More news from minelab looks like they are going with cheaper labor hope quality

[Jason in TN]

does not go down hill. The customer service already has. Will be built in Malaysia now should not be long until you can buy a cheap China knock off at walmart. Looks like the bottom line is all that is important to them now. Whites and Fisher are looking better to me time will tell I guess.





CODAN will close subsidiary Minelab's Irish operations, saving it more than $500,000 per year.

The closure will cost up to $1.5 million in redundancy and other costs which will be incurred over the next six months.

The company said these costs will be offset by proceeds from the sale of the manufacturing facility.

The majority of the manufacturing done in Ireland would be moved to Codan's manufacturing service provider, Plexus, based in Penang, Malaysia.

Minelab's sales operations covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa would continue to be based in Ireland, albeit in different premises.

"The company will commence a process to dispose of the current manufacturing facilities,'' Codan said in an announcement.

"Given the current economic environment, we expect this sale process to be reasonably protracted, however we expect to conclude it during the year ended June 30, 2010.

"In addition to this project in Ireland, Codan continues with other beneficial Minelab integration initiatives, with a focus on manufacturing, information systems and inventory rationalisation.''

Codan, under managing director Mike Heard, bought metal detector manufacturer Minelab for $70.5 million last year.

Codan shares closed steady at 64c yesterday.

Jason

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[FredCobol]

That's a shame.

I have worked with many people in Ireland and they are great to work with. There is a great emphasis in Ireland on education, quality, and pride of workmanship. I had the good fortune to travel there for a week a few years ago and really enjoyed it.

From my experience when work is moved to a cheaper location there is a definite loss of quality which takes a long to to be regained if it even can be.

 

[goldeagle]

that totaly stinks! they gotta keep the irish working we should let them know we arnt happy with the move.

 

[steve from ohio]

that totaly stinks! they gotta keep the irish working we should let them know we arnt happy with the move.

The Irish sometimes do not do what they were sent to do. Ask Longshanks.

 

[Mad Witch]

Minelab own only one factor in Irealand?

I'm afraid about quality ...

 

[Keppy]

Minelab own only one factor in Irealand?

I'm afraid about quality ...

I think you are going to see Quality go in the dumps . i don't think that any new minelabs will be worth buying. We are going back to Garrett , Whites , and Tesoro.. that will be the only Quality good built detector company's that will be left.. Look what happened to Fisher and they stayed right in the U.S.A. and there detectors and service are not that great now.............

 

[steve from ohio]

I doubt quality will be an issue.

All US manufacturers use parts from foreign low wage corporations. White's uses electronics manufactured in China just as Detector Pro. Just as Fisher. Just as Tesoro. And all the others. Where they are put together really means nothing anymore.

We should just insist on tariffs on imported goods. That will solve our sell out of jobs overseas to slave labor.

Quality and reliability means nothing if we cannot afford to buy even the cheapest of products because we have no jobs.

 

[Digger USA]

Minelab is owned by an Australian Company named Codan. The only Minelab facility in the USA is the Marketing/Distribution/Service center in Vegas. Minelabs were never manufactured here. They build products at one location in Ireland and one in Australia. Codan made the decision to have the Ireland manufacturing duties done by a company called Plexus. Whether that was a good decision or a bad one, only time will tell. It is interesting to note that Plexus Corporate Headquarters is located in Neenah, Wisconsin, USA. They have 8 manufacturing plants in the US, one in Scotland and five in Asia. The plant chosen to manufacture Minelab products is one of the five in Asia. Happens to be in Malaysia. If they had chosen one of the US plants, or the one in Scotland, would it have made a difference? Probably not in the product quality. Like some others have pointed out, most detector electronics are either built or assembled offshore now. But it sure makes a difference in how that product is viewed by the consumer. Especially US consumers. Don't believe me? Just look at the comments made on the forums so far. I can't imagine what will happen to US based businesses when the Cap and Trade legislation is passed. Can you say sayonara?

 

[FredCobol]

I doubt quality will be an issue.

All US manufacturers use parts from foreign low wage corporations. White's uses electronics manufactured in China just as Detector Pro. Just as Fisher. Just as Tesoro. And all the others. Where they are put together really means nothing anymore.

We should just insist on tariffs on imported goods. That will solve our sell out of jobs overseas to slave labor.

Quality and reliability means nothing if we cannot afford to buy even the cheapest of products because we have no jobs.

When jobs are moved to a different country there is a loss of the expertise that was build up over time. Also, the introduction of language, cultural, and time zone differences along with higher turn over rates can make it extremely difficult for the new location to reach the same level of quality as the old location. I'm not saying that the new factory can't produce the same level of quality as the old location. I'm just saying that initially I would expect to see more quality issues from the new location and it will take time before quality is restored. During that time Minelab's reputation may be destroyed.

Let's face it. Minelabs are expensive. With that cost people expect high quality. Do you think that Minelab is going to drop the price of their detectors with the money they will save on manufacturing costs? I doubt it. The savings will likely be added to their profit margin which is not a bad thing if you are a business. All I can say is that the quality better still be there if they expect to get the same price for their machines.

 

[pistolpete]

My 2 cents worth. I dont think that quality will be an issue either. I dont know which models of Minelabs were built in Ireland but seems to me that there were(are), according to people posting on the forums, quite a few Excaliburs being sent back because of stability issues, MB problems, etc. How can problems like that be contributed to where the product is built? Sounds to me like it is the quality of the components or the engineering specs that need to be addressed, not who built it. Again, just my .02 worth.......

 

[X-Terra70_TreasureHunter]

Hi Jason all metal detector parts are not made in the USA
they are all made in other countries over seas

Transistors, Resistors, Capacitors ect.

Nothing has been made in the USA in years, even Digi Corp.
has a plant across the border from Laredo in Mexico that
makes there resistors that they sale.

Digi Corp is one of the USA's largest suppliers of electronic
parts.

So how do you buy a USA made metal detector when the parts
are made else where, your buying a product that is put together
here in the USA. That is the bottom line, it does not matter if
the metal detector is made by MINELAB, TESORO, WHITES, FISHER,
BOUNTY HUNTER, GARRETT ect.

DAVE

 

[blacktoe]

I hate to see this happen to any company. I think this will hurt them as will stopping service on many of their older models. I don't have a minelab but have always watched minelab forums with interest.

Fisher went through a bad time with their transition with First Texas and it hurt them. But I do have to say it looks like their service and quality have gotten better as time has passed. I hope the same for Minelab as it is a great company and the loss would hurt all in the long run. WE need the competition from different companies to keep new developments coming.

Just my thoughts.

blacktoe