Discussion Caselabs coming back?

[dlerious]

Just watched a GN video and it appears Caselabs has been bought and the new owners are bringing it back. . Hopefully it's the same quality and not someone just using the name to over charge.

HW News - CaseLabs Resurrected, Linux Gaming Grows, Valve Steam Deck Updates

This week, we have news spanning both hardware and technology. First off, a GN exclusive: CaseLabs is coming back from the dead. The remnants of the company have been purchased by a new owner and will be put back into action.

www.gamersnexus.net

 

[Heartbreaker]

I suspect the will be manufactured in China now. One nice thing about Caselabs was that it was made in the USA.

“The immediate plan is to bring the original line-up back into production, which will not be an easy task. The parts will be in a flat, unfolded, state and there is no instructions for how to fold the parts so me and my manufacturers [...] will have to work out how to fold each individual part.”

That's a pretty big sign, that no original employees are coming back to work, and this will be just be Made in China once they figure it out. Needs a big price drop to justify the switch to China.

 

[KentState]

I suspect the will be manufactured in China now. One nice thing about Caselabs was that it was made in the USA.



That's a pretty big sign, that no original employees are coming back to work, and this will be just be Made in China once they figure it out. Needs a big price drop to justify the switch to China.

They may have been based in the US, but still used components and materials out of China.

 

[DaaQ]

They may have been based in the US, but still used components and materials out of China.

What might those have been? be specific.

 

[KentState]

What might those have been? be specific.

That is the entire reason they went out of business. They blamed the tariffs on components and materials coming out of China so it had to be significant enough.

 

[dlerious]

That is the entire reason they went out of business. They blamed the tariffs on components and materials coming out of China so it had to be significant enough.

The Official statement I saw said tariffs (raw aluminum) increased 80% and a large customer defaulting. They were creating the parts in USA, the raw materials (aluminum) came from China. It wasn't one of those assembled in USA deals.

 

[Ajay]

Well, if they are smart, they'll have assembly done in Vietnam or Malaysia. I just don’t think 'artisan' cases made in the US will work. The company will be too small for a full blown automated system. I think Mountain Mods is still around - but they use very simple case structures.

 

[kschendel]

I rather suspect that the lack of original employees returning, assuming that's a true statement, is because they have long since found other jobs and don't care to gamble their family's income twice.

Denigrating "Made in China" is IMO a bit of a cheap shot. Poor quality comes from "Made in XXX (china, whatever), American management doesn't care." One can get top quality work out of skilled workers all over the globe but you don't always get it just by talking about it, and you certainly don't get it by talking quality and then bringing the hammer down on expenses / costs which is what so often happens. If you convince the line management, supervisors, workers that you're serious about quality you will get it. This often takes time and a personal touch which too many execs aren't willing to invest in.

 

[Heartbreaker]

Denigrating "Made in China" is IMO a bit of a cheap shot. Poor quality comes from "Made in XXX (china, whatever), American management doesn't care." One can get top quality work out of skilled workers all over the globe but you don't always get it just by talking about it, and you certainly don't get it by talking quality and then bringing the hammer down on expenses / costs which is what so often happens. If you convince the line management, supervisors, workers that you're serious about quality you will get it. This often takes time and a personal touch which too many execs aren't willing to invest in.

Since I was that Poster I will clarify. It wasn't about quality, that is TBD wherever production gets done.

1: It was about losing more North American manufacturing.
2: If it is moving to China, then it's a shot against supporting totalitarian regime.