I was talking to a norwegian Bahco rep today while he fed me hotdogs and catalogs.
I asked him if Bahco would be willing to warranty or offer spare parts for tools that interchange in SO, BP and Bahco tools, such as the dual 80 ratchets, ratcheting screwdrivers or impacts.
He said that even though Bahco was owned by SO and his paycheck said SNA Europe-Norge that he could not warranty those tools, only the ones that are marked Bahco. Not a surprise, but a question worth asking.
We started discussing COO after I asked him whether or not the Bahco 8150 I was holding had the SO dual 80 mechanism. He confirmed that SO has factories in Taiwan and China. He said he didn't remember anything that was made in the chinese factory, I pointed out the 24" Bahco adjustable wrench, and he did admit to remembering that one.
He had a lot of stuff on great prices, nothing I needed or wanted unfortunately. I must say though, the 8150 did not feel as amazing as I had imagined after all the dual 80 hype, definitely not worth the premium price.
It's not looking good for the warranty man.