Vise Grips Moves to China

Blame it on obscene profits... A company isn't happy anymore scraping by, making only 75 million bucks a year, the need to make 76 million...

If vise grips did 10 million in business for the last 80 years, then had a good year and did 11 million, the next year when sales "plummeted" back to ten million they'd call it a loss and move over seas.

And trust me, these companies get plenty of tax breaks, why do you think you and I pay so much? Someone's gotta make up for it. Let's not forget about cooperate welfare...

 

THink they will be cheaper $$$$ or just cheaper quality?

This actually is a bit surprising with the deflation of the dollar and the increase in the value of the Renminbi. And the import tax on finished goods.

I represent a few companies that compete with China...I can now sell cheaper than China!!!! With a shorter lead time. This was impossible 2 years ago.

But once you loose a manufacturing facility like vise grip ...it is very hard to start a new one.

 

chinese workers ?
you know the communist government owns all these companys ?

 

Total bummer for the Ne. home boys and girls. Big business sure can be cruel. Pride, Quality, Service, no thanks!!-gimme the low price!!-Sad-Sololobo

 

what? no competition? have you looked around?

you appear to assume that any company has an obligation to employ people...their main obligation is to the stockholders. they own it. the workers were paid for the work they did...the owners took the financial risk ,they can make a ton of money,or lose their ass. until your money is in and you are the owner you really have no say. if vice grip lost money this tear will any of you pitch in to help them?

you have a free will to work there are not..they have the free will to hire you or not

 

They can't sell the China made crap here if no one will buy it. Ultimatley its up to us the consumer. SO STOP BUYING LOW QUALITY FOREIGN MADE CRAP.

 

Thats great, just what we need, more chinese junk.

 

I bet the cost does not come down ,just more for the ceo.

 

Your so right. And I am glad I have alot of vice grips of all sizes and all styles so I won't have to buy any of the china version.

 

You are definitely right. Unfortunately and sadly, easy sound bites are going to solve this problem for us.

 

There are no unions in China, or retirement payouts to their workers. Not much in pollution controls or comp insurance, etc.
That almost makes is worth it for large companies. If the US wouldnt just have a collective coronary from GM or Ford for moving to China, I think they would.
they almost have to to survive.

But I heard that as the average quality of life goes up in China, the labor costs will go up, and so will the production costs.
So in the fairly near future, some companies may see China as not the place to be. Some are already setting up in Viet Nam, India, Indonesia.

I still do my best to not buy Chinese or other offshore shit. But its getting hard to find US made everything.

 

That stude trucks guy... what he said... pretty much nails it.

 

Carl Douglas thinks thats a great idea.

 

Yeah, we know. It is pretty sad when a communist government can play us like puppets and beat us at our own game playing us against ourselves. That is the saddest part of the whole thing. The American Varsity team against the American JV team. Event hosted by the varsity team on the home turf and sponsored by China. Varsity team stomping the JV team's ass and then blaming it all on the JV team for losing. China takes the ticket sales, Varisty team gets the profit and the JV team gets the blame and the boot. See you at the next game. Be sure to invite your friends and family next time as well. Advanced ticket sales for future games at Walmart and the stock market.

 

please, tell me why ...if it even happens...why that would be wrong? is it against the law? it's called capitalism...it is what made our country. ever here of Henry Ford or Thomas Edison?

should all income and profits be redistributed evenly with everyone in the country? that's called socialism...last time looked that did not work to well in russia

not to pick on you alone , i just see lot of mis-information here. if someone can not better himself and make more than the other guy there is no reason for anyone to go to work in the morning


i guess i'll finish up my rant...sit back...and wait for my government check in the mail

 

Hmmm. It's a small world. Just got off the phone with the great grandson of the founder of Vice Grips. I worked with the great grandson before I retired. Quickly, he was telling me of how his great grandfather started to company. Then how it got pass down to the other family members, and before it was sold, to my friend's dad.

He went on to describe how, even the lay out of the factory was,how it was done not only for efficiency, but the forging, for cleanliness.

Then how when his dad sold the company in 1985, how the new company came in, and right away wanted to move the management from the small town of Dewitt to Lincoln, so their wives would have a better place to go shopping and a better house than was was available in the small town.

This Great grandson, went on to tell me how top heavy in management the new became. Of how some of the forgings were sent out to China, and sometimes batches of the forgings would be sent back to Dewitt for assembly, and how bad the quality was then.

Dan, went on in 1985 and pursued avaition. That's where I know Dan from now, and we still kabitz on the phone every couple of days. and his dad Gary, I know him quite well also.

