Looks like we could have a project or two to do here.
I've checked out the website in some detail:
One or two lines of TL automatics, most of which have clear (not tinted) windows in the lids and some of which have water-saving features. These appear to have stainless steel inner tubs and agitators with the corkscrew feature.
A line of "semi-automatic" TLs which appear vaguely similar to the old Australian semi-autos: probably an auto TL w/o the auto features, so you select the functions manually on a dial and set a timer.
A line of TTs, most of which are conventional TTs with, unfortunately for the US market, gravity drain (how many people in the US have floor drains?).
The classic Easy TT unit, which has a pump to drain the water. Quality assessment should be simple: someone who has an original oldschool Easy could get one of the new units and compare in detail. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the components are now plastic, e.g. the trapezoidal top piece between the washtub and spintub, but I'll bet that most of it is enameled steel.
Two stand-alone spinners, one of which is stainless steel on the outside, both of which are apparently stainless steel on the inside. These could fill a niche between the Pakistani units and the SpinX in terms of price & quality. Actually I wouldn't be surprised if they are the equal of current European spinners.
A couple of "lavados centros" for which the picture didn't come up but I'm going to bet these are auto FLs for laundromats, i.e. commercial strength.
All of these are rated for 127 volts AC at 60 Hz. Probably no trouble whatsoever to adapt them for USA house current, just change the cord & plug. USA voltage is supposed to be 120 but can vary from 110 to 125. The lower USA voltage would be compensated by higher current drain but overall power consumption (watts) would remain the same.
Re. the Saudi Speed Queens: Saudi Arabia is Not our Friend (17 out of 19 terrs on the 9/11 flights); consider that all Saudi companies must by law tithe to Islamic charities, and terrorist organizations have taken advantage of this as a funding source. And even aside from terrorism, do we really want to be funding a theocracy where women can't vote and gay people are stoned to death...? Mexico is obviously friendly, in terms of culture, personal relations, trade relations, and political relations. So the Easy unit is a drop-in replacement for the Saudi Speed Queen, with better politics. This could help get them established here in the off-grid, alternative technology, and survivalist market niches.
What's needed is for folks here to beta-test these things and see how they hold up. There shouldn't be any trouble obtaining volunteers for that!
(sign me up)
What we need first, is for someone here who's bilingual English/Spanish to telephone or email the company and say: We're looking at importing these units commercially, we want to obtain a small quantity of them for beta test, what do we have to do?
If the test phase goes well, set up a company, or someone here who's in the appliance business already could do this under their existing company. Ideal locations would be close enough to the Mexico border to enable shipping the machines in by truck to a local warehouse for inspection and shipping to other points in the USA. I would suggest operating at the wholesale level and selling to retailers; this reduces the issue of direct customer support and could provide access to a wide market more rapidly.
The mechanics of finance are straightforward: Cost of goods, plus transport and other costs (labor, overheads), plus markup to wholesale = wholesale price to retailers. The markup is the gross profit margin. Find someone who can fund the purchase of a truckload of units plus the warehouse costs. That investor would be in for X share in the gross profit margin, and the balance would be reinvested in importing more machines and/or distributed to other owners who are working on this according to a contractual agreement. It probably won't be a huge money-maker but it should be able to yield a moderate return on investment as well as paying for labor. I'll bet that these are retailing in Mexico for about $400, and the price direct from the manufacturer to a wholesale distributor would be in the range of $150 to $250 depending on quantity.
How does this sound so far..? Or do we just want to keep it to a one-shot deal to get machines for people here who want them?
