Made in the USA...

[Chosei Funahara]

I was born just right after independence from the Occupied Japan by the Allied Powers, let by the United State.
I grew up with all American good and Good Old American Culture in Japan in 1950's.
I've remembered old western cowboy TV shows, and family dramas, Old good American Movies and American Music.
Everything was made in USA and we had dreams…
Yes, now I live in USA soil and became an US citizen a while back and I drive US made cars and now I will going to use US made incredible Motion Picture Capture Device that call Red Digital Epic Motion Picture Camera.
I am very happy and Thanks to Jim.

 

[Mariano T.]

Same over here. I bought my lighting kit and kept an eye on where the parts come from - nearly everything was from Europe: the led modules (Holland), the battery technology (GERMANY!!!) - ok, except the cells (Toshiba/Japan), but even the stands and the rigging parts (italy) - european stuff rocks!

 

[Denizhan Nacar]

An American success story from Turkey , Dr.Mehmet Oz.....Only In America....

 

[Sabyasachi Patra]

I understand the emotions. It is a matter of pride for any country to have such high tech manufacturing.

However, trying to create the entire supply chain in the country, may not be the most efficient approach. It may have political overtones, however, if one looks at the net total benefit to the economy, then it may not be the best approach.

Apple's iPhone is manufactured by Foxconn in China. If Apple would have tried to set up that manufacturing in US, then one can safely say that iPhone would not have sold such massive numbers. The iPhone is a market leader in many geographies, in its segment. By selling in such volumes, it creates more value for US, than a limited number of completely made in US product.

In a high value, low volume product like the Epics, RED ones etc, one can afford to charge a sufficient "production premium" for being Made in USA. However, just imagine a scenario, where RED is able to source components (or manufacture in India/China) thereby creating low priced and great quality products taking the market away from a certain Japanese giant. Don't you think that will result in more value creation in US?

Sharing a link to a news report which quotes the study by the IT Industry. http://money.cnn.com/2004/03/30/news/economy/outsourcing/index.htm

which states the benefits of outsourcing.

We are a global economy and all the economies are more interlinked. When you guys sneeze, we catch cold. Today, I read in papers that the unemployment rate in US is some 20%. That is truly shocking. That needs some hard economic decisions by the Govt. One can't just stimulate the economy by increased spending...

In one of your earlier posts you had talked about War (read decimating competition). How on earth are you going to do that, with high cost of manufacturing? I am not challenging the ability of the amazing guys and gals working in RED or their innovativeness or your fantastic leadership skills. Am just concerned that RED could have ensured more value to the American economy by not restricting its manufacturing to CA/USA.

Regards,
Sabyasachi

Many companies say that their products "are designed in the USA." That is a hand job. Designing in the USA does create a few jobs, but that isn't enough. Most then send the designs to China for manufacturing.

Truly "Made in the USA" is what matters. That used to mean something. It does again today. At least we think so...

We are anxious and excited to create jobs here. We think we can compete by designing, engineering and manufacturing in the USA. That means performance and pricing.

90+% of EPIC is USA made. Even the boards are made in Silicone Valley. All assembly is being done at our factory in Irvine, CA. While we have nothing against China, almost nothing about EPIC has any parts made there. Only a handful of parts are made in Japan.

The future of our economy depends on Americans being productive. That means actually making things...

The very 1st EPIC-M (which went to Spiderman) took 8 people 12 hours to assemble. The 1st run had a 10% rate for "no re-work". That means that 90% had some sort of necessary re-work before it could be sent out.

Today... an EPIC-X gets assembled by an 8 person team in 13 minutes with a 96% "no re-work" percentage. And we are just getting started.

These are exciting times in a number of ways. The single best camera in the cinema industry was conceived of, designed, engineered, developed, and manufactured in the USA. Not Japan. Not Germany. Who would have thunk it?

Jim

 

[constantine Tirintzis]

Hello. While I agree with the pride of a product made in the USA as its an American company, and its a great thing for the USA economy offering jobs, you should really consider that 1000s of your customers are all over the world and most European,so building the camera is one thing, but service and repair is another.
If one owns a 40-75k package of camera, he is a professional and he needs the fastest service available with the less hassle as possible, because everyday with out the camera working means a lot of $$$ Loss on his business, so the bottom line is , you should also expand in a few European countries that others have very fast shipping access with out customs and complex paperwork, and fast and reliable service. And at the same time you will also create jobs for European people that also supports you putting their $$$$$ on your company. Do not forget , that the crisis is not only a US thing, its a worldwide problem, and it has to be equalized faced as such a problem for all people around the world.
Best regards

 

[Sergio Perez]

I understand the emotions. It is a matter of pride for any country to have such high tech manufacturing.

