An apology and explanation of Stream delivery

rvitko

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While I have explained this numerous times, do to several recent accusations I wanted to explain this situation once again.

First, we are not holding back product or trying to artificially create a product shortage. If I had it- you would have it. If they had it in Germany- I would have it. I have almost 60 of every model Stream on backorder.

Second, the price is nearly the same world wide. For those of you who have tried to buy outside the US be forewarned that only 115V countries are allowed access to 115V product. A customer called yesterday to inform me he saw a TS24 kit offered in the UK for $500. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but this is Pounds Sterling- equivalent to $800 US and almost $20 more than the US price so their is no price gouging going on.
I checked into this yesterday and found the cheapest online price in the UK was L498.

Everyone worldwide is short on these pumps. We have shortages because we never expected this demand. I have said this numerous times but it obviously needs to be repeated. These pumps are hand assembled in Germany. This means that German labor laws are in effect- including 4 weeks of summer vacation, no overtime without double pay, 36hr work week. Tunze is not a huge company- 30 employees and a half dozen injection molding machines. We are growing but it will take time to grow to meet demand and certainly once we pass summer vacation things will improve for a brief window until the Christmas rush. In addition to the Streams we have over 100 other products that we must keep up with and in all honesty we do pretty well on these. When the Osmolator was new we had similar shortages and now we can keep up. The Streams will be the same but it will take time. Their are no massive assembly lines run by machines. The stamped out plastic parts must be trimmed, and finished by hand, assembled, the coils must be wired and potted. The drive units have to be assembled by hand and this also involves some hand trimming and machining. Then the pump is tested twice before it leaves. In the case of an electronic pump the driver and an aditional cable must be assembled and added.

To summarize- be patient and you will recieve. Please don't be rude to either me or the dealers I have. Their is no reason to be obnoxious over a powerhead- it is not life or death and seeing as for most it is an upgrade you can make do until they arrive. We all try our best and I do call Germany at least once a week and we always talk about this problem and hope that eventually it will be resolved. I do sincerely take an interest in keeping and taking care of our customers and I regret this situation but we are doing what we can. I have decided as of today that I will not accept any new dealers until I am able to meet all present demand. It would be irresponsible to do so when I cannot satisfy the demands of our present dealers. If you must know the US market has exceeded the sales quota set for the entire year of 2005 when it was to go into effect as part of my agreement within the first 6 months of 2003. I must thank you for this and also just wanted to explain what is going on- we honestly never expected this level of success and this is a worldwide phenomena as even in the depressed economies of Europe demand for Tunze continues to grow.
 
We have shortages because we never expected this demand. I have said this numerous times but it obviously needs to be repeated. These pumps are hand assembled in Germany. This means that German labor laws are in effect- including 4 weeks of summer vacation, no overtime without double pay, 36hr work week. Tunze is not a huge company- 30 employees and a half dozen injection molding machines.

Have you guys though about moving production to Taiwan or China? It will lower the cost. Give Taiwan an order, and they send you a boat load of Stream really quick.

Just kidding around since you kept on knocking on the asian products.:rollface:
 
Maybe America or Mexico but definitely not Taiwan and most likely not China, though China makes much better stuff than Taiwan.
 
Re: An apology and explanation of Stream delivery

rvitko said:
This means that German labor laws are in effect- including 4 weeks of summer vacation, no overtime without double pay, 36hr work week.

Forget the pumps. Have them send those labor laws over here :)

Scott
 
Roger,

First of all, I love my Stream 6080s. I'm sorry you can't keep up with the demand, but that's not a bad situation to be in considering the present state of the U.S. economy. Harley Davidson had the same problem, but they never seemed to compromise their quality and brand, so their customers were willing to wait.

In the aquarium hobby does China really make better stuff than Taiwan? I'm also a equipment geek with my bicycling equipment, and Taiwan is the source now for a lot of high end components and frames - The ONCE team in the Tour de France uses Giant frames made in Taiwan. But I decided to get a custom Seven Sola from Watertown, Massachusetts since I wanted the handmade, custom fit and quality of the bike. Of course I had to wait, but it was worth it. So for those still waiting on their Stream pumps, it may take some time, but based on my experience, I think the wait will be worth it.

