To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Wiha made in CHINA!??

J

Jure

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 1, 2011
Messages
1,750
Location
Croatia
well today in our local tool store i bought Wiha softfinish,and COO on declaration is CHINA! (Zemlja podrijekla = COO) and on the handle it says "made in germany" :dunno: is there any chance that wiha screwdrivers are made in china and that they stamp "made in germany" in china???

COO on the label
126fzv5.png

stamp on the handle
rvymhu.png


and its not wrong declaration (i mean its not declaration for other screwdriver)
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
V

VolvoMan

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 6, 2012
Messages
88
Location
South Coast UK & Northern California (State Of Jef
As the label is made applied by the Croatian Distributor, and not the actual Manufacturer (who stamped the handle), I'd say the Croatian Distributor made a BooBoo, probably because most of the stuff they import is made in China, and they Cut & Paste into label templates.
 
OP
J

Jure

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 1, 2011
Messages
1,750
Location
Croatia
VolvoMan said:
As the label is made applied by the Croatian Distributor, and not the actual Manufacturer (who stamped the handle), I'd say the Croatian Distributor made a BooBoo, probably because most of the stuff they import is made in China, and they Cut & Paste into label templates.
Click to expand...

it must be that :lol_hitti
 
W

woody 73

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 14, 2009
Messages
11,540
Location
The Great State Up North
Question for you all; if the rules are very strict for the united States and where the tool is made does that rule apply to all the other Countries? or do they each make up their own rules?
 
L

lennoxlennox

Banned
Joined
Dec 15, 2008
Messages
1,026
woody 73 said:
Question for you all; if the rules are very strict for the united States and where the tool is made does that rule apply to all the other Countries? or do they each make up their own rules?
Click to expand...

NO

In Germany, to use the "Made in Germany" label has the very very strict requirement of only having to be 10% actually made in Germany! :lol_hitti

They have protested to change the requirement to be 45%!! :lol_hitti :willy_nil


http://www.thelocal.de/money/20120116-40137.html


hysterical, but sad, especially for those that criticize some of the US companies but promote the German ones.

Hysterical because "made in germany" doesn't mean diddly

Sad because of the tight standards here, we assume that must mean the same standards elsewhere and therefore penalize US companies and make purchasing decisions that might favor "made in germany" companies.


so wether Wiha is made in China or not... what does it matter? their made in germany label can cover up and deceive you into believing something that may not be what you expect


The bottom line - "Made in Germany" doesn't mean .... :monkey_po
 
Last edited:
C

CanUK

Well-known member
Joined
May 25, 2012
Messages
1,074
I can't believe there's so much speculation/concern over a random sticker that was slapped on it by some 3rd party in another country :dunno:

If it were true though it would be interesting to see whether the majority of the comments praising Wiha for their quality suddenly turned to rubbishing them. :)
 
M

Major Ramifications

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 28, 2005
Messages
4,673
Location
River Ridge, Louisiana
I bought a WIHA two piece driver bit (104 03 3.0) a few years ago. I remember one piece being made in China, but it could have been Taiwan. I'm pretty sure it was the "socket" part. The parts themselves don't have any COO stamped on them.
 
W

woody 73

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 14, 2009
Messages
11,540
Location
The Great State Up North
Interesting I learn something new everyday I had no idea about the 10% made in Germany rule. I always get a chuckle out of the sticker Made in the USA with Global componets...

As far as GJ members now taking a dislike to the whia tools (see above) I don't think that will happen as most of our members like their tools.
 
P

pipsters

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Messages
4,899
Location
USA
lennoxlennox said:
NO

In Germany, to use the "Made in Germany" label has the very very strict requirement of only having to be 10% actually made in Germany! :lol_hitti

They have protested to change the requirement to be 45%!! :lol_hitti :willy_nil


http://www.thelocal.de/money/20120116-40137.html


hysterical, but sad, especially for those that criticize some of the US companies but promote the German ones.

