What is still being made at ABU/Svängsta in Sweden ?

Jean-Paul · Post by **Jean-Paul** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 9:05 am

Most larger tackle manuf. are now located in Taiwan, Japan, Signapore, China etc

I hear some Ambassadeur models are still actually being made in Sweden ?
Anyone can confirm this ?
Or is it just assembly ?

B.t.w. I have put a link to pictures of the prototype Cardinal C33 spinning reel in the
Open Face Spinning Reels Forum

http://orcaonline.org/images/pixel.gif?forum/

Or, here's the direkt link to the pictures :

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/vie ... r&x=12&y=7

Jean-Paul / a.k.a. Snoekjager

ABUBO · Post by **ABUBO** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 6:12 pm

Hi Jean-Paul,

To my knowledge it's just assembly, and it has been so for decades now. Reel parts are made in both Europe and in Asia. Which parts is made where depends on the model. F.ex. - ball bearings for the EON PRO spools which are incorporated in the spool were made in France. No wonder those reels are/was quite expencive.
Not even the Suverän spinning reels which were supposed to have been made in Sweden, were actualy made there - they were only assembled in Sweden.

ABU-Garcia are like all other manuf. - they usualy have them made abroad i.e. all their lures are made somewhere in Taiwan / Asia.

Thanks - nice pic's of the Card. C33 ... it's just too bad it is not at all like the old Cardinal 33's!
Is it a yr 2006 model prototype?

B.R.
Bo

Reel Geezer · Post by **Reel Geezer** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 7:24 pm

I recently purchased a Japanese market Ambassadeur Morrum SX1600 Forell. On the reel, the box, and the papers it says "Made in Sweden". When US products are manufactured in foreign countries but assembled in the USA that is what is marked on the item. Is is legal in Sweden to mark and item "made in..." when it was only assembled there?

I guess it really doesn't matter much, for in a few years everything in the world will be made in China.

ABUBO · Post by **ABUBO** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 8:03 pm

Surpricingly so, it IS legal in Sweden to write Made in Sweden even it is not! Since Sweden joined the EEC a few years back this might be changed by EEC sometime in the future, but so far it's obviously legal to cheat the customers to think it's 'home made' ...

I don't know when they stopped making Ambassadeurs in Sweden, but they were the last ones made in Sweden. It could be when they joined the Garcia Corp. in the 70's or soon after. Anybody else have a clue to when it happened?

*LOL* yeahh.. u gotta point there. China is a quickly growing market for almost anything money can buy.

Bo

FSREPAIR · Post by **FSREPAIR** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 10:38 pm

To the best of my knowledge the last reels to be made in Sweden was last fall around September. Simon Shimomura had told me the year previously that they would no longer be manufacturing any reels by the fall of 2004. All the spin reels were already being made overseas and that the last reels to be made in Sweden were a couple of baitcast reels. Randy

Dr. Rob · Post by **Dr. Rob** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 5:19 am

Sorry, bit pressed for time...

Don't know exactly... Some stuff still definitely is, or they wouldn't have spent a scheisseload of money on the CNC machinery ten years ago. Further, when I was there last month, I killed some time on a bench outside the materials depot. Couldn't help but notice a guy walk in and come back out with all the bar stock he could carry. He and his 300-odd co-workers must've been making something.

Also, I recently met the Asian guy who supposedly makes all the Ambassadeurs. I quietly compared his production numbers with those of Abu, and they don't add up.

Randy seems to know most about it though, or as per Simon.

Doc.

ABUBO · Post by **ABUBO** » Wed Jul 06, 2005 7:38 pm

I'm not the one to question what Simon says ... but ... concidering the payments per hour that a swedish worker has to have compared to that an asian worker is payed, it seems unlikely that the Ambassadeur's is getting cheaper and cheaper?! Right - Simon knows his stuff about ABU, as he's had ABU make at least 500 amb reels for him. But then again - I'm sure they don't tell him everything when it comes to manufacturing. I know he's been quite unhappy about several issues regarding his special made ambassadeur reels. That's what he told me 3-4 years ago when he bought his black Record Amb. 5000 at an auction in Denmark. He even suggested that he didn't think ABU would survive for another 5 years, if they didn't do something serious about raising the quality of their reels. The CNC machinery... yeah - well, you gotta point. How am I to know. This about 'only assembly' was what my friend who used to work at ABU told me 4-5 years ago. He's retired now, but I see no reason for him to have told a lie. On the contrary - for what it's worth he might even have leaked a company secret!
Anyway, let's see what they write on their AMB boxes in 2006 ... maybe they'll say "Made in China"!

** I guess they won't cause who will buy them then? **

Bo

PS: The CNC's .. couldn't they use them solely for improving tolerances to meet specification level on items/parts made in the far east?