can made in usa frames we can import in India also tell what is start price
can made in usa frames we can import in India also tell what is start price
Shuron shuron shuron!
Also some Artcraft and, if you can find them, some Universal/Univis. There are also some custom makers and some who make short (a dozen or so) runs of thier designs.Originally Posted by deadrat1
I know this is an old thread, but...
I seriously doubt Fezz would give up any of his beer money!
Bryan Finley, Florida Board Certified Licensed Dispensing Optician
The school has already been thought of:
Jacqui's School For Wayward And Undereducated Lab Techs And Opticians.
They do have the knowhow by now.........................
I have been watching this thread for while and maybe I can add my 2 cents now.
As R.Baker has said there was no important frame manufacturing in the USA as of the early 1970s. European imports became more important as they had better design and technology.
In the mid to late 90s all the important frame manufacturers started to move their factories to the far east. They moved all their latest machinery which continued to manufacture the same models and new ones of the same quality and nobody even new about it. All they did was training different people to do the jobs at a fraction of the salaries paid in Europe working with the same materials and the machinery that had been made in Europe.
Hinges all came out the 1 or 2 companies that were producing them and so were the screws. Same with the metal profiles and the plastic materials. Every manufacturer used the same sources for these items.
In the late 70s and the 80s the universities in Europe and North America were flooded with Chinese students racing through the programs and finishing with the highest honors.
Now they are producing just about all the frames on the market and have learned a lot over the last 20 years. If you are willing to pay top pricing, (still a lot cheaper than in the west) you can also get top quality. It all depends on who is the purchaser and what he wants.
China, india, Pakistan....wherever...
Today's frames are *still* designed like *sh##*!
No imagination, original styling nor improved convenience.
Am I alone with this thought here?
Bueller?
B
Last edited by Barry Santini; 03-13-2010 at 02:18 PM.
Like many other manufactured products that moved off-shore the manufacturers of ophthalmic frames in the United States found themselves under increased government regulations which put them at a competitive disadvantage. First of all, along came OSHA followed close behind by the EPA. This supposedly well intentioned legislation ended up having the unintended consequence of forcing many companies to move off shore or close their doors.
The center for gold filled eyewire and findings was in Southeastern Massachusetts particularly in the Attleboro area. That's all gone now, not through any design or technological shortcoming but rather through lower labor costs off-shore.
One of the advantages of starting a new business be it manufacturing steel or ophthalmic frames is that you get to start out with new tools of production. This was the case with metal frames as the new off shore factories had the latest robotic laser welding equipment while the poor schleps at Titmus were using gas tanks from 1920.
Another factor that has contributed to the continuing loss of manufacturing capability in the United States is the aforementioned government regulations. Some foreign governments actually support business. Japan is the classic case where the government encourages and assists business. Even the labor unions partner with companies to see that both grow and prosper. This is certainly not the case in the US. Taxation and fees alone put the American manufacturer at a disadvantage before a single unit is produced. Furthermore, the American labor force is not what it used to be. Try to find someone who can use a micrometer or run a CNC machine.
"No child left behind"
Impossible? No.
Just lower the standards.
This is the gist of the onoing arguement why we can't agree upon more stringent requirements for opticians.
"some of the eggs would break"
B
Funny, here....Our last Oakley order which was this past fall.....all the ophthalmics were "backordered." When they finally came in, they had completely new part numbers or skus. Along with this was, "china" stamped on the temple. So Oakley's are now from Luxottica, I mean China. It's as if they loaded up the machines, put them on a boat and backordered everything until they offloaded the machines in China.
We actually have a community college in town here that in order to graduate the machinist program, you must program the CNC machine to make something. The year I toured the college, they had to make a chess board and all the Chess players. I cannot fathom that. We have the skills and the technology. It can be done.
As far as the regulations, DDT was cheaper than Roundup. Vioxx was a good drug, people who died from taking it should have been tougher. Birth defects Smirth defects. I miss the go old days when rivers caught on fire. No pesky fish to get in the way of the chemical dumping. Acid rain, who cares that's Canada's problem.
Here's an old article on some river pollution in China...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2...77932523_x.htm
It's as if they loaded up the machines, put them on a boat...........................
I had a renter in my building, who after 27 years coating welding rods decided to sell his 30 yearl machine to the Chinese. It took a week to disassemble and load into 2 containers and it was gone.
Now they are improting from there. Probably happening every day in any field.
Here's a story about an American manufacturer and how they stand behind their product. NOT!!!