Hysterical because "made in germany" doesn't mean diddly

Sad because of the tight standards here, we assume that must mean the same standards elsewhere and therefore penalize US companies and make purchasing decisions that might favor "made in germany" companies.


so wether Wiha is made in China or not... what does it matter? their made in germany label can cover up and deceive you into believing something that may not be what you expect


The bottom line - "Made in Germany" doesn't mean .... :monkey_po
Click to expand...


That is very interesting. I won't be buying anything for it's "Made in Germany" designation that is for sure. Almost borders on false advertising. You have to wonder if Hazet tools are made nuts to bolts in Germany or just the final stamping. Maybe that is why their chrome is so durable - the socket is mostly manufactured overseas.
 
L

lennoxlennox

Banned
Joined
Dec 15, 2008
Messages
1,026
pipsters said:
That is very interesting. I won't be buying anything for it's "Made in Germany" designation that is for sure. Almost borders on false advertising. You have to wonder if Hazet tools are made nuts to bolts in Germany or just the final stamping. Maybe that is why their chrome is so durable - the socket is mostly manufactured overseas.
Click to expand...

EXACTLY

It's deliberate deception,

and it's deliberate theft.



If a product is 90% made in china and the final 10% gets made in germany - they proudly state "made in germany"

that **** doesn't fly here - we call it for what it is - made in china

NOT THEM - That's intentional deception.


It's intentional theft because you pay your premium with your hard earned dollars thinking you are buying something that you aren't. They put "made in germany" on their item knowing you will pay more for it - that's stealing.

It's intentional and they don't want to change even to 45% - what does that tell you about their ethics?

It's also stealing from US businesses because we look down our nose that has an item that states assembled in US (this item could be 30, 50 or even 75% made in the US but we don't state made in the US, we say assembled in the US.

Then we turn around and buy **** from germany because it says "made in germany". They steal from the US business and employees because we buy their products instead of something made here.
 
L

lbgradwell

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 21, 2007
Messages
4,707
Location
Oakville, ON
lennoxlennox said:
In Germany, to use the "Made in Germany" label has the very very strict requirement of only having to be 10% actually made in Germany! :lol_hitti

They have protested to change the requirement to be 45%!! :lol_hitti :willy_nil


http://www.thelocal.de/money/20120116-40137.html
Click to expand...

I didn't know this either and I'm absolutely appalled. :mad:

It means the OP's screwdriver probably really is made in China!

Unsatisfactory.

How has this never come up before?!!!
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
T

t1r2u3s4t

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 30, 2011
Messages
250
I think the screwdrivers are German and the canvas tool roll is made in China...
 
P

pipsters

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Messages
4,899
Location
USA
stephen9666 said:
Can anyone provide another link on the 10% made in Germany claim? I can't seem to find much other than the article posted above.

EDIT - Here's another article. As far as I can tell, the rule seems to only affect sales in EU countries.

http://www.spiegel.de/international...l-made-in-germany-label-at-risk-a-809300.html

People seem to forget that as far as it goes for those of us in the US, it doesn't matter what the German/EU rules say about the "made in Germany" label, unless they apply it to goods made for sale outside the EU, which I find it hard to believe they would do. What matters are the US rules. The EU can change all the rules they want for items sold there, but the rules for items sold in the US will still be the same.

In fact, here they are the rules on COO labeling for items sold in the US, taken from the FTC website:


So, a screwdriver handle and blade assembled in Germany could probably still be marked "made in Germany" and sold in the US, since Germany is where the last "substantial transformation" took place.

But, a German handle and a Chinese blade assembled in China could not be marked "made in Germany" and sold in the US, as the last "substantial transformation" took place in China.
Click to expand...

They make the handle in Germany, the blade somewhere else, and assemble them in Germany. The business end of the screwdriver is the blade though. You're buying Chinese steel. Obviously it's fine and quality is good but very deceptive.
 
L

lennoxlennox

Banned
Joined
Dec 15, 2008
Messages
1,026
stephen9666 said:
So, a screwdriver handle and blade assembled in Germany could probably still be marked "made in Germany" and sold in the US, since Germany is where the last "substantial transformation" took place.