My only concern if I was Tunze would be if some other company started coming out with cheap knockoffs of the Streams. A greater concern would be if a company came out with a Stream knockoff that was 90% as good, but much less expensive. Look at how the Japanese automakers with their luxury brands have forced Mercedes and BMW to become much more competitive on value and price. I think Mercedes and BMW have the met the challenge well though - the 3-series and the S-class and SL are still the standards. Even if cheap knockoffs come out, if Tunze keeps innovating and producing great products, it should do well.
 
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We have kept inventing and that is part of our problem. It just is a stressful situation for everyone and I wanted to explain this.

I could be wrong about Taiwan, I see alot of good aquarium equipment made now in China- including Eheim. I know they can build stuff very well. I guess I think of Rios when I think of Taiwan and Eheim when I think of China. But, my comments on this were not to be taken seriously, just a joking response to Vpham.
 
Salt water equipment or even freshwater equipment market is tiny compared to the durable goods industury that we can often buy at a store. That is, this is a niche market that is going to go on as it is unless the market becomes very big and much business opportunities are seen by big guys.

When it comes to a powerhead or circulation pump I don't think big guys will even attempt to produce products like Tunze stream or its powerhead. The only company that may succeed if it attempts to do could be Eheim due to its world renowned reputation concerning circulation pump and filters.

But do you think Eheim will do this non-honorable act against Tunze?

I don't think so.

Just my thoughts.

Keep up the good work Roger!
 
Roger, I thought you might be thinking of Rio pumps regarding Taiwan. Sad to say, I have quite a few in my garage along with some CPR overflows. I'm scared to sell them since I don't want over reefers electrocuted or mad at me when a catastrophic failure occurs with their tanks because of the equipment I sold to them!
 
I agree but you get what you pay for!
That is the trade-off between the quality and price although it is not always the case.
 
Rog, May want to make this thread or another sticky so it stays at the top as long as you believe it is relevant. Streams are worth waiting for ;) traveller7
 
Axel Tunze is supposed to issue a formal statement soon. I have asked for his help as it is very stressful for me and while I knew such a moment was innevitable it is further complicated as neither of us expected this level of success. He basically explained it to me this morning that with a 40 year reputation he cannot just crank stuff out and put his family name on it- the same standards have to apply today that applied yesterday and to sell someone a shoddy made pump and loose a customer for ever is not an option. He is very close to having better production capacity- new machines, more employees and a few new partners to help produce the parts and deliver them in a more finished manner which will require less hand machining. I was told more Streams will come next week and things will only improve from here on out. I have the utmost faith in Mr Tunze and that is why I work for the company.
 
Roger can I buy a TS-24 kit directly from you? I know they are sold out but when you get them back in stock? Thanks, Jon
 
We don't sell direct with the exception of spare parts- the shortest wait will likely be through a nearby LFS who carries the product- fewer backorders. The mail order companies all seem to have equally long lists and are supposedly averaging 6 weeks to fill an order.
 
Tunze kit is well worth the wait, and once in the tank may prove to be the most reliable bit of kit in use.

Its good to see a manufacturer still concerned with quality and not rushing things or dropping quality to make a fast profit.

As to a copy, Tunzes patent on the brake system may make it very difficult to make a copy and I know a Tunze will just keep on running with the odd service now and again. So they may seem expensive but when it's still running several years down the road its a good investment.

And if you look what goes into a Stream they are good value for the price
 
Well- I have good news- 20 6000 and 40 6100 Streams are already in transit to the US. 55 more 6100 and 35 more 6000 as well as 25 6060 and 25 6080 pumps have been scheduled for delivery by the end of the month. Will this make a surplus or even allow back stock- NO! It will however fill all present standing orders. I am very pleased and it looks like things will smooth out a bit from here.

Thanks for your patience!
 
I grew up on the border- walking distance from Zenith and Delnosa. Axel explained the situation to me, it sounds like it is all going to work out- their is a premium attached to the label Made In Germany and we can't ignore that. It would be too difficult to move everything and the only advantage I could see is 24/7 production. The orient is too sketchy, to many people trying to steal ideas and copy products. That is why if we did anything it would be US or Mexico. But at this point that is a someday dream and would depend on German laws getting worse and American sales getting better.
 
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