Originally Posted By: doitmyself
That AES site puts out some serious marketing and sales hype. I almost have to believe that their Ranger and American Forge lines are Chinese made and AES tries to make them out as established US companies. Kind of like Northern Tool makes their jacks out to be quality products.
They build an image to make you feel good about their products. "If its good enough for GM's proving grounds.....?" What do you guys think?
Same thoughts here as well. The response from their fellow:
"Thank you for your interest in our products.
We sometimes get this question:
Are anybody's products made in US anymore?
Ranger and American Forge & Foundry are American companies,
but manufacture much of their equipment in part, or in whole in asia.
Our Jacks from AC Hydraulic are made in Denmark, and are truly top-of-the-line.
It has become a common technique among American Companies,
to make their products overseas due to the cheap labor.
Most US manufacturers do this.
The components are made overseas, (usually Asia), and then assembled here.
I am not aware of any company that is not doing this to some degree.
There could be some, I'm just not aware of them.
With this being so common, your main concern should be quality of construction.
There are many cheap manufacturers that use sub-par components and poor quality construction,
and there are manufacturers that maintain top quality standards, even while using cheaper Asian labor.
There's no getting around using Asian labor for the most part.
I can assure you that the folks at American Forge & Foundry and Ranger maintain strict quality standards and components,
such as double-sealed hydraulics, and are good, solid professional-quality equipment manufacturers.
Their products are made to withstand commercial shop use, and we have sold their products with
almost entirely positive feedback from customers.
We refuse to carry every equipment manufacturer under the sun, just because they are cheap.
We make sure they maintain high quality and safety standards.
Please feel free to contact me with any further questions.
I look forward to serving you."
I promptly replied that he would not get my business. The reply I received from Matco regarding their jacks was palatable:
All 3 country of origin: China
Thank you
What is the country of origin for your floor jacks?
Part#: MFJ214Part#: MFJ35APart#: MFJ15
Thank you.
Originally Posted By: doitmyself
Those Danish jacks look good. But, if I am getting up into those $$$$ (not throw away), I worry about parts availability a few years down the line (hard to predict with any brand now a days).
That is the same worry that I have.