However, trying to create the entire supply chain in the country, may not be the most efficient approach. It may have political overtones, however, if one looks at the net total benefit to the economy, then it may not be the best approach.

Apple's iPhone is manufactured by Foxconn in China. If Apple would have tried to set up that manufacturing in US, then one can safely say that iPhone would not have sold such massive numbers. The iPhone is a market leader in many geographies, in its segment. By selling in such volumes, it creates more value for US, than a limited number of completely made in US product.

In a high value, low volume product like the Epics, RED ones etc, one can afford to charge a sufficient "production premium" for being Made in USA. However, just imagine a scenario, where RED is able to source components (or manufacture in India/China) thereby creating low priced and great quality products taking the market away from a certain Japanese giant. Don't you think that will result in more value creation in US?

Sharing a link to a news report which quotes the study by the IT Industry. http://money.cnn.com/2004/03/30/news/economy/outsourcing/index.htm

which states the benefits of outsourcing.

We are a global economy and all the economies are more interlinked. When you guys sneeze, we catch cold. Today, I read in papers that the unemployment rate in US is some 20%. That is truly shocking. That needs some hard economic decisions by the Govt. One can't just stimulate the economy by increased spending...

In one of your earlier posts you had talked about War (read decimating competition). How on earth are you going to do that, with high cost of manufacturing? I am not challenging the ability of the amazing guys and gals working in RED or their innovativeness or your fantastic leadership skills. Am just concerned that RED could have ensured more value to the American economy by not restricting its manufacturing to CA/USA.

Regards,
Sabyasachi

Maybe so, but nothing prevents Red from making market leading and at the same time affordable products to costumers worldwide made solely in the USA. The main advantage RED has as a company is that also its still not a Corporate giant, traded in the Stock market, with shareholders, etc. I think that that would be the biggest mistake of RED. Because in the end, when you enter into this large scale, shareholder, open trade/share like company, your shareholders are only interested in one thing- immediate profitability, and more and more money at all costs- and never look at the other not so immediate profits, some of them merely moral and ethic- but still profits.

Red, by staying a privately owned company with its own philosophy can keep its balance between profitability and at the same time "philosophy". All Red and Jim's taglines, for example, including the "We refuse to service people with a bad attitude" couldn't exist in a corporate, Sony like structure.

Sincerely, I think that as long as Jim balances out profitability vs the competitiveness of his products, he and the Red team are very well capable of creating large volume affordable professional cameras in the USA. As long as you can establish what type of profit number is sufficient for you and your company, and not establish highest profit as your only goal, this is more than possible.

Now I just hope Red never goes into the stock market, and can keep itself as the independent privately owned and passion driven company like it is today. This is what makes it a leader.

Apple, for example, lost a lot of its interest for the professional market due to its growth as a corporate giant... The recent Final Cut fiasco was really due to its new corporate philosophy as the "cool" gadget company that keeps everything a secret. Their hype machine, built around no communication and secrecy, just didn't work for the professional market. And the result was a lacklustre software that is now under heavy rework. This lacklustre software was a compromise software geared towards prosumers, with limiting features, something apple never did before in their professional line of products. This was obviously because market research showed them that their users were more prosumers and they needed to target their products more to them. Typical marketing and focus group developed product. When you follow this type of philosophy, you hardly get innovation or truly revolutionary tools. (Yes, Ipad and Iphone were very impressive. I own many Apple products, too.)

 

[Mark Phelan]

I am a proud American and proud that you are too Jim. Good to see someone take a stand for something that many have forgotten or forsaken these days. It takes guts and I'm liking that. Cheers to you and the rest of the RED team. Go get 'em.

 

[David Dennis]

Sabyasachi, I believe I understand the business case to make RED products in the USA. It's a surprisingly good one.

It is fairly obvious that RED is chronically understaffed. But there is a reason for this: The bigger the team, the harder it is to create the spirit of camaraderie and esprit de corps that is so obviously a huge part of RED.

The fewer people you have, the more expensive it is to send one of them on a plane to China for 12 hours plus.

