Re: Re: Re: You Guys (&gals) Are Gonna Hate ME...:)


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Posted by Rick Denney on December 11, 2002 at 00:00:50:

In Reply to: Re: Re: You Guys (&gals) Are Gonna Hate ME...:) posted by delurked on December 10, 2002 at 22:23:59:

This happens in every industry. But Volkswagen Porsche Audi makes a good comparison. Volkswagens are made all over the place in their own factories, with their workers, training in their own methods, and meeting their own standards. Audis are made in Ingolstadt in a factory that makes only Audies. Porsches are made in Stuttgart (?) by the good Herr Doktor's successors. They all buy some parts from each other and from the same first-tier suppliers.

But they are all different.

Go to Sears and the Kenmore appliances are made by Whirlpool. The salesperson will tell you that Sears orders them built to higher standards. Maybe. Whirlpool also owns KitchenAid, but the KitchenAid appliances still look like they did when they were owned by Hobart and were of commercial quality, so I suspect they are made in their own factory to their own standards.

B&S and VMI are built in the same factory, to the same standards (in my opinion) but with differences in design ranging from only the label to substantive. Meinl-Westons are made in a different factory with different people and different standards, though they use some of the same parts.

It goes on and on. The King 2341 is made in the Eastlake King factory. The Conn 5xJ is made in the Eastlake King factory. Conn 20K sousaphones (and other Conn-branded tubas) are made in the Elkhart Conn factory. At least you can tell the place of production by the label on the JA-Musik instruments.

Before drawing too many conclusions based on which brand is owned by what corporation, you have to look who is actually building it and to what standards. Often, these haven't changed just because of the change in who gets the corporate tax. But not always. The often tend to run together over time, as Hawkes did with Boosey, and as both did with Besson.

Rick "who business card changed three times without moving his office" Denney


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