is prostituting our sense of integrity of quality for the almighty dollar.

There are a few holdouts. Caterpillar, 3M, General Electric (for medical) and Westinghouse (For large generators and transformers).

Siemens is kicking our *** world wide for electrical assembles and again this is a German enterprise. B*A*R*T*? A Siemens project. The San Diego Red Trolley? Again Siemens.

Too much of what I read on this forum are problems the result of which are due to shoddy design and manufacturing. Too many products have USA brand names and garbage Chinese design.

Why am I fuming? I lost a forty dollar frying pan this morning. An elite brand. The handle came off the hard way with absolutely no way to repair it. Elite USA brand name -- manufactured in China. We canno make a @#$%^&! forty dollar frying pan. Gimmee a break.

[westernrvparkow]

You have a false assumption at the start. Germany has a much lower per capita disposable income and per capita GDP and consequently, a lower standard of living than the US. Both per capita GDP and per capita disposable income are 10 to 15 percent lower in Germany the US.
If you premise that German tools are superior to US tools, perhaps it is rooted in different cultural experiences. The US has a history of being a disposable society. We are quick to move on to new ideas and that has served the nation well. We embraced new manufacturing techniques, we lead the world in innovation and maybe that plays to the idea we don't need hand tools that last for generations. Maybe the American way is get something that gets the job done at the most effective cost. I would assume that is why Harbor Freight, Dollar stores and other purveyors of cheap, disposable products are expanding.

[2oldman]

pnichols wrote:
but the cost of living isn't good after finding and working that job.

Yeah.. I'm paying > $4 gallon for diesel.. again. No, I don't want my National Parks fracked in response.

[pnichols]

P.S. He may be referring to the cost of things versus the income to pay for those things.

The economy may be good with respect to the high numbers of folks being able to find some kind of job ... but the cost of living isn't good after finding and working that job.

[2oldman]

larry cad wrote:

2oldman wrote:
It hasn't been horrible for the last 10 years, regardless of what the president says.

Do you really consider a negative 9% as not being horrible????

I don't know what you're referring to. We also had a surplus under Clinton.

[pnichols]

David ... isn't the Internet-plus-Amazon combination wonderful for some things! (Assuming one lives in the good old U.S. of A. - I don't know about living in MeHeeCo.)

One can order the best in the world and have it delivered right to one's door. I do this all the time.

I don't care where it's made. I start my research by looking for the most expensive version of an item ... as "the most expensive version" has to be that way for a real good reason because worldwide competition is so fierce. If I can't afford the most expensive version, I then just work my way down the price chain until I find a version I can afford - while trying not to give in too much to the degraded quality that comes along with lower price.

So far my shopping method as worked like a champ - K.I.S.S. usually does.

[Lwiddis]

“Yes, they have been told by shareholders to make a certain profit no matter what.“

Gee, Larry, is one of the companies you are referring...ah...Berkshire Hathaway?

[MEXICOWANDERER]

I just don't want to be ripped off, then have people tell me "We can't do that!"

[larry_cad]

2oldman wrote:
It hasn't been horrible for the last 10 years, regardless of what the president says.

Do you really consider a negative 9% as not being horrible????

[dougrainer]

China is adept at taking GOOD USA products and when the USA company has them built to GOOD standards in China, the Chinese STEAL the design and build cheap knock offs. Most of the time, when these knock offs are sold in the USA or in China or elsewhere in the world the consumer has no idea he purchased the knock off and blames the USA company for a cheap product. I have a good friend that travels to China 4 or 5 times a year and is involved in his companies quality and buying divisions. THEY get good products built there. But, he has purchased the Gray market items in China and they rarely last. He told me last year, that the Chinese Gov. cracked down for some of the Golf Equipment makers that were being ripped off with Gray market name brand drivers and were confiscating the Drivers at the Airport and the Tourist was out of luck and he lost his money. When he buys Gray Market drones or helicopters and such he always buys at least 2, so he has spare parts when the cheap original breaks and they do break. I went with him last year and we went to the huge underground(it's really underground) retail center in Shanghai, you cannot believe the amount of knock off/counterfit products they sell at these markets. Doug

[2oldman]

larry cad wrote:
. The USA economy over the last few decades has been horrible and as a result,

It hasn't been horrible for the last 10 years, regardless of what the president says.

larry cad wrote:
They interviewed 600 applicants to fill 150 positions and failed because of mandatory drug testing.

They're going to have to rethink this requirement if they really want workers.

If you're stoned on the job, yeah that's bad. If you smoked weed last night, no, that's not bad. If you got roaring drunk over the weekend, no problem.

[larry_cad]

1. American companies are trying to compete with Chinese companies who basically have slave labor. (I've been to China and speak from personal experience)

2. There are no unions in China.

3. American companies are having difficulty finding good workers. Actually, they are having trouble finding BAD workers. My job takes me into numerous factories and all of them cannot find enough good workers. Recently one customer wanted to restart a mothballed facility because the economy is going good. They interviewed 600 applicants to fill 150 positions and failed because of mandatory drug testing.

4. The USA economy over the last few decades has been horrible and as a result, American companies have implemented cost cutting measures which have caused a resulting reduction in quality.

5. Yes, finally, there is a problem with management. Yes, they have been told by shareholders to make a certain profit no matter what. With the new, booming economy, American companies are going to have to relearn how to conduct business. This is going to be a long and difficult road since there is also a problem with finding good managers (same as workers)

Big question is whether American industry can rise to the occasion. Time will tell.

[2oldman]

joshuajim wrote:
The problem is AMERICAN companies that want the cheapest produced products that result in the greatest profit.

The problem is American consumers who want the cheapest possible products.

[joshuajim]

The Chinese can make quality products when they want to. They have nuclear weapons, the largest hydroelectric dam in the world, have sent men into orbit, are planning a moon landing, have fighters pretty much equivalent to ours, etc. etc. etc.

The problem is AMERICAN companies that want the cheapest produced products that result in the greatest profit.

[moebedick]

I feel your pan!