We have a couple of customers that will wear only the Artcraft Art-Bilt rimless. So a couplemonths ago he comes in, we order his frame. I mentioned this briefly in another thread. Well, the endpiece broke off while I was assembling it. The endpiece/mount tab used to be one piece but now they are all separate pieces. So the endpiece broke off. It was clearly a cold solder. We ordered another frame front. Endpiece again broke off during assembly. Ordered a third front, finally got one soldered together enough to dispense. Now my distributor got their credit from ArtCraft -- MINUS25%..FOR DEFECTIVE PRODUCT THAT NEVER MADE IT TO THE CONSUMER!!! Those two fronts never even made it through initial assembly!
They are getting a blister in their inbox today!
DragonlensmanWV N.A.O.L.
"There is nothing patriotic about hating your government or pretending you can hate your government but love your country."
Kala by golden gate optical based out of hayward, ca. They have some pretty cool stuff but do not think there website is up and running. They will press a new catolog after the show.
Yes, but are they made in the USA?? Or is this an American company that has them made elsewhere??
Ok...what's your definition of "made"?
-Start to finish in US?
-Assembled in US?
-Manufactured in US, assembled elsewhere?
-Materials from US, manufactured elsewhere?
-Manufactured in US, plated elsewhere?
and there are more combos...
Ophthalmic Optician, Society to Advance Opticianry
Kala makes very nice stuff right here at their small factory in the SF bay area.
Made in usa...............................
Just love your website advertising frames made in the USA and showing Chinese charaters on the upper right hand. when clicking on it you get into the chinese version of the site. MADE IN USA...............................
Woa. Slow down Chris on the reply, and re-read. I wasnt saying that OUR frames are made in the USA. Our frames are built in Italy and Japan. I was confirming that the aforementioned KALA Eyewear/Golden Gate Optical makes their frames here in the USA.
Also, our site does not say "made in the USA". It says "S.F Born" That is the way that we handle the fact that our frames are designed in the USA and built other places. We would love to work with a manufacturer here in the USA if you could tell me of one that does quality work! Which i believe is the whole point of this thread.
And last is, those "Chinese" characters are actually Japanese. We have a Japanese version of our site because we sell quite a bit of product in Japan" I hope thats ok. I know they all "look the same". lol. However, I do aspire to have a Chinese version and actually have a US owned company sell something back to them for a change!
Doug
Just to add on to this.
From our perspective as frame designers/assemblers but not manufactures per se. We don't use foreign sources as a matter of pricing, for us its about quality. We design our frames here in SF, have a hinge custom built in Italy, which is then sent to Japan for insertion into a frame that is then sent to us here in the US to send to local accounts or back to Europe. It would be much less expensive to use local vendors if we could find the quality.
So, where do you say our frames are made? All over i guess. Thats the global economy and i dont think its changing anytime soon and i think thats good. That being said i would love to work with a frame maker here in the US as the guys at the factory in Japan don't always get my jokes.
PM sent!
kala...made in California, very cool frames and well priced.
Jana Lewis
ABOC , NCLE
A fine quotation is a diamond on the finger of a man of wit, and a pebble in the hand of a fool.
Joseph Roux
I remember when I started in the business in the late 70's - USA brand advertising was all about how useful they were, how well they held the newfangled progressive lenses, and how many temple lengths they came in. European brands were all about the style and innovation in materials, color and shape.
"I'd rather not achieve immortality through my work, I'd rather achieve it by not dying" - Woody Allen
"From the sharks in the penthouse to the rats in the basement, it's not that far" -Kirsty McColl, "Walking Down Madison"
If you are worried about the lead content, ask the manufacturer if they have on record statements from their vendors that their products do not have lead, or meet USA and European RoHS (more stringent than US) requirements. I worked for a large frame company, and was in charge of collecting that material, along with material content information outlining the source and makeup of each component. They probably won't send it to you, but you can find out.
"I'd rather not achieve immortality through my work, I'd rather achieve it by not dying" - Woody Allen
"From the sharks in the penthouse to the rats in the basement, it's not that far" -Kirsty McColl, "Walking Down Madison"
Remember also at that time there was the grey frame or the brown frame.
And the temple joints never lined up.
"I'd rather not achieve immortality through my work, I'd rather achieve it by not dying" - Woody Allen
"From the sharks in the penthouse to the rats in the basement, it's not that far" -Kirsty McColl, "Walking Down Madison"
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