Who's most responsible for...?

[Bob Marino]

Just spent some time ruminating about who and what are most responsible for Festool's success in the good ol' USA. (Is this what a 56 y/o man does at midnight? ;D )
I will leave out the most obvious of people, starting with David McGibbon and his brother (sorry, forgot his name) for being the first importers of Festool (called Festo then), Festool USA's 6' 9" CEO, Christian Oltzscher, for establishing, developing and leading Festool's superb group of Managers and staff, the later on-line reviewers - (Brice Burrell, Gary Katz, Mark Spagnuolo, Per Swenson) and Festool's early line up of dealers (called ISA's - Independent Sales Agents back then) and of coarse THE TOOLS, which at the end of the day, AND UP UNTIL TODAY, speak for themselves.

Soooooooooooo, (drum roll please) my list of nominations would be.........

The early on-line reviewers - John Lucas, C John Hebert, Phil Bumbalough, Jim Becker, Jack Loganbill   - all of which had an on-line and/or web-site presence  that got the early buzz out. These were the "pioneer" reviewers, expaining to lots of folks what these expensive, German made, green and black, unheard of tools could do. Not many ww magazines were doin' what these guys did.

The decision to allow ISA's to stock and sell the tools directly, instead of continuing to have Festool control shipping really helped get the tools into the customers' hand quicker. ISA's stocking the tools were now called Festool "dealers.

Another decision was the maintaining of a "set pricing policy" basically enabling dealers to compete on service rather than price.
Realizing the obvious - that Festool's manuals were not up to the Festool tool quality standards, "biting the bullet" and enlisting Jerry Work and Rick Christopherson to write the finest manuals available; manuals worthy of the tools. Not to mention Jerry's tutorials.

Tom Silva and the gang of This Old House (TOH) seeing, trying and using the tools on the show. Other shows soon followed step.

And perhaps a special thanks for Matt Schenker, who had the vision, dedication and through tireless (and many times thankless) hours of sweat for creating the FOG. It's a place that Festool Corporate, Festool dealers, users and potential users all benefitted and could share information, ask questions, solve problems and sometimes even chat. Thousands of members and still growing. Pretty nice job!

Thanks all.

Bob

 

[robtonya]

All mentioned above agreed upon. I think Festool's success is......................Festool. If their product was just another turd, none of us would be here (in my opinion).

 

[tbellemare]

I vote for the customers for having the wisdom to recognize value no matter what other people are doing or telling them.

Tom

 

[richard.selwyn]

I don't know how successful they are here in France - but if we could have any of the people on Bob's list over here -  I'm sure they'd be a damn sight more successful.  The attitude here seems to be that they sell themselves.  It's true - I see a Festool and not only do I want it, but I NEED it, but I wish there was the same infrastructure over here making things easier.  I have a good relationship with a couple of Festool dealers over here, but its taken a long time.  If you look at the list of "Festool distributors" from the French website there are literally dozens of addresses that I know personally do not have a single Festool item in stock.  In the past I have even made the journey to businesses that were listed that had closed.
So to answer Bob - in my experience its the tools that sell themselves, because a lot of the time Festool France give the impression that they could not give a XXXX

 

[Mac]

And maybe a thank you for people like Bob, whose enthusiasm and willingness to help are wonderful to see.  I always notice how positive and helpful your posts are Bob, and although I live in the UK so can't give you my business, you've done a lot to shape how I see Festool and feel about using these fantastic tools.

Cheers.
Mac

 

[GAgola]

Hi all you good FOG'ers,

Allow a newbie to make a comment, and possibly ask a question, or two...

The US Festool network is indeed well organized, going by the various posts in this forum, and no doubt it is thanks to all the good people you mentioned. I share in frustrations of the gentleman from France, regarding the situation in his locality, and only add that, he may not be the worst off. Try getting Festool gear in Nairobi, Kenya, and be directed to either South Africa or Egypt, a good three or more "countries" away on either direction (North and South), with different currencies and trade tariffs (and barriers) to boot...

My question: Is there a dealer/stockist in the vicinity of Albuquerque, TX, or indeed anywhere in the whole of that 110 volt expanse, who can supply a 240 Volt Festool Kapex KS 120 Sliding Compound Miter Saw to an address in Albuquerque, TX. Someone in the area is coming back to Nairobi shortly, and is willing to carry some "luggage" for me, While I do not mind using the 110v unit with a suitable step-down transformer, the potential for the rather pricey/precious Kapex being connected directly to our 240volt mains exists, and scares me aplenty.

Regards to all,

Agola Gregory
Nairobi, Kenya.

 

[tbellemare]

Do you mean Albuquerque NM?

