yes, but every body knows the gray on every unit was exactly the same shade its entire life. never faded, never dirty, always pristine.just ask the “Q” engineers on the list.
Couldn't the slight variation in color be covered
up by some weathering???
Just curious,
Mike Schattl
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, October 14, 2016 10:28
PM
Subject: Re: [Bulk] [CBQ] Variation in
the Grays in the Blackbird Scheme
My, aren't you the sweetheart...
You're the one who was complaining about the models not being made in
the US. We explain why it's not profitable, and you call names.
Rich G
-----Original
Message----- From: David Weber dave@cimmarondesign.com [CBQ] < CBQ@yahoogroups.com> To: CBQ
< CBQ@yahoogroups.com> Sent:
Fri, Oct 14, 2016 5:17 pm Subject: Re: [Bulk] [CBQ] Variation in the Grays
in the Blackbird Scheme
not a matter of where it’s made. if it ain’t right don’t buy it. if you
by it and it ain’t right don’t complain it’s not right. you and charlie would
make great politicians.
Just to reinforce Charlie's comment about how
cheap it is to ship something to/from China, a 40' high cube container,
sailing from Shanghai to Rockford, IL (this includes the vessel, rail
transportation, the trucking to your factory, and all duties and brokerage
services) is under $5000.00. In comparison, it cost several thousands
of dollars to ship a truckload of our fabricated metal products to Florida.
Also, labor cost may not be a large cost in manufacturing model
railroad items, but for metal fabrication, you can buy the product, ship it
here, and your landed cost is usually half of what we can typically
manufacture it for here. This is why Walmart is filled with Chinese
manufactured goods. Most people aren't willing to pay a premium for
something manufactured in the US.
Rich G. - 33 years in manufacturing
supply chain/plant management
-----Original
Message----- From: 'Charlie Vlk' cvlk@comcast.net [CBQ] < CBQ@yahoogroups.com> To: CBQ < CBQ@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Fri, Oct 14, 2016 1:15
pm Subject: RE: [Bulk] [CBQ] Variation in the Grays in the Blackbird
Scheme
David-
My second career
has been in the Model Railroad Industry for almost 25 years and I can assure
you that the cost of labor is a relatively minor factor in the decision to
manufacture overseas.
The existence of
companies willing to do turnkey production of models is the primary
reason…..
All Model
Railroad “Corporations” are essentially small, family-owned type businesses
and the wonderful range of products we have today is based on the ability
for an entrepreneur to start a company importing trains to designs and
specifications they develop as a sole proprietor perhaps growing to a few
employees with very modest capital to go to one of several such companies in
China and receive product without having to huge sums in infrastructure for
what is a very low return on investment.
Would it be
possible to establish open turnkey factories here in the United
States? Theoretically, yes. But unless one had a
deep well of private capital to purchase state-of-the-art machinery to
produce tooling, mold plastic and produce diecast parts, make metal
turnings, screws and other bits, create electric motors and circuit boards,
set up painting and printing production equipment lines, make inserts,
boxes, etc. and then do assembly, packing and shipping…no bank would loan
funds for such a venture.
We are not
“bitchen”, just giving informed insights into the current state of the Model
Railroad Industry. All of us that work in the business
would much prefer to work in a totally vertically integrated environment
where problems could be solved in English by walking out the door down to
the appropriate department and working it out instead of sending multiple
volleys of emails back and forth and dealing with additional problems
generated each time one is solved.
As a concrete
example of why things aren’t made here…. A well-known manufacturer had a
fairly automated production line established here. Various state
and local social engineering regulations moved them to reduce their total
workforce under a certain threshold in order not to add overhead costs to
the product which could not be reasonably passed on in the price of the
product. The move of the production machinery to China was
certainly not in the millions of dollars (a couple of containers) and the
control over production and costs has been a disaster for the company and
has not benefited anyone including the consumer who has still seen “normal”
price increases.
The notion that
the Model Railroad Industry is comprised of big companies with exorbitant or
even decent profit margins is off base… Dave has it right….I don’t know of
anyone in the Model Railroad Industry that couldn’t be making more money at
a real job….but most of us are in it because we like trains and it is, for
us, a pleasant way to make a living.
Charlie
Vlk
Railroad Model
Resources
the manufactures spent a few million to send it to china, let em spend
a few to bring it back. if one cannot buy into that quit bitchen
David Weber wrote: “why not
move the whole manufacturing process back to the US. what a
concept”
Having observed
what a manufacturer has to go through running a fairly fully vertically
integrated model railroad factory in the Chicago area, an awful lot has to
change in the attitude of the labor pool, federal, state, county, and
local agencies (ranging from building code, fire, signage, environmental,
workplace, social engineering, tax policy, reporting requirements and
other forms of bureaucracy ) as well as bank monetary policies before
we’ll see the establishment of many new model railroad factories in the
US.
Not saying it
will not happen; Lionel is doing some small scale work in the US and costs
are driving in the direction towards the day when it may be possible to
see more done domestically. But there are still tremendous
barriers to doing everything here from tooling through final
production.
Of course, if
someone is sitting on a few million dollars that wants to be a leader in
bringing Model Train production back to the US I would love to consult on
setting up such an enterprise!!!
__._,_.___
Posted by: David Weber <dave@cimmarondesign.com>
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