Vineman23 Posted April 10, 2010 Report Share Posted April 10, 2010 Hi Guys, Is there any difference in the quality of the forging between the Japanese factory and the Thailand factory? What about the tolerences within the products? I assume that the epon clubs are forged in Japan and the fourteen / on off etc are forged in Thailand is this correct? One would also assume that the reason for the factory in Thailand is due to cost of production? Thanks Vineman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gocchin Posted April 10, 2010 Report Share Posted April 10, 2010 The factories in Niigata and Thailand are both ISO certified so follow the same standard of quality and workmanship, though yes there are economical factors to take into consideration. Running a factory in Thailand is cheaper all around, including the actual factory, labour/workers, etc. So which brand is forged where does depend a lot on that brands budget for each model. I toured the Endo factory in Niigata and was shown the process that OEM's go through. The first step is design and R&D which is done sometimes in partnership with Endo and sometimes on the brand's own ie bring their own designs. Once the budgets and costs are established, the brands and Endo determine which is the most cost efficient for that brand, forging in Japan or Thailand. The moulds are all made of the same quality and the manufacturing processes are the same. The only difference I cannot determine is the grade of steel. While Endo insists on JIS grade S20C steel for there irons and wedges, I cannot determine if there is a quality or grade difference within that grade. ie is all JIS S20C created equally. As for drivers, the type of Ti use will determine costs as well as how advanced the face and body designs are. Even the designs of the irons greatly affect price ie an iron like the AF-701, multi piece, multi material iron with tungsten weights forged right into the sole then laser welded as roll face. It's not a cheap production process. I did not go to Thailand to check their factory out, though its huge. However even in the day I spent at Endo, I saw MANY brands being made during my visit including, Titleist and Cobra forged irons, Callaway Legacy Drivers, S-Yard Drivers and irons, Yamaha drivers and irons, and at the time Nike Drivers. There were probably many other brands there too but his is just what I noticed that day being forged and produced here in Japan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vineman23 Posted April 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2010 Thanks T, Sounds like these guys do more work than we all know about, it is interesting that I have played a few of those OEM forged irons avail in Australia and had limited success with them in terms of feel and playability and kept going back to my old Mizuno MP 30's which I believe were forged in China. I then bought the ONOFF s forged wedges from you guys and they are the best feeling clubs (irons or wedges) I have played so I am now looking at an iron set forged by endo! vineman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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