Classe move to China

Running well out of the baselines...

Comment to Danlib 1, mass murderers can have insights too. While Marx/Lenin were light-years off on the workers' utopia, their critique of capitalism was quite accurate. You cannot separate greed from capitalism. The pursuit of self-interest is the heart and soul of the system.

One of the best and most entertaining descriptions of the corrosive effects of monopolistic capitalism is F. Coppola's "The Godfather" I and II. "It's not personal... it's strictly business."

I have always heard the Lenin quote as, "When it comes time to hang the capitalists they will sell us the rope."

He may be right when you consider the technology transfers that we have made to China.

Okay Onhwy61, since you seem to dislike capitalism so much; What economic model would you rather have than capitalism?

Hi and Happy New Year.

Just caught this thread. I don't own Classe equipment -- never heard it. I'm writing to echo as loudly as is possible - given that nobody can "hear" a blog -- that I too join the protest about the loss of US/Canadian jobs to offshore countries. There are way too many folks out of work here and companies ought to think not just about the bottom line but also the interests of other stakeholders, such as loyal employees and the country at large.

I live in the Philly area. For those who might not know, Philly was once a blue collar manufacturing mecca that employed hundreds of thousands of people. Great names that are no-more include Daroff (Botany 500 suits), Lukens Steel, Bethleham Steel, Budd Mnf'ing, Cross Bros meats, the US Navy Yard, ship yards, chemicals, and the list goes on. No more.

Another factoid that may surprise some -- the Delaware Valley region produced roughly 10% of all war materiel manfg'ed during WWII. No more.

Another factoid. PA is thinking about privatizing the state owned liquor system. Isn't that great?? Just think, booz will be 2 bucks cheaper for a fifth. But what about the State Store employees that will be let go? What are they going to do. Go on welfare???

The failure of US/Canadian industry to recognize this trend and reverse it will ultimately come to realize that in the fullness of time, it will be self defeating. What's the point of being able to make Classe amps for a grand or two cheaper overseas if there's no one around to buy the amps. Maybe the analogy is not applicable with hi-end audio, but it certainly is with everyday consumables.

That my 2 cents worth on the subject for 2012. Boo, boo to Classe and other companies like it. Buy North American made!! BTW, look at my system -- pretty much all my stuff is made here (US or Canada).

Will moving to China devalue the brand? Will quality suffer?

To me? Absolutely.
I work with a company that moved some of its manufacturing to China and the initial product suffered horrible reliability problems.
The job loss is an even more important aspect. Two years ago I was shopping for a new car for my wife. We narrowed it down to a Ford or a Toyota. The Ford was made in Mexico, the Toyota in Kentucky. Made in USA was the deciding factor.