Quote:
Originally Posted by M2M
Brent, well yes, really. As you just said, "SCAT has a superb reputation in the automotive aftermarket" a comment which I agree with. So clearly if the comments on the Model T forum are true, which I have no reason to believe they're not, they most certainly have dropped the ball by your measure.
You wrote:
"As for getting it right in USA vs. China getting it right, ....does that one really need to get debated here??"
There's a debate about USA vs China??? If so, I didn't start it...go back and read my comments. SCAT makes a point of mentioning time after time they employ workers in the USA to machine their cranks...that's great, I commend them. By saying "Made in USA" though you're saying something more...your saying QUALITY and CUSTOMER SERVICE, that's my point. I alway prefer to buy "Made in USA" if a item is priced competitively because of that.
Are you saying I'm 'bashing nonsense' by passing on information I have to forum members about an expensive and important Model A item? If so, perhaps your status as a dealer of these cranks is clouding your judgement. Also, note that I made a point of praising SCAT for looking after the Model T guy in question so you can hardly say my post was an anti-SCAT rant.
With regards to Model T cranks...who's the second manufacturer, SCAT and ? Even if there is one, I don't agree with you that it's automatically bad news when new competitors enter a market, but in the specific case of T cranks you might be correct.
It's certainly bad for consumers to only have one player. I welcome Burlington's return.
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Well geez, it appears you really do not know if that comment is even factual yet because some small engine builder posted that
one comment, without knowing all the facts you are jumping on a mission. Out of all the others of us who have purchased Scat cranks this year, where are all the other complainers at? There are none!!
I have spoken twice with Brian at SCAT today to find out the true story of what really happened on this deal. When you read what is written by Mr. Doleshal on that forum, ...and then you find out how the deal went down, it pisses me off because his story on the MTFCA forum is very misleading.
First off, Mr. Doleshal orders 5 crankshafts from SCAT earlier this year. (...likely an initial stocking order -or to get a better quantity pricing??) Adam complains about 3 of the cranks do not meet his approval so the factory sends a call ticket to pick them up at their expense. SCAT then credits Mr. Doleshal for 3 crankshafts at his request for them to do so. SCAT's Q/C gets the crankshafts back, they inspect them and find all 3 meet all of their specifications in finish and in sizes, ...so they repackaged all 3 of them and put them back into inventory. This is the only time they have received
any complaints regarding T cranks that anyone there can remember.
Ironically, regarding the fillet radius, Brian told me that there are all kinds of Model-T engine builders and many have their own ideas of what they want. Bill Barth was the initial one that approached Mr. Lieb about manufacturing these Model-T crankshafts. It was Bill Barth that set the parameters (specifications) of what he wanted the crank to be. Since Mr. Doleshal did not tell SCAT to do anything different when he placed the order, they sent him crankshafts to the same specifications that Mr. Barth initially had them manufactured. Brian pointed out that if Mr. Doleshal had specified the exact fillet radius he wanted, or specified he wanted a different RA finish, they would have gladly met his requests. Isn't it amazing how the perception changes when all of the facts are known?? Why do you suppose 5 crankshafts were ordered but 3 were sent back for a credit, and he has not ordered any more crankshafts since that date??
Yes, there were three aftermarket T crank manufacturers, --one is gone now because of too many companies trying to survive in a small niche market. It is now only Bill Dubats out of Minnesota making a counterweighted crankshaft , --and Scat crank. Bill makes a great product however it is a ROI deal where I doubt he will make many more simply because of the economics. Feel free to do your homework about what I am saying!
As for comments by the poster following yours above, think this through. You begin making a certain high quality widget for a niche hobbyist market where you need to amortize your R&D and tooling costs over 10,000 sold units, ...and then I come into the/your market with one of my own products just like yours that is of equal quality. Now your projected sales in a given period has potentially been cut in half, which means it will take longer for you to get your investment back. My new product also makes a hit to your company's bottom line, but you will persevere on. The next thing we know, a 3rd manufacturer has decided they want to enter our niche market. The best way for them to compete is to have their product made off-shore where they can sell it cheaper. Now look at what it has done for your business' bottom-line. Lets say you were hoping to sell 10,000 units within 5 years which will break you 'even' where you can start making money in the 6th year of manufacturing these. When I came along and offered my product competing against you, this just put that 5 year time-frame out 'til 10 years. Things will be tight financially for both of us but we will squeak by financially. Now this 3rd manufacturer needs to sell his product too, so they offer theirs cheaper, or at less quality than ours to gain marketshare. Guess what, we have money invested in this so now we either must drop our prices to compete (less profit yet!!) or we must cut corners somewhere (i.e.: quality?) just to be able to sell enough of our widgets where we can pay the bills.
I realize that scenario above is lengthy but anyone that understands economics understand this is real-world, --and more importantly, this is what is happening in our Model-A reproduction parts world. I do not disagree that competition keeps everyone honest in business, but too much competition creates an environment where the 'honest' can no longer survive. This
IS bad for the consumers as now it comes down to a cheap widget offered at a low price, and maybe ONE better quality widget whose manufacturer has been beaten up financially trying to compete, and possibly not up to the initial quality it once was. And, instead of that manufacturer making a profit where he can expand his manufacturing base and offer more items, he looks at his past financial statement and says the ROI risk is not there, ...so we lose when he chooses not to manufacture more needed Model-A parts. This is NOT reverse psychology nor some ploy for larger $$ signs! It is a factual perspective from someone who has been in this industry long enough to know what he is talking about.
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As for other comments below yours above,