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askolover

askolover

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I've been thinking...When are we all going to get together and start our own company?  Surely there are enough of us with engineering skills that we could "design and build a better mousetrap"!  Just think about the possibilities....take the best of all the brands we love and combine them all into one superior product.  Washers that actually wash clothes, dishwashers that actually have some power, you know what I'm saying?
 
Washers that actually wash clothes, dishwashers that actuall

That would mean selling products that do not meet energy star requirements, thus losing subsidies.  The equivalent of a Tucker going against the big auto makers. 
 
I've no doubt that the end results would be superior quality, long-lasting, and with a reasonable supply of spare parts!  

 

The sad thing is that most consumers would have the 'No way I'm going to pay $700 for a washer that's gonna last.  Look at this nifty one for $79.99 from China.  Hell, there's still lotsa room in the county landfill, right?' attitude.... 
 
Turquoisedude

You are so right.
Though there is something to being frugal, there is also the old saying "a penny wise a pound foolish."

This is why you can no longer buy a Hobart/Kitchenaid dishwasher. Costly, it was to purchase, but it would last 30 or more years.

The fact is argued on the Vacuum land side all the time. Metal vac, $1,500, last a lifetime. Plastic vac $200, replace every two or three years. . which is cheaper?
 
I have a name already

the Washman Division of Clean 'em All Industries.

There would be genuine US made steel.

US made metal parts

It would be made in a union factory where livable wages and benefits would be paid.

We'd sell to dealers only, no sales to BIG BOX stores.

Full top to bottom 5 year warranty.

I'd even start an electric motor factory, right here, making good motors that used ball bearings instead of cheaper, less durable sleeve bearings.

Timers and other electronic do-dads would be US built too. I'd try to go as vertically integrated as possible to control delivery and quality.

I'd implement Kanban and the Toyota 5 whys as part of the overall operational plan.

There would be no shareholders, no stock options, no golden parachutes to reward piss poor executive leadership and performance.

You would get 3 color options, white, black, or stainless. Period.

Wiring would be appropriately sized to handle electrical loads.

Tub bearings in washers would be US sourced Timken.

I'd resurrect the famous Arc-Cuate 210 transmission for TL machines. FL machines would use a US made motor to run things.

Dishwashers would be made of stainless steel with a mastic sound deadening package applied at factory. Pumps would be strong enough to blast any baked on gunk off dishes. And it would not take hours to do a load. Also it would work with paks, pods, or powders. Your choice.

Above all, the owners manual will fit on a single page. Not endless pages of crap and useless information. Warranty statement, sans the legalese, would be 5 sentences. Or less.

And each machine would be field serviceable with no need to chuk it because a 10 cent Chinese made part failed and is no longer in production.

Company mission statement would read: We built products that work and last.
 
You would get 3 color options, white, black, or stainless.

Frankly, if we are going to dream the impossible dream about creating this appliance company, I want us to dream about pretty colors. Along with "obsolete" ideas like making stuff that can be fixed, let's bring back "obsolete" colors like sunny yellow, and turquoise, and even Avocado.
 
And the ranges we made..

Would have a fluorescent light on ALL models, a analog clock and a real thermostat built from 1950s Robertshaw patents, they would be ALL porcelain, not just the top, and it would be 3 times as thick as the junk today,there would be triple the insulation used today, and we would make our own units from TK Monotube patents!!!All drip pans would be porcelain, oven elements would unplug like they used to, and the storage drawer would roll on ball  bearings!
 
If we were doing it right

People would pay an extra buck or two to get custom colors!  Coppertone has its place too...somewhere...but I adore turquoise!  This all sounds good on paper doesn't it?  We could get around the EPA by offering an Eco cycle or two. 
 
Seems to me that a solid tub machine would certainly use less water and might at least be somewhat efficient in comparison, depending on the machine. Looks like Robert's Apex washes quite well with a minimum of water, just for example.
 
They way I would get around the EPA

would be to slowly extend my right hand up in the air and then slowly extend my middle finger in the direction of both the EPA and DOE.

Then I'd get back to building and selling appliances that customers want, not what they are told to buy.
 
Re: government eco concerns

I am not entirely sure about this, but it's my impression that the environmental impact of the "Normal" cycle is what gets considered. So design a "Normal-Eco" cycle so it uses cold water, and maybe only rinses by spray rinses, and one might get by. Then there can be a "Heavy Duty" cycle that has more temperature options, and actually does the job.

Thought #2: maybe we could have some unique, exclusive features, like a Suds Saver type system.

I wonder how the government would react to: "Yes, we use more water. But our Wash Water Retention System actually will help save water over the course of a day doing laundry, and have fewer detergent chemicals being released into the atmosphere!"
 
No woodgrain!

