Atlas - why have you forsaken me?

[wm3798]

Craig,
You're half my age, but you're one of the best mentors I've had.  You said "I view this company as a reflection of my being, values, and personality."

That's how I viewed my design business.  I treated every customer the way I would want to be treated, and I tried to develop projects that met their needs as closely as possible.  Unfortunately the part I couldn't control was the banks turning off the spigot so no one could build anything for three years...  But spending that time doing something less satisfying and less rewarding has helped me focus on the things I need to do better next time.

Carry on, you've got a great thing going there.  And if you come out with an Alco S-2 before Atlas does, it won't hurt my feelings one iota.

 ;D

[asciibaron]

Carry on, you've got a great thing going there.  And if you come out with an Alco S-2 before Atlas does, it won't hurt my feelings one iota.

maybe Craig will beat Atlas with a code 55 curved turnout 

hehe

[asarge]

Craig,

You are wise beyond your years!

[PGBowler2]

the letter from Atlas does not jive with the original release date, 3rd quarter in 2008 i think it was.  after they knew of the problems, they still set dates that came and went.  and here, yet another date has been missed.  it's difficult to take this as a customer waiting for the product with an entire layout on hold.  and i'm a newcomer to the desire to add these turnouts to my layout.  i really want them to arrive so i can tell everyone they were worth the wait and they are the best thing since Cylon toast.

 ;D

The 3rd quarter of 2008 is when the pre-Kader Sanda Kan was basically insolvent.  Almost all deliveries from them stopped - none of their customers were spared.  Kader took over in January 2009, right before Chinese New Year - which pretty much shuts down the factory for close to a month.  Then Kader started putting in their manufacturing methods and procedures and things didn't just start pouring off the production line.  We were getting master schedules of our products on a monthly basis, and updated the ship dates accordingly.  Trust me, we want to get product out the door as badly as you want to see it.  It's pretty shocking to get  a schedule with a ship date less than a week away, then when that date comes, all of the sudden the ship date moves 2 or 3 months.   

While in Germany I spoke with the higher ups from some other companies that also use Kader/Sanda Kan, and they experienced the same problems.  The majority agreed, though, that things are starting to get better.  We have recently seen an increase in what is being shipped to us as well.

Paul

[Philip H]

Paul,
Thanks for clearing this up "from the inside."  Its one of the things I absolutely love about TRW - we all B*&$#, whine, moan, and complain (while doing a lot of good modeling) and manufacturers like yourself still come here regularly and help us understand the business, as well as giving us real and valuable feedback on how to better interact with you.  Well, at least some of you do.

[asciibaron]

thanks Paul - i couldn't sort out why the product that was supposed to be delivered well before the shake up was affected - the shake up was a long time in the making.  i understand the "it's in the container" and then the date is moved 3 months.  i never got to see the Erie Triplex or PRR DD1 as a production model because of exactly that situation.  

Atlas is not immune to the industries woes.  hopefully a container will arrive in April with the curved turnouts.  i'm just eager to get the layout going - i'll even help unload the container!!

[MichaelWinicki]

All I needed was the one curved turnout... So I bit the bullet and ordered one from the guy that advertises on eBay.

[Philip H]

All I needed was the one curved turnout... So I bit the bullet and ordered one from the guy that advertises on eBay.

And how is his work?

[MichaelWinicki]

All I needed was the one curved turnout... So I bit the bullet and ordered one from the guy that advertises on eBay.

And how is his work?

Philip, I should be able to give you some feedback soon.

[Dave Vollmer]

I bought two and they're great.

[GaryHinshaw]

I'm sure we (consumers) all wish Atlas well, and I appreciate Paul's input.  N scale would be in a very different state today were it not for them, and I myself have been delighted to take delivery of several new Thrall gons and 25 K tankers in the past month.  I'm hoping things turn around for Deluxe Innovations soon too - similar situation, I believe.  

[Is it something about New Jersey.  ???]

The Kader/Sanda Kan situation reminds me of UP's meltdown on the chemical coast following the acquisition of SP.  That was a classic case of organ transplant rejection!  

[wm3798]

Hey Paul, speaking of code 55...

Brian (RockGP40) and I had an interesting conversation with an employee at our local Hobby Town USA outlet the other day.  We were in the process of cleaning him out of c55, which his boss had deemed unsellable, and was clearancing at 40% off.

They're going to continue to stock Bachmann EZ track, and c80 snap track, and the guy said he'd do his best to keep the c55 around, but couldn't promise.

Now,granted, Hobby Town is one of those All-Purpose hobby stores with everything from coin folders to RC planes, so unless you get a manager who genuinely is into trains, you probably won't get too far, but they are a national chain, so I'm wondering if there's not some way to work with their distribution system to improve the availability of your product line.  The c65 True Track might be an ideal product for this sort of generic hobby store environment!

Bachmann always seems to have these places cornered with their lowest common denominator stuff, but our store is carrying more Athearn, probably due to the Horizon relationship, and Horizon is big into R/C.

If you like, I can make some phone calls for ya... I just got whacked at work today, so I've got some time on my hands!

I also think it might be fun to engage model builders to make some little track comparison modules that show how really good c55 looks compared to the "other leading brands"...

Lee

[Chris333]

Tony works at a Hobby Town so he may have input.

We have a Hobby Town near me. I went there once pulled into the parking lot and saw the Thomas posters up in the window. So I didn't even go in. But on the other hand Tony's store seems to have everything. Guess it just depends who shops there and who works there.

[GaryHinshaw]

I just got whacked at work today, so I've got some time on my hands!
Lee

Oh no!!  Sorry to hear that Lee!

[sirenwerks]

Lee, I just sent you a PM. We can start a club, and I don't me MRRing.