Even in First Class or Jim's jet, it's no fun spending 12 hours on a plane. And it's tough dealing with people whose language you don't know and whose culture is a potential minefield of misunderstanding. So dealing with Chinese contract companies is hard on employees, and the one thing RED really cannot be is hard on employees. They push themselves hard enough as it is.

If you bring production to the USA, you are there to solve any problems that come up. If you have a design question, it's a half hour drive to the factory. If you have a production problem, it's a half hour drive, not a difficult and tedious effort to work things out over the phone. And you deal direct with people who know your language and understand exactly what you want. (I'm sure RED hires the best production workers they can find and I doubt they are cheap.)

So how much is this costing you? Well, if it takes 13 minutes to make an EPIC you can make 4.61 an hour. That means that if your production people cost $50 an hour, it costs about $11 in labor to assemble an EPIC. Sure, you could probably get the same labor for $3 an hour in China, a difference of a bit over $10. For products retailing for thousands of dollars, this is insignificant.

In short, for a product line that constantly changes, it may actually be cheaper and - most importantly for RED - a lot easier on their extraordinarily hard working team to make EPIC and Scarlet in the US.

It's interesting to note that despite all this it took real guts to run contrary to the outsourcing tide and produce in the US. I'm pleased to see, through the reports of high EPIC quality, that this venture has been a success. Perhaps it will encourage more electronics production here.

D

 

[Tom.Wong]

the pride you take in your products is a assurance Jim, when you were still in the sunglass biz, those fancy ballistic glasses Oakley made saved a few of my buddy's eyesight... not to mention the most comfortable desert combat boots I've ever had the pleasure of wearing glad that pride and spirit has been going into this camera too. made in USA means a lot to me as do a lot of people.

 

[Adam Beck]

Jim,

Thanks for staying in California, your undertaking was difficult enough as it is, let alone in an unfriendly business state like California. Where there is a will there is a way........

Mark,

Nice App.

 

[Sergio Perez]

Hello. While I agree with the pride of a product made in the USA as its an American company, and its a great thing for the USA economy offering jobs, you should really consider that 1000s of your customers are all over the world and most European,so building the camera is one thing, but service and repair is another.
If one owns a 40-75k package of camera, he is a professional and he needs the fastest service available with the less hassle as possible, because everyday with out the camera working means a lot of $$$ Loss on his business, so the bottom line is , you should also expand in a few European countries that others have very fast shipping access with out customs and complex paperwork, and fast and reliable service. And at the same time you will also create jobs for European people that also supports you putting their $$$$$ on your company. Do not forget , that the crisis is not only a US thing, its a worldwide problem, and it has to be equalized faced as such a problem for all people around the world.
Best regards

Constantine, I know were you're coming from, but I have had terrible service from Sony, for example, over here. Also distribution has nothing to do with manufacture. I think Red could very well create a good distribution channel around the world, in some key markets. Nowadays, in Europe, for example, going from country to country is just a low cost flight away...

I think Red should have a representation office, hiring local people- Directly tied and that would respond to the USA- in their main markets: They already have a Red representation in Europe (Britain), but they could have another one in France, Germany, Italy, maybe Spain and Netherlands- places that other neighbouring European countries could easily access. They could have one in Russia, Japan, India, Singapore, Hong-Kong, Mainland China, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Russia in the medium term. These are probably the biggest markets right now for Red Products, and neighbouring countries could service either direct to Red or through these regional "outposts". The key of these Red branches, however, would have to be to not have "exclusivity of sale" over the main branch in the USA. My terrible experience with the local Sony Professional branch, where I was ignored, badly treated as a costumer and was quoted a ridiculous amount of money (almost 30% more) over the same product from the US price (and here there's no import tax!) went, I'm sure, completely unnoticed by Sony Japan- and there was no way for me to express my frustration to the main branch. Every single Red representation should provide the same prices and services as the main branch. And every single one should be "RED" specific and not be working on distributing other stuff from other companies. Having a local distribution should not prevent direct sales and service/repairs from Red USA. This is essential to warrant that local representations stay true to Red's philosophy and that they do not become bad "flags" for the company. In fact, its better to start with few representations and make the Main Red USA handle the business if it means sub par representation and image damaging representations. In other words, I think Red should have more representation abroad, but should do this while keeping its highest standards.

 

[Mark Phelan]

Where there is a will there is a way........