I don't like fake wood grain, either, but some of our customers might like that retro touch. Perhaps a compromise: make it an option of some sort. Maybe even expand the range of fake veneers while at it, so that people can have veneer from plastic walnut trees, plastic oak trees, plastic cherry trees, etc.
 
Ok important question

Who's going to run this outfit? Who will be Vp of sales? marketing? Web content?
Manufacturing? Service? Dealer organization and training? Advertising?

What isn't built internally, who would be in charge of supplier procurement?
 
More seriously...

I don't know who'd be right to fill the various high level positions.

But one thing I do think: I think the structure would ideally be a lot different than it is at most companies. I'd structure the company--and make sure the structure is "locked" down in writing as much as possible--like this:

-The two most important divisions are Engineering and the Manufacturing. They have the most direct influence on the product. Customers happiness would hinge 100% on what those two divisions do.

-Other divisions have importance, but they cannot take over the core responsibility of the company. We need accountants to handle the books and deal with taxes. But we do not need accountants suggesting cost cutting measures that trash the quality of the product. There are enough companies--TOO MANY--taking that approach already.

-Likewise, I'd have the overall management as minimal as possible. It may be coincidental, but it seems to me that it was about the times MBAs started taking over that US industry started going down the drain.
 
And some thoughts about advertising

I don't know if this is practical for the appliance business, but I think I'd love to see a low key marketing approach. Let the products speak for themselves. Let happy customers help sell.

Unrealistic? Maybe, but it has worked elsewhere. I can think of a couple of audio equipment makers that historically did zero real advertising, and managed to get by quite nicely. One example: Rega Research, which is currently doing booming business by high end standards. (Admittedly...they are doing some modern things, like a web site, and they do have people like dealers advertising, which may draw attention to Rega.)
 
One thing that would not exist

is a position of "brand manager". I mean what the hell is that anyway. People with brains, which excludes 90% of the American population, don't buy "brands". They buy products.

We're not P&G here where they can spread their corporate feces everywhere. We're talking products that work, do the job as intended and last.

Iaccoca said over and over, product, product, product.
 
>One thing that would not exist is a position of "brand manager". I mean what the hell is that anyway. People with brains, which excludes 90% of the American population, don't buy "brands". They buy products.

And even those Americans who do buy by brands probably stop thinking about brands when considering appliances. They probably buy the cheapest thing they can. And if the washer doesn't actually work, well, off to the mall to by more brand name clothes at the brand name boutique. Boutique perhaps being a fancy French name for "store with overpriced sweatshop-sourced clothes that have the same base manufacturing quality you can get at KMart." (Is Lord Kenmore overly cynical today? he wonders.)
 
Well

If we had money enough to state this company, we would have enough money to pay off the government and then build our appliances any way we wanted.
 
I have a Rega TT that I bought years ago from a small audio gear dealer in Silver Spring,MD that operated from his home.The living room was his "showroom"The dealer allowed you to look and listen to equipment as long as you like.And he carefully repacked my Reaga TT so I could carry it home with me on the subway.For larger components such as speakers-he would personally delivor them to the prospects home.This is the kind of service I like.And he set up my TT so it would track and operate properly.Still have it today-almost 30 yrs old.Been thru 3 moves,too!
If our "company" builds washers-how bout bringing back the sudsaver fucntion for TL machines.This would be a good thing to appeal to the ECO-Folks.
 
I want to be part of the team

that develops and tests recipes for the range and refrigerator, freezer, and table top cooking appliances. Yes, I want small/portable/table top appliances too.

Portable/Convertible dishwashers!! They may not be as big a slice of the sales pie as they once were, but there will always be a need.....or a conversion kit!!!!

I also want to be part of the Customer Satisfaction Department. Not Customer "Service," but Customer Satisfaction!

Has anyone else noticed that warranty length on new appliances is now directly linked to price point. That to me, is profoundly immoral and unfair!

Lawrence/Maytagbear
 
>Portable/Convertible dishwashers!! They may not be as big a slice of the sales pie as they once were, but there will always be a need.....or a conversion kit!!!!

There definitely is a need. I've encountered many kitchens that A) have no dishwasher and B) can only easily work with a portable.
 
When the voting starts for Department Heads,

I vote for Jetcone for One of the Department Heads for Research, Design,and Development of Top Loading (Pulsating) Washers

 

And stevet for Engineering and Design of Dishwashers. Steve is Hobart Trained and Well Versed in the Entire Line of KitchenAids.  (Please bring back the Constant Rinse) Please ????
 
File under: Pipe dreams.

Go ahead. Rain on our fun parade!

[Sound of sobbing background. Eventually, Lord Kenmore composes himself.]

We'll just remember this little incident when a certain someone buys his next Frigidaire front load washing machine, and posts a thread here excitedly talking about it and all its features.

[Sound of evil chuckling in background.]

LOL
 

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