[member=79051]UrbanJungleman[/member] , Welcome to posting on the FOG!
Well, let's go into the history of the Vac-Sys here in North America. In the Fall of 2009 I was with a group of about 19 FOG members at the Indianapolis Headquarters where we were shown the Vac Sys which was coming to North America. We were asked our opinions about it.
Then it didn't come. And didn't come. And didn't come. Then it was revealed that the model for the rest of the world would not pass the necessary certifications including (but maybe not limited to) being in a systainer. Then a new model - just for North America had to be designed and go thru the certification process. And the pump was not in a systainer. By then Festool had long moved past the original systainers and was in the T-Loc mode. But the Vac-Sys stuff came in the original systainers. Why? My guess is that they ordered a whole LOT of those for the earlier rollout that didn't happen. Somewhere around this time the parent company of Festool and Tacos acquired Schneider which was involved with pneumatics and air compressors. Again a guess on my end, but whereas a compressor and a vacuum pump are closely related inversely, perhaps Schneider manufactured the pumps for Festool. What is not a guess is that Schneider is no longer a sister company to Tanos, Festool, Shaper, Sawstop, and Festo. Maybe their source of pumps is no longer accessible.
Then we have the sales of the Vac Sys while it was available. Only Festool knows for sure and they are very MUM on discussions about sales and marketing (rightly so for a private company in a highly competitive market in my mind), but I'll take a stab at saying that sales did not materialize the way that they hoped as demonstrated again with the non-T-loc Systainers right to the end. I suspect that others, like myself, considered it a niche tool and possibly didn't see the need in their workflow. Why? I never saw a brick and mortar that had one on hand. Even if they did, based on the dealers I have visited, their employees would have been hard pressed time wise or even knowledge wise to properly demonstrate the advantages of the system. The system is great for clamping but it really shines in a rinse and repeat clamping workflow. Demonstrating that takes time and in retail, with limited employees trained, that can be tough. I suspect that others, like myself, falsely thought that one day they might purchase it.
And then, as often happens, we learned of the discontinuation and then many - including myself - scampered to get one. I got one on my third try and wasn't able to get the complete set. Some more sporadically popped up at dealers when left over stock was found in distribution overseas - but remember that the North American market was a one off of the pump itself.
So now there are some still looking for one and they are willing to pay large amounts for them. I read about a complete set with the two clamping heads going for right at $5K in a matter of less than an hour. And there were multiple inquiries and people willing to pay that.
Although there is a demand, again not speaking for Festool here, I doubt there will be a return. Too little too late.
Offered Respectfully,
Peter Halle
