Foreign

[rddvet]

Where are their scooters made? Or their regs?

(I believe it's Italy and Italy.)

Arent' their regs just rebranded Scubapro?

[a64pilot]

I've just done some work with a small company called Microaerodynamics, they make vortex generators for aircraft. Long story short when we were conforming an installation for a FAA flight test we discovered the placement of the VG's were slightly off and the error compounded. Took a look at the tape measure they supplied and it was the culprit. Well after that the President of the company found out the tape measure was Chinese manufactured eventhough it was bought from an American company and advertised to be American made. Seems at least the measuring tape part comes from China, maybe assembled here?
She went on a search for an American made tape, it was difficult, but she found only one.
Anything more complicated than a measuring tape, I think you would be hard pressed to find 100% US made.

[mdax]

I'll take italy before china for 200.

Bobby, what percentage of your light is assembled and/or made in the US?
How much is made in china?
How specific of a breakdown could we get from various manufacturers to make better comparisons?

[Bobby]

I'll take italy before china for 200.

Bobby, what percentage of your light is assembled and/or made in the US?
How much is made in china?
How specific of a breakdown could we get from various manufacturers to make better comparisons?

100% of our lights are assembled here in Jacksonville FL. All of the CNC machining is in the U.S. with me doing some machining here in Jacksonville as well. We also designed our lights from the ground up. We made and have all of the CAD drawings as well as having designed the battery packs for our lights.

It would be a lot of difficult work to put an exact percentage of materials however we use very little from China, over 95% not made in China should be safe to say. Our SS clips on the head and Goodman handle are made in China. We have not been able to find a better quality SS clip than what we have found made in China or Taiwan. As I said earlier sub components, for some of the parts that we use, we do not know for sure where they are manufactured. Some components such as the Li-ION cells there simply is not a U.S. manufacturer that has a reliable and competitive product, though our cells are manufactured in Korea not China.

As far as a specific component by component break down of where our parts are made I doubt any manufacturer would be willing to do that. It is a good bit of work to research and develop relationships with suppliers, especially high quality components, and making it easier for others is not in our best interests. Dr. X will attest to the amount of time I spend grinding over small details or finding a product that will make our lights better.

I would also like to clearly state that I am not on any crusade against manufacturing in China. We believe in our products and that they are of the highest quality. We also believe in honest marketing. We have and never will try to hide that we use components manufactured in other countries. We also are completely comfortable with stating that our products are manufactured in the U.S.. What we don't like is when any company takes a product completely manufactured, assembled, & packaged in another country (like China or anywhere else for that matter), has it shipped to the U.S., then repackages it in a different box, and sells it in a way that misleads the consumer. As I have said before I carry an Intova mask light. For its purpose and cost it fits the application. I knew what I was buying at the time and Intova clearly informs the consumer about their products. I don't rely on the Intova as a back up to get me out of a cave because I have seen them fail other divers too many times even though mine has been reliable for over a year. For a back up light that I do depend on to get me out of a cave or any over head I use Light Monkey's 3w BU. They are a high quality manufacturer here in the U.S. that has proven that their products will stand up to the type of diving I do. Until the day comes that we decide to build our own back up I will use another manufacturers product that has proven their reliability and has a track record of providing high quality service.