I think the proper phrase is, "Where there is a will, there is a relative."

 

[George Butterfield]

Today... an EPIC-X gets assembled by an 8 person team in 13 minutes with a 96% "no re-work" percentage. And we are just getting started.

First rate! So, when in your estimation, will the 7,000th EPIC-X roll off the line?

 

[Ben Coleman]

Made in the USA is not only just a great move for creating American jobs, it is also a good move for protecting your IP. In the professional show lighting world we are seeing many products that have parts made in China getting ripped off and cheaper Chinese versions are being made. This has become a huge problem for all of us in the lighting world. I think it is a very safe move to keep it all here. Like what has been stated before, it sure is a lot easier to visit the factory when there is a production issue when it's only a few minutes away.

I do take some offense to some of the non USA members here that seem to be bent out of shape about this move. Listen, if someone in your county designed a product like this and decided to keep all of the production in their home country, than more power to them. I have no problem with that so you should not have any problem with a USA conceived and designed product being built in the USA.

:hurray:

 

[Ken Willinger]

I think the last USA made camera I used was an RCA TK-76 back around 1982... which was nothing to get excited about. Heavy and cumbersome, and tubes.

 

[Sergio Perez]

Made in the USA is not only just a great move for creating American jobs, it is also a good move for protecting your IP. In the professional show lighting world we are seeing many products that have parts made in China getting ripped off and cheaper Chinese versions are being made. This has become a huge problem for all of us in the lighting world. I think it is a very safe move to keep it all here. Like what has been stated before, it sure is a lot easier to visit the factory when there is a production issue when it's only a few minutes away.

I do take some offense to some of the non USA members here that seem to be bent out of shape about this move. Listen, if someone in your county designed a product like this and decided to keep all of the production in their home country, than more power to them. I have no problem with that so you should not have any problem with a USA conceived and designed product being built in the USA.

:hurray:

I think that is the wrong reason to do it. I don't see a problem with cheap alternatives and ripoffs. They will never truly affect your business, as long as you keep Value/innovation/quality as your key elements of manufacture, you'll never lose to sub par ripoffs. You'll lose the lowest end of the pond, maybe, but never the professional, results demanding market. I don't see Arri lights losing too much to these ripoffs, for example. I also don't see any Camera ripoff challenging the big Japanese manufacturers, coming from the likes of China or India. It should've happened by now... Or a competitive Ipad or Iphone ripoff... People know, respect and support quality. I'm sure Sony must be dissecting a Red Epic now, or Canon, or Arri, and Red will probably do the same with the F65. This also happens with our films- they go out, they can be "copied" (not the dvd or the print, I'm not talking about this, but the "formula") , but if you're good, you're giving something new to the audience, something they like, they will support and identify with your products, and pay for them.

The key motivation for Red to be manufactured in the USA should be above all quality, be innovative, maintaining the "essence" and "philosophy" of what Red is about, and keeping everything manageable without the interference of those whose concerns do not fit into the company "philosophy" (like simple, immediate profit looking shareholders). That way they can lead for a very, very long time, at least in the professsional market!

 

[Eric J Kosinski]

Many companies say that their products "are designed in the USA." That is a hand job. Designing in the USA does create a few jobs, but that isn't enough. Most then send the designs to China for manufacturing.

Truly "Made in the USA" is what matters. That used to mean something. It does again today. At least we think so...


Jim

This is awesome news!! Makes me want to buy RED even more for sure!! Building in the US is surprisingly much easier for a start up than one would think. So for any of you wishing to create a product, accessory, etc, read on with my experience about USA manufacturing over the last year. I hope it helps some with ideas for RED and other cinema gear. A year ago I started a company producing some sliders, dslr cage systems, etc for the film & video industry and I looked abroad first thinking this would be the most cost effective option. What I soon found was that US based machine shops, while notoriously behind schedule (maybe the reason for delay on some of RED products, and understandable) have great rates, no customs problems, very minimal language barriers, although some shops in the US have hired some illegal emigrants, etc. We create all of our design in the US (New Jersey), prototype with a few places in PA, have our screws and rails (for some parts) delivered only from US plants with US manufacturing as well. The best part is, while the cost is somewhat higher per part if ordering in small quantity, there is Quality Control, and we can pick up the phone, drive in and speak to a US based manager for some accountability if our parts aren't super critical tolerances like expected.

