New drill and impact driver combo suggestions

[Kev]

Well, update on this one and is not good, in fact its actually quite diabolical in my opinion.

To clarify, I did my research and was led to believe the Fein products were of German manufacture based on their own web literature, official YouTube channel videos and other online content.

Anyhow, the Fein combo kit turned up this time last week. I opened the kit to find the words "made in PRC" on both tools.

I contacted Fein immediately expressing my concern that Fein specific information informed me that Fein tools are of German manufacture. I included links that referenced this including the above YouTube video which states "All Fein tools are made in Germany" on the Fein YouTube channel". I also included a link to this thread to demonstrate that I had researched my purchase.

I heard nothing until yesterday afternoon from Chris Bull (Fein UK MD) with a poor excuse for not getting back to me and confirming that the tools are indeed manufactured in China. No response to my actual communication which pointed out I felt I had been misled. Chris responded to the YouTube video stating it was irrelevant as the tools were manufactured after the video was published???

I responded immediately and asked what options were available to return the tools as I was not happy with the misinformation and the poor customer response. I stated that I did not take this issue up with the original dealer (FFX in the UK) as I felt it was Fein who had misled and not FFX.

Long story short, I got a reply from Chris just now telling me that;

> My issue is with FFX, not Fein.
> That if there is info out there that is misleading I need to refer to it. Despite the fact that I had and he responded.
> That I should have asked all the drill manufacturers where their drills where made - little gem this one as I did.

The real irony here is that I have been approached to write a tool review on the tools from someone responding to this thread. I'm still writing that review but with a slightly different aspect.

Anywho, I'm not a happy camper. Customer service has been shocking and I've got nearly £400's worth of Chinese drills.

Please post a picture of the PRC label on the tool so we know exactly where to look [mad]

Trading of brand perception and misleading buyers is something that gets me really angry ... it's only ever profit motivated and a it's deceit that ultimately backfires.

 

[wow]

Well, update on this one and is not good, in fact its actually quite diabolical in my opinion.

Anyhow, the Fein combo kit turned up this time last week. I opened the kit to find the words "made in PRC" on both tools.

In this case I am sorry to be right.

That said, I *was* and still *am* POSITIVE that those drills are made in the same factory where the Milwaukee cordless tools are made. I applaud you for calling Fein on it, and I hope FFX does right by you?

 

[neth27]

Im almost sure my Festool DRC drill is not made in Germany.. I think the batteries are made in Poland

John...

 

[shed9]

Wow, I hoped you were wrong as well... (in a positive way)

Anyhow Kev here are the PRC labels for the drill and impact driver respectively;





The reason I am not amused with the PRC manufacture origin apart from the clear misinformation is not just down to quality, don't get me wrong these drills are superb in quality. My issue is the sourcing of cheaper labour costs to the detriment of both the country where labour moves from and the low wages and standards of the relocation. This seemed to be lost on Fein, which is not a good sign.

Just got back home and found a reply from Fein with the advice that The words "FEIN – Made in Germany" are used to promote FEIN in general and product ranges made in Germany and that it is not used in connection with the products I bought? Even thought there is no information that separates the product in question from the Made in Germany statement.

Wow, just wow. They effectively put that in writing to a customer!!!

They also suggested that if I had asked 'another' German manufacturer (guess who) that they would tell me at least one of their drills has a made in Czech Republic label and the batteries have a made in Poland label. I suspect this is probably the DRC John. Last bastion of customer service, point at your competition and claim they are also doing what you are doing so it must be alright.

My problem is that the drills are really well made, but I can not get over the unreasonable delay in response and the response itself from Fein, especially when they have admitted it in writing but refuse to see it for what it is. What I expected was a prompt response offering an apology of the misleading information, an offer to remove this information, to affirm that my purchase was a wise one and hopefully some rational assurance on the labour distribution . They have stated that the YouTube video in question (see below) will be removed next week, but it appears they stand by the comment of Made in Germany, but you had better ask to make sure.

)
Given the response, I shall be escalating this to the Germany office for a definitive answer.

 

[amt]

That is very disappointing!  For that kind of money, I would not want stuff made in China.

 

[msc]

I started reading this post but did not have time to post and then forgot about it till now.

I have the festool t18 and an ealier protool pdc.

The festool is made in germany and the protool says GmbH Wendlingen.

My protool pdc is a 2011 version and there was an updated version later which included a different gearbox and the light, this became the festool version. I looked at this in a dealership a few weeks ago and it said czeck republic !!!

I was also in a dilema, in that i wanted an impact driver, but the festool impact is poor (my festool rep even said not to buy it because he knows how fussy i am) but they dont do a 18v version anyway.

I went to profesional builder tool fair and looked at the new fein 4 speed drill and go chating to the rep and he said it was a fein design and was very impressive, but then i got on to talk about the impact and he kinda said it was not a fein design because i questioned on why it was not brushless whereas the new 4 speed drill was. I almost bought the set but was not happy with the impact being effectively old tech.