I live in Austin TX and don't know of any 240-volt Festool tools that we can sell here.

I lived in Europe for a couple of years and ran all my 120-volt stuff with a transformer.

It is a risky prospect to buy something here and take it out of country because in the rare event that you required warranty work, it would have to be handled here.

Tom

 

[Frank Pellow]

I also lived in Europe (in my case for 4 years) and ran a lot of different 120 volt appliances and tools using step-down transformers.  The were no problems with any of them either while in Europe or after returning to Canada.

And, since it's Festool, you are not taking much of a risk by not having a warranty,  I have never had to use any of my many many Festool warranties.

 

[Neill]

Do you mean Albuquerque NM?

I live in Austin TX and don't know of any 240-volt Festool tools that we can sell here.

I lived in Europe for a couple of years and ran all my 120-volt stuff with a transformer.

It is a risky prospect to buy something here and take it out of country because in the rare event that you required warranty work, it would have to be handled here.

Tom

Tom,

I would hate to think of the duties involved to an individual trying to bring fully assembled equipment from one country to another.  The other thing that somewhat bothers me is that he in concerned about getting tools from "three countries away".  How about across almost two continents and the second largest ocean?

Neill

 

[Jimhart]

Here's what attracted, then sucked me in, in order;

The videos on the Wood Whisperer made me aware of Festool.

FOG educated me and got me over the hump of the price/value equation.

Bob Marino gave me the confidence I was buying the right tools for the job and that i'd always have someone to ask questions of if i got stuck.

Jim

 

[Mac]

Jim,

I was exactly the same!  Stumbled across the wood whisperer when I was trying to learn about mitre saws on youtube, where he was using something green and black and called, mysteriously, the 'Kapex'.  Hmm, I thought, that looks pretty cool, but what kind of a loon spends that sort of money when you could pick up a dewalt for so much less?  I then found the FOG, and everything changed!

That was a few months ago. Now I'm broke but happy, and sit spending many a happy hour on the FOG or polishing my growing collection of festools...

Mac

 

[GAgola]

Hi FOGers,

Allow me a response to the fears and concerns of Neil and Tom regarding distance to service and duties to be paid. Not to hijack the thread (if so may the admins move this comment to the right place), but these are quite valid and very applicable in this particular case. However, those are the risks and costs one bears in this region if one is to access technology.

Toolswise, the Eastern Africa region is (rather poorly) serviced from the East (China/India) via Dubai, with the attendant levels of technology and precision, and the occassional poor rip-offs of current "western" tooling technology. The intended gains in looking eastwards are more often than not, lost to 'middle-men' both locally and elsewhere, as well as the govt (the duties). The local response to this, the "JUA KALI" movement/sector, is another (long) story in itself...

If one happens to know a friend or relative travelling to the western world (for reasons of study, work, medicare etc), one gets the rare chance to bring back an item or two, like a Kapex for example. Clearly (most of) the risks are considered and assurances from seasoned users and owners, such as those in this forum, are factored in. One bites the bullet and the item is acquired. This not only serves to keep the "tech" (and hopefully creative) juices going, but also gives one the rather "unfair" edge over the competition.

Thanks to all those who contributed to my question(s) and put me straight regarding the voltage issue..., and most sincere apologies for the unintended intrusion into this thread. Regards to you all, I hope to be back for more specific help when, and if, the Kapex gets to Nairobi. In the meantime, I will continue to lurk..., and learn...

Agola Gregory
Nairobi, Kenya.

Do you mean Albuquerque NM?

I live in Austin TX and don't know of any 240-volt Festool tools that we can sell here.

I lived in Europe for a couple of years and ran all my 120-volt stuff with a transformer.

It is a risky prospect to buy something here and take it out of country because in the rare event that you required warranty work, it would have to be handled here.

Tom

Tom,

I would hate to think of the duties involved to an individual trying to bring fully assembled equipment from one country to another.  The other thing that somewhat bothers me is that he in concerned about getting tools from "three countries away".  How about across almost two continents and the second largest ocean?

Neill

 

[GAgola]

The Kapex arrived in Nairobi July 17, and in very good condition too.

Took about three days to get here, duty was duly paid, thankfully not too high. The revenue authorities saw the sense of not being "prohibitist". It is currently in use, with a suitable transformer, supporting ongoing crown moulding work, the occassional cabinet work, and as a useful learning tool in the finer points of compound mitre sawing.

A friend is still awaiting a DeWalt ordered around the same time, from "just three countries away" In two instances, inexplicable delays in delivery to the travelling party caused them to leave it behind, and a third time they did not have the desired unit in stock. Such are the realities of "trade" in these parts.

GAgola
Nairobi, Kenya