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19,199 Posts
Back as Murray was Going Under they started to Make some machines Overseas just Prior to Briggs Buying there assets Because they owed Briggs 40Million it Might have Been Less:thThumbsU
Murray Is Back In The USA
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5,704 Posts
From what I understand from an interview with a former employee at the Lawrenceburg plant, Murray outsourced some production, which turned out to be a HUGE mistake as they could no longer fulfill demand for emergency orders such as snow blowers. By the time they moved all production back to the states, it was too late. Coupled with the rest of the existing issues Murray was going through at the time apparently it was too much to recover from.
Of course to a purist like myself, Murray has not built anything since August of 2005.
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1,285 Posts
Too bad they're being built by MTD. It would have been great if they were AYP mowers (not meaning to brand-bash here, just a matter of personal preference.)
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5,704 Posts
Ideally I would have loved to see Briggs halt production back in 2005, clear out whatever incompetent management they had or didn't have in the Tennessee offices, and then bring the brand back stronger than ever. For me to see that entry level mtd branded as a Murray product, well never mind, I better stop there.
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1,285 Posts
:ditto: on that one. I wish they could get past the pressure for cheap prices and concentrate their efforts on making them like they did 20 years ago.
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989 Posts
That will only happen when we the consumer purchase the quality ones and stop buying the cheap c**p. I cannot tell you how many times i have read people on this forum say they would "never spend that kind money" on a product. The reality is if we don't spend money for quality, the manufactures are not going to make quality. Big companies focus on volume. Where there is not the volume to be reached with higher priced higher quality products, they will go for volume in cheap products. As a rule, we get what we pay for. We don't get what we don't. As a whole, if our biggest belly ache is about price, the manufacturers give us what we are willing to pay for. Lowest quality for the highest price they can get out out of us. Cheap.
These are the worst things going.. I took a quick look when I was back in the garden section 1 day.. Fwd/ reverse lever was JAMMED on 1 of them. I pushed the clutch and everything. it would not budge. The ground speed pedal felt catchy like it wasn't right.. Meanwhile, that was a $1200 tractor.. $300 more and an entry level D series JD is available at Lowes, or a Troy bilt, which is still an MTD but a much nicer tractor, for the same price...
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837 Posts
You gotta consider the end use of the purchase. Most of these "cheap" mowers are just that - mowers. Tractors from 20-30 years ago were used mostly in acerages where the owner did a lot more than just cut grass once a week. The growth in the LT market originally came from the housing boom in Florida, CA, and others. These were people mowing 1/3 acre lots who didn't need the kind of quality product built 30 years ago because they're not putting any significant wear on the machine.
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989 Posts
I don't disagree with you a bit. If that is what is selling, that is what the're making. In the end it is our purchasing decisions that drive what the manufactures make. There is quality being made, by a few, but you have to be willing to pay for it to get it.
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837 Posts
Sears used to advertise their LT's on "Made In America". That's one of the main reasons why AYP/Husqvarna are still made here. The other driving factor is that freight costs outweighed the labor savings. I wouldn't be surprised if that changed in the near future, but AYP uses a lot of seasonal help and the old factory and location in SC help keep overhead down.
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