Still wanting an impact (even tho they do my head in when others use them) mainly for removing damaged screws and driving the larger sized ones. I started looking on ebay, i was not too bothered about the make, but i started bidding on brand new panasonic EY75A1 that i won at around £150 inc postage (bargain) but have never seen / handled one.

Having received the driver, i was not impressed, the case although very well made is huge with loads of internal divisions for charger batt etc so cant get much else in it, hence i got rid off it in garage, the charger is also huge. The batteries are also massive (but are 4.2amp hr) and there are delicate electrical connection block on top, so a red plastic cover is supplied. Also when instered in the drill the battery extends past the end of the drill, it is very balanced but effectively the drill is longer and hence could be difficult in getting in tight spaces, although ive not experienced this yet. The most anoying thing about it is there is no where to store driver bits!!!

Now for the good bits. Firstly the batteries click in and out very very easily and positively (best system ive come across). The driver works flawlessly and battries last ages. The 3 speed impact button helps in some situations, and the light is good.

The sticker says hamburg (so it may have been mecahnically designed in germany) also says japan (probaibly the batteries and electronics) but it also proudly states 'made in china' !!!

Cant moan too much about the shortfalls but for what i paid its excellent and a very good impact driver in general.

 

[Davej]

Maybe worth a call to trading standards as it seems that they may be/ are  misleading customers on purpose to 'big up ' the origin of the tools . Made in China is not an issue if the q.c. is present so why mislead people , unless it is easier to justify the price !
Dave

 

[RC]

Hmm... Just checked and my PDC is made in Czech Republic too. What a let down.

 

[Kev]

A lot of the Protool's were made in the Czech Republic, but to my understanding - to the same Festool quality standards.

No surprised to me that the manufacture didn't switch when they acquired the green bits.

 

[shed9]

Message sent to Germany.

Watch this space.

 

[alkaline]

A lot of the Protool's were made in the Czech Republic, but to my understanding - to the same Festool quality standards.

No surprised to me that the manufacture didn't switch when they acquired the green bits.

Maybe it is interesting to note that the some Protool tools comes from Narex that the Germans had to buy Narex because it was cheaper develops than similarly  quality electric motor.  Likewise with bearings, those of from Slovakia are among the most accurate and can be found in cars exceeding the value of € 100,000.

[wink]

 

[GPowers]

Up until this year most of Apples products were made in China. But on the products is says "Designed by Apple in California" .

Maybe Fein should say the same thing. "Designed in Germany".

I think is is a little deceitful using PRC instead of China as the place of manufacturing.

 

[shed9]

Okay, bit of an update and I won't say too much as this is still on going in the background. Fein Germany have responded and responded well. I felt this was more conducive to my expectations of Fein. Don't get me wrong, Fein UK have been courteous and professional, but I still can't shake the response of admitting the words Made in Germany are used but that this is a subjective statement and I really should have checked.
However I have no resolve as yet and its been thrown back to the UK who have changed the initial offer to proceed / resolve from Germany albeit and to be fair partly based on my own response.

I'm assured the video that references Fein tools are all made in Germany (see previous post) has been taken down from the Fein US channel. For clarity, the video in question was posted 2010, however with no other official videos correcting or changing this statement I felt it fair to believe it especially on an official channel.

Ironically Fein STILL has this video on another official Fein channel from July 2011 :;


(don't be surprised if this goes down soon - I hope)

Now again don't get me wrong, I'm not out to diss Fein. That is not the purpose of these posts. The tools are superb, they are VERY well made; I can't comment on use as I haven't used them due to this on going issue but they feel the mutts nuts. They also clearly have good product - the reviews and testimonies of Multimaster/Supercut users bears this out every time. I so wanted to like my Fein kit and couldn't wait for it to arrive. My concern with them made in The PRC is not just that of quality but that of labour sourcing and the detriment to both original and destination countries.

I've been offered an opportunity to review the Fein Supercut on a loan basis from Fein UK which is appreciated but I have declined due to their specific requirements of the review, that and it didn't address the situation or my own needs.

Anyhow I've slept on this and decided to keep the impact / drill driver combo and run the review. I'm also going to look into the aspect of the PRC factory and balance my concerns raised up there ^. This won't be just a test to see how many holes can be drilled or screws be fastened but where it was built and how that impacts (no pun intended) not just the product. I will also include the above details of misleading info and the communication process with Fein.

I will keep this as balanced as possible and be open to challenges or to be corrected.

Edit:
2nd update of the day for this one. Just got back in and Fein have again been in touch and I think they realised what my initial communication was about. I suspect there has been something lost in the email trail and my point has been diminished along the way.

Also, I started to use the impact and drill drivers. Initial impression is very good, these things are of solid construction and have very positive action. The trigger on the impact is quite sensitive and the drills metal chuck is just superb. Time will tell, but so far so good. Will drop more detail after extensive use and gaining experience of battery run times, etc.