But, a German handle and a Chinese blade assembled in China could not be marked "made in Germany" and sold in the US, as the last "substantial transformation" took place in China.
Click to expand...

That's just your opinion. What is clear from the EU rules is the "last 10%" whatever that means.

If I'm a manufacturer in Germany - and I stamp my items made in Germany based on the last 10% made there and the rules afforded me, I can successfully argue the "substantial transformation" into the final product occurred in Germany.

It is for certain, I am not going to do 2 or more production runs to make different "stamps" of made in germany, then made in vietnam, made in taiwan, made in china.

No, I will state made in Germany - why do you think they are protesting the move so hard to 45%???
 
Last edited:
L

lennoxlennox

Banned
Joined
Dec 15, 2008
Messages
1,026
stephen9666 said:
I don't know why you think it's "my opinion," I just quoted above the US regulations about COO markings (the last "substantial transformation") and listed how some examples would fall under those rules.
Click to expand...


your examples of the interpretation of how the laws are applied are just your opinion
 
L

lennoxlennox

Banned
Joined
Dec 15, 2008
Messages
1,026
stephen9666 said:
Why would the automobile and electrical tech sectors be the main ones affected? Just because they use a lot of imported parts? I wonder if there are other details about the rules/proposal we don't know and aren't mentioned in the article?
Click to expand...

while that maybe true, they aren't the only industries as was referenced in other articles

but the real reason for highlighting them is due to the beauacracy involved with identifiying all the myriads of components for those industries to comply with the proposed changes.
 
N

nanofrog

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 1, 2012
Messages
1,323
lennoxlennox said:
In Germany, to use the "Made in Germany" label has the very very strict requirement of only having to be 10% actually made in Germany!
Click to expand...
Didn't know this.

And it doesn't seem the US regs help from what I interpret of the language posted in this thread (actual quote from US reg). :(

Either way, it would explain a few things I've noticed, particularly with Weller. And I can see Cooper intentionally taking advantage of this as a means of increasing sales (primarily asian parts/sub-assemblies that are final assembled in Germany in order to legally use "Made in Germany"). :mad:
 
L

lennoxlennox

Banned
Joined
Dec 15, 2008
Messages
1,026
stephen9666 said:
Well, I encourage you to find a better way to interpret it, as it seems quite clear to me:
Click to expand...


Well one thing is for certain, I'm not a lawyer, nor are you.


But I can say the wording "substantial transformation" is pretty vague and therefore open to interpretation, yours, mine and most certainly the very profit motivated german manufacturers who are doing everything in their power to not adhere to the proposed EU rules of 45%


I don't know, but I think it's pretty easy to say that the final 10% is the "substantial transformation" otherwise it's just raw materials.


And who knows how much time this government agency has to go overseas and verify each imported manufacturers claims... after all if it's good enough for the EU... it's good enough for me!? :dunno:
 
Last edited:
P

pipsters

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Messages
4,899
Location
USA
You could easily argue successfully taking a single screwdriver blade, and making the handle and mating the parts is substantial transformation.

***** for everyone who bought those "made in Germany" tools who really got Chinese screwdrivers. I'm glad I didn't buy any boutique/novelty German tools. I'm good with old fashioned "made in USA" stuff.

Remember Sears was spanked because of this a while ago as well.
 
M

Monte

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 23, 2008
Messages
12,661
Location
Germany
Customers throughout the world are pretty happy with their 10% "Made in Germany" cars.... :)
 
M

Monte

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 23, 2008
Messages
12,661
Location
Germany
btw. the "Made in Germany" label celebrate its 125th birthday today ! Congratulation :)
 
N

nine4gmc

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 24, 2012
Messages
14,357
Location
Dallas
I think the handles are made in Germany and the shafts are all Chinese, where they come together, who knows:dunno::lol_hitti
 
C

CanUK

Well-known member
Joined
May 25, 2012
Messages
1,074
F

fflintstone

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 18, 2010
Messages
2,722
Location
MOFnowhere Mi.
You must log in or register to reply here.
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom