Did they copy someone, probably, who cares....like stated above, they can change one thing.....and like stated on the tensioner....the patent was ignored....
Just wait until all the innovators are fed up, see what great deals there are on junk parts that don't fit.
And that's about the crux of it. When companies that put it all on the line to bring new products to market get knocked-off on a regular basis, if they aren't supported by their customer base they will eventually take their ball and go play in some other market where they don't have to deal with the problem.
That said, I decided to chime in because this matter is really close to home, quite literally. First of all, I'd like to thank all of our customers that support us because they like our products and the service we provide. We clearly state on our website that people have a choice in their purchases, and we're glad they choose us. For the record we're here for the long haul and are keeping our ball right in this court, mostly because we enjoy what we do, and because we're helping provide jobs for our fellow american in times when many are all too happy to offshore production work to save a quick nickel, at the expense of the long-term stability of our country's economy. We won't be part of that trend that sells out our country's future for a quick buck. Without making this a political argument, just ask yourself if it's better to support companies that provide jobs for your neighbor, or those that provide jobs for communist dictatorships that control their people at the end of a gun? What if it was your job you were saving?
We develop these products because of our passion for the cars they go on, and because as many tell us, we have a "dream job" that they wish they had. We produce all of our products here in the USA, and our employees take pride in their work, insuring that what goes out of our doors is the best it can be. We don't outsource production overseas, or substitute lower quality materials or production methods in an effort to increase profits. Instead, we sink just about every dollar that comes in the door into improving our processes, equipment, and products so that they are what we'd want if we were the customer.
Do our products cost more? Well that depends on your point of view. Sometimes, we're the same initial price as a knock-off, sometimes a little more, but what does the customer get for their dollar?
If buying our product, they get a piece made in America, by craftsmen, using certified domestic or european alloys, hand deburring and finishing where needed, certified ASTM or MilSpec finishes, and a company that doesn't believe in warranties on a box, but believes in putting quality inside the box and standing behind their products so that a warranty isn't required.
If a customer buys from "Brand X", they are helping to pay for a large marketing budget that swallows up R&D funds (hence why they are normally second to market) & forces the use of cheaper materials, possibly offshore or inexperienced labor and production (hence why there are sharp edges on machined parts which is a big no-no), or at the very least cutting corners in product quality because the marketing "sizzle" required to get you to eat their "steak" takes up cubic dollars of their budget (hence why they are 5.00 less at retail but have 20.00 less cost in the finish that was applied). Since no company can just print money like the .gov can, even the copycats have to control their costs. So if their marketing sizzle requires them to have a 4 to 10+ page ad, big trailers, and sponsorship of major events to get people to buy their steak, and they aren't all that much bigger than some of the other companies represented in this thread, then they have to be pulling money from somewhere - and after a customer has bought the same part 2-3x because it fails or doesn't stay looking good for more than a couple weeks, was the initial savings worth it?
Let's talk some real turkey though, and not just hypotheticals...
What if it is a mission-critical piece (suspension arm) that was not properly engineered because the original engineer who designed it (working for the first-to-market competitor) made sure that part of the structural integrity of the part was covered in the design patent? When the "one change" made is to cut that portion out of the arm, suddenly the arm can suffer massive failure, with dire consequences.
That's public record.
Customers can choose to buy from a family-owned and operated company like ours, JLT, Fore Precision, Maximum, Griggs, and others that cater to their customers or they can buy from companies that "muscle" in under assumed names, produce products offshore, and have convicted criminals in positions of leadership or ownership.
That's public record as well.
Customers can choose to buy suspension products that have sound engineering, FEA testing, real-world testing, and of course track & road testing, or they can buy a control arm that has poor material choice, poor welding, and tons of powdercoating to make it all blingy and may cause a catastrophic failure leading to the death of the driver.
That's public record as well.
Customers can choose to buy knock-offs that were designed from unique patented products, since the copycat has justified the production by the simple fact that litigation and defense of patents takes time and money, and even if they lose in court, they've normally won in the market. See the film "Flash of Genius" to understand how this works, as it was based upon a true story. Normally it's a deep-pocket game, and if you don't have them, you can't defend against them.
That's public record as well.
And of course, customers can choose to purchase products from companies that hide behind fake addresses, no phones, limited contact capability, and multiple names in an effort to confuse the customer on who's products they are really buying, or they can buy from companies that have physical addresses, phone numbers, emails, and company owners who are willing to take the time to post as themselves (not as fake fan-boy posters) in forums what the truth is about what is going on in the market so that people can make educated choices, and not just rely on some more marketing B.S.
That's public record as well.
There's a reason why we have open houses every year and say in our ads and online "Stop by and take a tour" - we're proud to let people come to our facility and see how we make our products and are happy to educate people on what it takes to make some of the pieces they see in our catalog. We don't need to hide "made in China" boxes behind closed doors, we don't need fake business addresses because we don't have anything more than a warehouse for containers, and we certainly don't need a large marketing budget to get the word out to customers about what it is we're all about, because our customers who normally become our friends do that for us without any "paid spokesperson" disclaimers.
There's also a reason why as a six-year-old company we are supplying the likes of
Saleen, Ford, the U.S. military, and others, while our competition is not. And it's not because we're "connected" through family, far from it - I was a service technician that had a racing dream before I started this business, proving once again that only in America can anyone "make it" if they want to starting with nothing more than a dream to make stuff that finally fit and worked as advertised.
Finally, please do not construe the above as a "sales pitch" - just comments from an owner who sometimes needs to make sure people know what it is they are buying with their hard-earned money. Also, I've tried to abide by forum rules and not link to our site or even mention it in the thread, but I do post as "SHR" in all forums so that we're not hiding behind any assumed names or fake identities and people know it's us when we post. And without turning this thread into a mud-slinging fest, yes, I can back up every
bolded claim made above if needed, but in the interest of not mucking up a thread totally without all the accused parties present to defend themselves, I have decided not to do so at this time. However, a few minutes with Google would easily find supporting evidence to all of the above statements if you're in the mood to see that the statements above are indeed accurate and factual.
They even copied a picture of a X-3 from Evo to put in the ad.
Come on, how hard is it to find an X-3 picture withOUT your competitors logo on it???
