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

 

[Shambler]

First, assembled in Ireland and made in Ireland are different things.

I think folks are over reacting as some of the best stuff we use everyday come's from that part of the world. Codan does a lot of different things and since the hobby department can't be hugely profitable, maybe they'll throw in some R&D money do something REALLY special that makes them even more dominate in the market. All the speculation and bad mouthing on the "other" forum though won't help in any way. Let's let Codan know we believe they can help Minelab make an even better hobby machine. A positive approach and interaction with Codan is the only thing that will help the buyout be successful. The best we can hope for with all of the negativity is nothing changes from the current state of confusion.

 

[RLOH]

Bob, it would be great if Minelab lowered their prices on detectors because of the drastically reduced Malaysian labor cost, but I am afraid that will not be the case. Unfortunately this is the trend for anything made in the world. Move production to a third world country, but not lower the price. I think I will hold on to my Irish Etrac. R.L.

 

[LabradorBob]

Thanks for the post,Usually,things get better if it is a buyout,for the product anyway.
I hadn't heard of it being a buyout,just that they were moving.
A buyout would explain better though,what is going on right now,and not being able to get detectors.
We will wait for now,and see what the future holds.

LabradorBob

 

[captn_se]

What we have seen from the buyout in the past two years is mostly a restructuring of the ML Company, with certain staff/job positions being released within the company, which has taken a toll on customer service. Recent decisions to move manufacturing to Malaysia and their building in Las Vegas to Chicago are simply means for Codan to make more profit (cheaper labor costs). Yes, I doubt consumer prices on newer units will be any less because of this. The consumer rarely gets to reap the benefits of a company's lower labor spending. But I do hope that the new machines that are produced at the new facility are as durable/trustworthy for the most part as they are right now. Many, many companies are doing the same thing...it's the norm these days!

HH,
CAPTN SE
Dan