We are new, like RED (not comparing ourselves to RED by any means) and had to start small and manufacturing in the US actually allows to do this. If going abroad for parts, manufacturing, etc, besides the quality control issues, products have to be shipped across the ocean (I've seen CNC machines ship across from CHINA and because the salt content of the air overseas can dramatically screw up tolerances, etc, so a heavy grease is packed on them) I can't imagine the QC for electronics.

Anyway, overall, there are some great US machine shops with personal service. In all the last 3 years of creating and designing and manufacturing small accessories, parts, etc I have build relationships with 2 shops with a great reputation, precision tolerance capability, etc. I don't know if RED or anyone creating parts is interested, but I would easily recommend both. 1 is in FL and the other in New Jersey. I know that info would have helped me dramatically in the beginning. Good luck to all those creating in the US .

 

[Sanjin Jukic]

All Panavision cameras, digital and film, accessories and lenses are Made in USA, mostly California.

Keep in mind that probably it is the best made movie equipment ever.

Not even Arri labeled Made in Germany can compete with some of that Panavision beauties.

Californians just do it better.

 

[Eric J Kosinski]

I think that is the wrong reason to do it. I don't see a problem with cheap alternatives and ripoffs. They will never truly affect your business, as long as you keep Value/innovation/quality as your key elements of manufacture, you'll never lose to sub par ripoffs. You'll lose the lowest end of the pond, maybe, but never the professional, results demanding market. I don't see Arri lights losing too much to these ripoffs, for example. I also don't see any Camera ripoff challenging the big Japanese manufacturers, coming from the likes of China or India. It should've happened by now... Or a competitive Ipad or Iphone ripoff... People know, respect and support quality. I'm sure Sony must be dissecting a Red Epic now, or Canon, or Arri, and Red will probably do the same with the F65. This also happens with our films- they go out, they can be "copied" (not the dvd or the print, I'm not talking about this, but the "formula") , but if you're good, you're giving something new to the audience, something they like, they will support and identify with your products, and pay for them.

The key motivation for Red to be manufactured in the USA should be above all quality, be innovative, maintaining the "essence" and "philosophy" of what Red is about, and keeping everything manageable without the interference of those whose concerns do not fit into the company "philosophy" (like simple, immediate profit looking shareholders). That way they can lead for a very, very long time, at least in the professsional market!

I think you have a point that there is a market for some things to be made overseas, but people are spoiled and want things for low cost. It has gotten to the point that manufacturers are shipping from overseas for everything now. We in the US wonder where all the jobs went, and we all complain about why things cost so much. A dear friend from England laughs at me when I mention things like this. Things are so much more overseas, but Americans are spoiled, however we do pay more for the "perception" if it has a name behind it. There is a huge perception (and truth to some extent) that USA means quality as well, and we take pride in owning parts from the US, and we should. I don't want to make this a political debate, but sometimes for large companies like RED, or others, producing in the US could be actually lower cost and offer better quality. I'll explain. For anyone in the position of RED or any big name, if producing parts on a machining level, etc, a high end CNC mill with precision tolerances can be under $100,000 . If buying a Haas mill (made in the US) the parts could be made in the US on US machines. It doesn't get much better than this. The company can rent a facility, hire a few machinists, engineers, and do it all in house if they wanted. This is the epitome of Quality Control. Overall in the long run this would be a more valuable process for RED or any plant creating products. I'm sure it has some drawbacks, but has many advantages and when producing your own machine parts, outside of electronics (millions or billions of setup is necessary to make sensors, etc) there will always be less backorder, and parts could become available faster, cheaper, etc.

It seems US companies shipping overseas want to take the quick and easy route instead of this strategy because they are worried about selling now vs overcoming the growing pains of US manufacturing. RED started a revolution in cinema, hopefully they can start the REVOLUTION in US MANUFACTURING AGAIN. I would buy RED for this reason alone. That doesn't mean I don't buy from overseas manufacturers. I buy what I like, regardless of where it was made (unless I found out it was north korea lol) but there is a definitive pride in Buying US, especially if the company manufacturing is in the US.

 

[Elsie N]

...
Today... an EPIC-X gets assembled by an 8 person team in 13 minutes with a 96% "no re-work" percentage. And we are just getting started.


Jim

We ... expect to set in motion another 8 person team.

Put your helmets on. And get ready to send in your order.

Jim

Wow! this should chew through the Epic Stages quick enough... Will be interesting to see what comes next.