Something is rotten in Denmark

[Kapnismologist]

Just saw on SF that apparently Stanwell production is to be outsourced to parts unknown. 17 jobs will be lost as the pipes will no longer be made there:

http://www.dr.dk/Regioner/Sjaelland/Nyheder/Ringsted/2009/06/03/151111.h

The above link is in Danish (sorry!, but if you know any Swedish or even some German you should be able to get the jist of it - basically, it says that because sales have dropped so dramatically over the past years the plant is closing and the brand will be outsourced to a foreign country, and that this leaves individual high-grade carvers as the only pipe-producers in the country).

I am sure that some of the Danish guys in the other pipe forums will have more to say on this.

The first guy to leave a comment on the story, Lars, says:

Nej nej nej nej nej. Det er en tragedie!

"No, no, no, no, no. That is a tragedy!"

 

[Hermit]

Nej nej nej nej nej. Det er en tragedie!

That's what I was gonna say.

 

[puros_bran]

Hmmmm Will my Danish pipe be German? French? Chinese?

But then again I don't blame them.... Denmark has one of the most draconian tax policys in the world.

 

[Sasquatch]

I imagine it's more to do with a facility that can make 100,000 pipes a year and a world demand for 40,000 pipes a year.

Sad news.

 

[puros_bran]

Maybe Sasquatch..... but I concur with one thing... SAD.

 

[HoosierPuffer]

Sad.

We need to buy more pipes, fellas.

 

[TallSmoke]

I just bought a nice smoking Stanwell. Bummer to hear they may be in the hands of less skilled (or caring) folks soon.

 

[Puff Daddy]

Figures. I find a company who makes a damned fine pipe at a great price and then they cease to do that. I'd have to think that what will come of this is going to be a drop in quality. Very likely the level of craftsmanship will decline and Stanwell will cease to be what they now are, then fold completely. Another bullet in the heart of our hobby :no:

 

[puros_bran]

Been thinking about it....

We may be jumping the gun, big time.
I would feel a lot better if I had 'Babel Fish' or some such on the ole blackberry so I could actually read what that site says.

Also we are assuming that what will happen will be bad, for all we know it will be an improvement.

Anyhoot, I actually hope this news gets people to 'make a run of real Stanwells before its to late to get one'... . I have about 12 Stanwells I'd sell in a heartbeat for 3 to 4 times what I payed for them......

 

[Hermit]

In the future, they'll be talking about
pre and post 2009 Stanwells.

 

[Puff Daddy]

Also we are assuming that what will happen will be bad, for all we know it will be an improvement.

When is the last time a product's manufacturing was outsourced to (probably) asia and the outcome was both better and cheaper? Cheaper, yes. Better? ............. OK, how about at least as good?............

Anyone? Beuhler?

 

[Dubbya]

I would feel a lot better if I had 'Babel Fish' or some such on the ole blackberry so I could actually read what that site says.

Here you go:

Pipe factory moves abroad
03. June 2009 15.15 Ringsted
It will soon end with the production of pipes in this region.
Production of Stanwell pipes in Borup closes at the end of the year and move to abroad.
It happens as a consequence of that pipe sales in Denmark has almost halved over the last 14 years.
The move abroad would mean that Stanwell continued to produce pipes at competitive prices, but it also means goodbye to the 17 employees in production in Borup and a unique era of pipe production in Denmark.
Stanwell is the last genuine pipe factory in the country, leaving only small pipe maker, who makes exclusive pipes.

 

[puros_bran]

Thanks Dubbya... I do appreciate it..

The article ends on a not so truthful note though. What about Peterson,Joh (ex Bjarne),Dunhill,Tsuge,Castello and countless other pipe factorys..I love Stanwell pipes, my entire collection except for a few pipes Pops gave me when he quit are Stanwells... And I'd hate to see them go the way of the Dinosaur...but they are far from the last pipe factory, even within Denmark.



Pdiddy my gut says the same thing yours does, but I've decided not to kill the horse before I'm sure it can't pull the cart. As to Asia... Well maybe, and it would make good business sense due to the growing supply of Asian pipe smokers... BUT unless they let Tsuge do it they'd have to set up an entirely new factory, importing all the machinery and briar... It could just as well be Ireland,Italy,Germany or the UK that gets the contracts...



Edited in: I see they said last factory in the country, not the world.. My bad... But I'd still say 'What about Joh?".

 

[Anonymous]

I did my part..just bought a Stanwell...

 

[babysinister]

I've just ordered two Stanwells from Frenchy's. He's got all his pipes at a 10% discount until Sunday.

 

[Dubbya]

Thanks Dubbya... I do appreciate it..

The article ends on a not so truthful note though. What about Peterson,Joh (ex Bjarne),Dunhill,Tsuge,Castello and countless other pipe factorys..I love Stanwell pipes, my entire collection except for a few pipes Pops gave me when he quit are Stanwells... And I'd hate to see them go the way of the Dinosaur...but they are far from the last pipe factory, even within Denmark.



Pdiddy my gut says the same thing yours does, but I've decided not to kill the horse before I'm sure it can't pull the cart. As to Asia... Well maybe, and it would make good business sense due to the growing supply of Asian pipe smokers... BUT unless they let Tsuge do it they'd have to set up an entirely new factory, importing all the machinery and briar... It could just as well be Ireland,Italy,Germany or the UK that gets the contracts...



Edited in: I see they said last factory in the country, not the world.. My bad... But I'd still say 'What about Joh?".

No problem.

Here's the link to the translator that I use most of the time. It works well for most text in the world's major languages. It'll do whole websites too, unless the webmaster has the feature disabled on purpose.

http://translate.google.com/translate_t?hl=en#

 

[Bill]

I've just ordered two Stanwells from Frenchy's. He's got all his pipes at a 10% discount until Sunday.

Gray Fox has them for 50% off. I landed a new Stanwell Classic Blast bulldog for $65 and free shipping.

 

[raevans]

Sad news....but, it may not be all that bad. I would think that they probably have quite a few bowls already turned and ready for market. So, whoever takes over will not be starting from scratch and we will probably not see that much of a difference in pipe quality during the transition. After transition, well...if the pipes are not all that great, there is always the estate market. You can still get a stanwell for a low price and I don't think that will change in the near future.

I think that is sucks that the folks at Stanwell will be losing their jobs, (it seems to be the trend these days ) I would love to see them pull together and start their own operation.

Randy

 

[phrozenfearz]

So would now be the time to rush out and buy a collection of Stanwells?