I liked Milwaukee better when they were an old American brand name that focused on building heavy duty tools that the construction industry could rely on. I bet when "TTI" bought them, they laid off as many Americans and shut down as many American plants as possible.I will do fine in retirement as I have worked,saved,invested. I have always been one to rely on no one but myself.(I was taught, harder one works,the farther you get, but am realizing that in some instances, you just get tired).I have never even considered SS to be anything other than a carrot out there in front of us that I will probably never get. I would prefer to save or invest it myself.(would have been a bonus).My point was that with forced career changes during my prime earning years, the point at which I am truly better off keeps moving farther away. Incomes have stagnated while costs of everything have kept increasing. We have more resistant and widespread diseases, environment in shambles. I might have been better off than my parents, had I chose to live a simpler life. In living a simpler, less materialistic life, one worries less about trying to keep what he has, and more about LIVING. Can't lose what you don't have. I think, the simple life will win out in the end.
To have the same buying power my father had at my age, I would need to make around $300/hr.:confused2: My wife's father bought and paid off their house in three years as a forklift operator. Our house is of comparable age to what theirs was when they bought it (27 years old) , but it would take every penny of my entire gross income for about 3-1/2 years to pay for it. Also, our house is one of the cheapest you can find in the area we live (paid $226K). Most houses around here sell for $350-400K. I went out of my way to have the lowest house payment I could get. The relator laughed when I said I didn't want to pay over $200K.
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I called Milwaukee a year ago and actually got through to someone about foreign built Milwaukee tools. They are now owned by a company out of Hong Kong. Same company that owns Ryobi.
Anyway, I voiced my displeasure about them shutting US plants, but there's no longer ANY 100%l American alternative. From what I've read, Milwaukee isn't really even American owned anymore.
"Milwaukee Electric Tool is a subsidiary of Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd. (TTI), ttigroup.com.
Founded in 1985, TTI is a leading marketer, manufacturer and supplier of home improvement and floor care products, employing over 20,000 people worldwide. TTI's global brand portfolio includes Ryobiｮ, Milwaukeeｮ and AEGｮ power tools, DreBoｮ carbide drill bits, Homeliteｮ and Ryobiｮ outdoor power equipment and Royalｮ, Dirt Devilｮ, Reginaｮ and VAXｮ floor care appliances. The acquisition takes advantage of TTI and Milwaukee痴 marketing and distribution networks and enhances Milwaukee痴 ability to expand its markets and product portfolio worldwide."
Yeah, right....BS!!
You can bet TTI will screw Milwaukee over like Black & Decker did to DeWalt and Delta. It seems that the only Delta tools people rave about were the ones made during the Rockwell era. I have a Delta 10" bench grinder from the Pentair era, and its OK; but not as nice as the Jet I should have bought back then.About 15+ years ago.....a SD company (I believe the company was called "FLAGS") was promoting their plan to add the USA FLAG label to products that had materials and labor that were 100% Made in the USA....in an effort to promote our national interests. It was at this point that the country was quickly losing 100% USA made products. This flag company wanted manufacturers to pay a few % points premium to them for the use of their "flag logo" and the "100% made in the USA" words. Any effort to do so without their blessing (and fee) was going to be an issue with them. Evidently they had some intellectual property rights to these things.
Anyway....long-story-short....while we were 100% USA made....I was unwilling to be "held-up" by this company and pay the extra % they wanted to put MY countries flag on MY products. The buzz was you could not use a flag on your product without paying somebody to use it. DUH!!! I refused....but nobody could prevent you from saying Made in the USA in words.....sans the flag. Seems somebody always has their finger in my pie.
Its becoming almost impossible to be 100% made in the USA anymore. And I fear we will regret it.
Oh just frakking great.
There are so many people on here that say that their is no American Steel. My brothers company Construction Attachments and the tractor implements that we are building uses American Steel from Nucor Steel which has foundries all over the US.
Our prices will never be as high as Woods, Landpride, and Bush Hog, but we will be producing these types of superior equipment at a much better price point because there is no middle man, no distributors, and no sales reps. The end consumer is purchasing direct which saves money.
At first we will be keeping it simple by only building landscaping and gardening equipment with no intentions of building loaders, backhoes or rotary cutters. Quality by Design is our trademark, and we will be able to keep our costs down because we do not have the enormous overhead. We will also never re-brand and sell our implements in a "Box Store". They will only be available on our website for purchase.
It is the small things that count and we are already fabricating several key components so that we will be more in control of our inventory and not have our implements waiting three months on components to get here from China.
Made in the USA means a lot to me, and to the people that work for me, and it definitely means something to the new American employees that now have jobs because of this venture. If it has our name on it, it's going to be made in the USA and it is going to be the GOOD STUFF.
Quality by Design - Buy Direct!:thumbsup:
