Lone Wolf Question

[MOBIGBUCKS]

I have a dumb question for Dan or anyone else that may know Are Lone Wolf stands made in China now? I keep hearing this over on Archerytalk and I am wondering if there was any truth to it. This is probably old news, but I haven't heard anything about this topic at all. Thanks

[dan]

I have a dumb question for Dan or anyone else that may know Are Lone Wolf stands made in China now? I keep hearing this over on Archerytalk and I am wondering if there was any truth to it. This is probably old news, but I haven't heard anything about this topic at all. Thanks

Yes... All new stands will be coming from a Chinese manufacture. Its a tough econimy a lot of companys have been going over seas... Looks like its going to get even tougher for L/W because a lot of the people who have been loyal for many years are now turning on them.
I don't think there choice was an easy one. I have heard thru the grapevine that before going over seas they were trying to sell the company. I am sure they are just trying to stay a float like the rest of us.

[MOBIGBUCKS]

Wow..That is surprising, but I can understand why they did it. Dan, do you think this will affect the quality of the stands made? Are you gonna still sell and use them?

[Sam Ubl]

Quality? Of course the quality will be affected... You get what you pay for, and that's exactly why I won't throw a single musky reel that I depend on if it has a part from any Asian location. Made in Sweden or USA is all good.

I for one, will not be purchasing any of the China made stands... I depend on my reels to protect me from heartbreak and aid in my tournament fishing and I depend on my treestand to keep me alive. Tough economy or not, the tougher part is the reality of what people are willing to spend their hard earned money on and if I'm going to spend a few hundred on a treestand, then I'm buying something I can trust... No pitty here.

[dan]

Wow..That is surprising, but I can understand why they did it. Dan, do you think this will affect the quality of the stands made? Are you gonna still sell and use them?

I will still use them. I am pretty well set on stands right now and don't plan on buying any new ones anytime soon. But for me, I need the system that the L/W Alpha has with the sticks in order to hunt the way I hunt. No other stand reproduces that system. If one did, I would have no problem buying a different brand if I can keep it as quiet as the cast stand... I will continue to sell them.
I wish they would of went over seas with one model, like an econimy model or something rather than sending everything to china. But bottom line is they gotta stay afloat too..
As far as quality? They recently sent me an email explaining that they have already put some of the chinese stands thru the testing and they get the same ratings as the American made stands...
I worked close with Andrae for years when he owned L/W and I personally know a lot of the guys that lost there jobs over the move to China. This is a situation where nobody wins.

[Sam Ubl]

That's exactly it, Dan. In the way of conversation surrounding a struggling economy, their choice to move everything across seas is another feather on the camels back. In the mode of supply and demand, if the demand is there, where's their hole in the sinking boat? If demand has wavered negatively, then decrease production to align with the current trend...

Sending production to China to stay afloat means in simplistic terms, getting a raise. If the demand is there, which it must be for them to send their product over seas, then I guess their not making enough off the top - but for how many years was that not the case? So we get used to living on a wage, but their is always that desire to grow bigger, either personally or business-wise.

Whatever, I'm happy with my pair of L/W's, and their about 3 years old now. American made as it was described to me when I bought them, and IMO, they will last me MANY more years. . .

I just hate the NAFTA

[virginiashadow]

My 7 year old daughter is a very smart litte girl. A few weeks I was at a hardware store with her and she picked up a little item. As we were driving down the road without any prompting she says, "Dad, how come everything we buy has CHINA written on it?".

If the American Government wants American companies to stay Domestic they need to devise a system of rewards for those companies that choose to stay on American soil. If not, prepare for all of our companies that operate with raw materials such as LW to move elsewhere.

SAM, to dislike NAFTA is to dislike a truly capitalistic economy. Our coutry was founded on economic freedoms. Although I dislike the company moving to another country, I support it philosophically.

[dan]

If the American Government wants American companies to stay Domestic they need to devise a system of rewards for those companies that choose to stay on American soil. If not, prepare for all of our companies that operate with raw materials such as LW to move elsewhere.

Exactly... If our country would tax imported products heavy enough that you still saved some money buying forein but not boatloads of cash, less companys would move and the money coming in from the taxes would boost the ecomimy.
Seems like a simple fix.

[NatureBoy]

I won't throw a single musky reel that I depend on if it has a part from any Asian location.

That, Sam, is an unfortunate statement and opinion in my opinion. Japan has been making superior quality reels, bicycle gear and product in general for decades now. China is a different story. I think it's extremely unfair to lump them all in the "Asia" category. MHO

[Sam Ubl]

SAM, to dislike NAFTA is to dislike a truly capitalistic economy. Our coutry was founded on economic freedoms. Although I dislike the company moving to another country, I support it philosophically.

Hmmm... You see the candy shell but the core reality behind our capitalistic nation is that our easy trade flow across seas allows for BILLIONS of dollars in generic copied American products produced by other countries, especially Asia - and NatureBOY, I'm not playing a race card Free Trade has allowed for broken homes within our boarders and millions of dollars moved out of this country. Furthermore, Mexico, for example, has no abatement laws, nor do they have workmans comp or the employee benefits we have - is that fair? How about where our cotton comes from??

I'll tell you what, I have my degree in Economics and I've done extensive research on the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) - I aint BSing around here.

NatureBOY, you be careful before you start getting close to pulling a race card out on me! A passion and a side profession of mine is fishing for money - LOTS of money. I've got more experience wrapped up in fishing than most because of my devotion to it and spoken as a natureMAN, I don't spend my money on anything made in China or Korea or Japan. I suppose the thousands that would support that comment should be enough to discredit your "facts", but as it is, my opinions are based off experience, are yours? Apples to apples??

As for supporting the philosophy, in particular, that our Country was founded on Economic Freedoms, but that's only because Trade flow amounts to a sliver of the pie in speaking with regards to economic freedoms. . . I'm not trying to be a know-it-all, but I AM stressing the point that you get what you pay for. Why do Okuma reels slip and backreel/freespool (I blew up two). Why do Abu Garcia RECORDS made in China blow up and free spool (I blew up 3!!) Why has the new one (4th one) that I had Abu Garcia send me and was made in Sweden, lasted me two seasons?

Imported products are great - so long as their made of superior quality, but simplistic products like fishing reels or treestands??

A lot of comments thrown at me here so here's my question. Why does the USA send our production to Asian countries?

Quality America stands up for just that, Quality in America. I know first hand, since I work in Quality at an Engineering facility, that we take more than pride in customer service, our product can't and won't be beat. How do we ensure such a product?? By taking care of the guys in the shop who manufacture these products and do it right. Mass production on complex robot assembly lines in some countries just do not ensure quality like some other countries.

And I'll say one last thing before giving this up and that is that it's the GREED in those who make the decisions to produce over seas that causes job losses, broken homes/families and poverty in this country! In context with the point of this thread, LW's demand for their product CAN be met by our in-house production plants, but because of the cheapness of labor across seas, etc, they see $ signs - plain and simple! I don't have any committment to LW, so I'm not gonna beat around the bush - nor will the loads of people on whatever sight the guy who started this thread saw talking about it with disapproval.

[MOBIGBUCKS]

Sam,

Thanks for your input You have very valid points and have brought to my attention things I had'nt even thought about. With that being said, what stand do you use now? Do you use an american made LW? If not, what other US manufacturer of treestands builds a stand of the same quality as LW? I'm talking cast platform etc, quiet, etc? I'm just trying to get an idea of my options, if I buy another treestand in the near future. A couple years back, Loggy Bayou made a stand called the Predator pro staff and it was similar to the LW alpha. However, I do not know if that platform was cast made.

SAM, to dislike NAFTA is to dislike a truly capitalistic economy. Our coutry was founded on economic freedoms. Although I dislike the company moving to another country, I support it philosophically.

Hmmm... You see the candy shell but the core reality behind our capitalistic nation is that our easy trade flow across seas allows for BILLIONS of dollars in generic copied American products produced by other countries, especially Asia - and NatureBOY, I'm not playing a race card Free Trade has allowed for broken homes within our boarders and millions of dollars moved out of this country. Furthermore, Mexico, for example, has no abatement laws, nor do they have workmans comp or the employee benefits we have - is that fair? How about where our cotton comes from??

I'll tell you what, I have my degree in Economics and I've done extensive research on the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) - I aint BSing around here.

NatureBOY, you be careful before you start getting close to pulling a race card out on me! A passion and a side profession of mine is fishing for money - LOTS of money. I've got more experience wrapped up in fishing than most because of my devotion to it and spoken as a natureMAN, I don't spend my money on anything made in China or Korea or Japan. I suppose the thousands that would support that comment should be enough to discredit your "facts", but as it is, my opinions are based off experience, are yours? Apples to apples??

As for supporting the philosophy, in particular, that our Country was founded on Economic Freedoms, but that's only because Trade flow amounts to a sliver of the pie in speaking with regards to economic freedoms. . . I'm not trying to be a know-it-all, but I AM stressing the point that you get what you pay for. Why do Okuma reels slip and backreel/freespool (I blew up two). Why do Abu Garcia RECORDS made in China blow up and free spool (I blew up 3!!) Why has the new one (4th one) that I had Abu Garcia send me and was made in Sweden, lasted me two seasons?

Imported products are great - so long as their made of superior quality, but simplistic products like fishing reels or treestands??

A lot of comments thrown at me here so here's my question. Why does the USA send our production to Asian countries?

Quality America stands up for just that, Quality in America. I know first hand, since I work in Quality at an Engineering facility, that we take more than pride in customer service, our product can't and won't be beat. How do we ensure such a product?? By taking care of the guys in the shop who manufacture these products and do it right. Mass production on complex robot assembly lines in some countries just do not ensure quality like some other countries.

And I'll say one last thing before giving this up and that is that it's the GREED in those who make the decisions to produce over seas that causes job losses, broken homes/families and poverty in this country! In context with the point of this thread, LW's demand for their product CAN be met by our in-house production plants, but because of the cheapness of labor across seas, etc, they see $ signs - plain and simple! I don't have any committment to LW, so I'm not gonna beat around the bush - nor will the loads of people on whatever sight the guy who started this thread saw talking about it with disapproval.

[dan]

L/W is the only stand manufacture that can cast the platform cause of there patent... But that patent is about to expire and then I would expect more companies to start casting.
However, the majority of treestands are made over seas..

[NatureBoy]

I've got more experience wrapped up in fishing than most because of my devotion to it and spoken as a natureMAN

Cute Sam. Can't believe that your passion would cause you to lower yourself to the point of picking on my user name . The facts speak for themselves. No need for me to say more.

[NatureBoy]

Yes... All new stands will be coming from a Chinese manufacture.

Wow, that's really sad. It'll be interesting to see what the futures holds for the company. I just don't think I would trust Chinese manufacture quality 25' up in a tree.

[Wrinkleneck]

I'm with you Sam!!