So it's a very sad day for the little town of Dewitt. Now approximately 300 workers will be out of a job, from a little company that once had over 1500 workers. It's going to devastate that little town's economy.

Something that always gets the bum rap is how the companies ship all their factories over seas to save money. Actually it's the investors in the companies that are the culprit. They're the ones screaming for more profits, so their stocks will go up. or get a higher paying dividend. 99.9% of the large manufacturing companies are the ones that are publicly traded. Those are the ones that went over seas.

But to have the executives getting their obscene salaries, while the grunts suffer

Anyway, learn how to plant a potato, cause that's what's going to be valuable in the somewhat near future.


Bad day for Dewitt, Nebraska and the ole U.S.A., another icon is gone.


HellRaiser

 

Damn Muttly, you should be commisioner of bad taste iconography...

 

This is so weird. I was just about to leave work today, unclamping a rear body panel for fitment. I was sitting there thinking how I need to buy more Vise Grips...you can never have enough in my line of work. Anyway, the newer ones have this fancy little script on the handle that says "Made in the USA", and I was thinking to myself "man that's rare these days, I better hurry up and get more before they say "Made in China". I came to the conclusion that I had plenty of time. They could have sold out a long time ago, and they haven't yet.

I don't see where they need to ship overseas to stay competitive. Hell, the fact that they were still made here was the biggest reason I bought them.They actually work! All the knockoff brands are junk. The joints get too lose with age and the jaws kick sideways and jump off...usually giving me blood blisters.

Didn't Irwin just buy out another big tool company? They can afford to do that....

 

that's right...you are free to buy from them or not.

i will not

 

392 hemi,

Make sure the blue jeans your wearing are made in the USA Levis are made in China now. Levis, Vise Grips what's next ??????????????????????????? I wonder if Wrangler jeans are US made? Stude trucks has it right we should be blaming big business..........................
CRUISER

 

Just one less thing for me to spend my money on

 

Wranglers are made in mexico with U.S fabric.

 

Whoa oh oh oh..........................whoa oh oh oh. HAHAHAHA.

 

Remember what has been said here the next time you tear out that Harbor Freight discount coupon to pick up an English wheel for $199. Even discounting the poor quality it couldn't be built and distributed here for twice that amount. Of course this problem couldn't possibly be blamed on us as consumers, RIGHT?

Frank

 

Hi Everyone,
What a sorry ass deal... One good company down the crapper. because of management wanting to make another extra buck, by selling a cheaper product... My son worked there at Dewitt, after he got his degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nebraska, in the early 90s.

Even Sam Walton of WalMart, was so in favor of buying American, passed on a Pro-American company to his heirs, who then started the Chinese revolution to gain market share... He probably rolls over in his grave, every damm day.. He was born and raised in Kingfisher, Ok, where that WalMart has a shrine inside about him...

Anyway, sorry to hear this news...duane

Duane Koss / Fort Sumner, New Mexico

 

HMMMM...."Food for thought" Pun intended.

Don't get mad, lets just get even, lets keep sending them beef with Mad Cow Disease.

HellRaiser

 

Nothing wrong with a reasonable profit as long as it is deserved and the people who helped you make it don't get their backs broken and the boot up the ass afterwards - that's called exploitation and is not respectable - not illegal, and not necessarily un-American apparently, just not respectable in my book.

Same with the scum bag oil companies now that I think of it. If they have such a problem with finding more oil to pump out of the ground, then I suggest pumping some of those obscene record breaking profits back to the consumers to help out. Profits are necessary, good steady profits are even better, ridiculous record breaking profits are exploitation.

But, yes, don't add taxes, regulations, fines, etc. to prevent it. Just stop buying the crap and that will end it eventually and teach other companies it is not in their long term best interest to do it. But, last I heard, Walmart wasn't hurting for customers. I would bet you $10, there is at least a handful of Vise Grip workers at a Walmart some where shopping away right now helping somebody else to get ready to lose their job. Sadly, when you don't have a job, that is your only real choice. The perfect, vicious cycle that keeps the game going and max. profits rolling up to the top - better known as the trickle up theory.

 

Rubbermaid,Irwin, and Vise-grips just lost my business...Fuckin quitters.....They meant to say "we have to move to China so that the White collar Exec's can make more Profits and get bigger bonuses"....

 

Guess I'd better take more care when welding now............ you can only weld them to the frame so many times

 

I agree, the vise grips you buy on the shelf today are much different than the ones from even 10 years ago. Different textures and the jaws are about half as durable as they used to be.

In some ways they were rapidly moving toward a chineese product manufactured domestically anyway.