Minelab:

[LabradorBob]

I am seeing a lot of posts going around about Minelab,
Saw a post in the classifieds,where a guy went back and actually raised the price
of his detector,because it was made in Ireland.
The move to Malaysia for Minelab,has to be either good or bad,i am not sure which yet.
What are some of your thoughts?

LabradorBob

 

[NiagracountyNY]

I wouldnt worry about quality droping off myself..Someone posted that the plant in malaysia has been making the military grade detectors for minelab for awhile.So you would think the quality control will be even better.The guy asking more $$ becuase his came from ireland is Nuts in my opinion lol..Minelab needs to work on Customer support more than anything..But it seems they have the attitude that " we know our machines are the best so if u want one deal with it!! " And we do deal with it becuase we want them machines.I hate to see or feel that attitude tho from a company I Buy from.I know I tolerated waiting 4 weeks for service and would do it again rather than use a diffrent machine. And it seems they know most of us feel the same way..Only thing i would like to see from minelab is better customer support and a color screen on my E-trac Heheh( i hate sun glare!) Happy Hunting everyone..

 

[synthnut]

It's surely a good move for Minelab.....The labor costs will go down , and the profits will go up ....As far as we , the customers are concerned , it's a wait and see situation ....It's all about quality control ....If the QC is good, you will not notice a change ...If it's not as good , you will .... Until the other detector companies can play in the same league as Minelab, I doubt that the customer service will improve at Minelab .... There is nothing that inspires Minelab to change .... Each company has it's own niche , and may be faster , or lighter , or more fun, but when you are looking for a machine that excells in most all area's , the Minelabs are tough to beat .... Anyone that has used a Minelab machine will end up just biting the bullet and dealing with Customer Support the way it is .... Jim

 

[Phil_R]

My new E-Trac is made in Malaysia... no apparent difference, works perfectly. (Still have to dig finds though, E-Trac doesn't pull them out of ground.) No, I don't want to trade for a made in Ireland model, and I wouldn't pay more for one. As long as I receive the quality paid for, I don't care where something is assembled. So far, it appears I received the quality product I expected.

 

[Elton]

Someone trying to capitalize on a "Maybe"......... The specs will be the same no matter where they build them..
[size=medium]Did you hear this one[/size]..Malaysia Deal Fell through.... Heard this one last week ???????????????
All will be back in Australia factory.....

 

[Barry NY]

This is from the Minelab website - I think it clarifies the production situation at Minelab:

Introduction to Plexus Corporation, (USA)

Minelab has used contract manufacturers internationally to produce everything from shafts and loaded printed circuit boards, through to the complete manufacture and assembly of control boxes.
Most of this was through our factories in Adelaide or Bandon, Co. Cork (Ireland). Dealing with many partners internationally and having a number of manufacturing sites worldwide is quite a complex task to manage.
Therefore, to consolidate our manufacturing and to

 

[etracmick]

n/t

 

[oldcoins]

Hi Barry,
Forget the old feud we had in the past.My question about your post is a what is is for us.I returned for the second time my excalibur 2 within a year of use as
I have the extended warranty.The answering service is not obviously Minelab and the only thing they can tell you is that they will call back within 48 hours.
We all know and particularly with the excalibur2 that the cable is too short but do not want to do anything about it.Servicing as they claims is a minimum of 30 days.What is your advise?

 

[Barry NY]

Hey oldcoins. The purpose of my post above was to just help clarify the production situation at Minelab from information that I have gleaned from the Minelab website. I am not an employee of Minelab and have no inside information to share.

Regarding service issues - it seems to be a known fact that their turn times are very slow.

Most of the experienced water hunters on these forums, that use an Excalibur, have multiple units so they have a backup - just in case...
My advice, if you want zero detecting downtime, is to get another Excalibur (used makes sense) for backup or use your E-Trac carefully in the wet sand until you get your Excalibur 2 repaired. I would send it in to them via overnight mail and offer to pay for return overnight mail. It will cost you some dough but you will gain about a week or two in the shipping.

 

[oldcoins]

Thanks, second unit seems the best idea as I do not want to have the Etrac near the water.