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Did Hatco close their rough hat body plant?

TWKundrat

One of the Regulars
Messages
128
I'll admit that I'm a bit sleep deprived but I swear I saw a comment on Facebook yesterday about Hatco closing their rough body plant in Longview and that they are now using imported felts. I can't find the post today so I'm wondering if there's any truth to this or if it was all a hallucination?
 
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10,944
Location
vancouver, canada
I'll admit that I'm a bit sleep deprived but I swear I saw a comment on Facebook yesterday about Hatco closing their rough body plant in Longview and that they are now using imported felts. I can't find the post today so I'm wondering if there's any truth to this or if it was all a hallucination?
I have no idea how large they are but I have some felt samples from China in production, both rabbit and beaver. They prefer to sell in 200 and 500 quantity. Pricing is pretty good so Hatco could be sourcing from China. Although the pricing just rose 20%.
 
Messages
10,944
Location
vancouver, canada
Well that's a damn shame. Wish I could have seen it when it was up and running. I asked if I could get a tour there when I was at the finishing plant but I was told they wouldn't do tours there. I wonder what will happen to all of the equipment.
They have to be sourcing them from China I would think. FEPSA does not have the capacity to fill their needs. Where else could they go?
 

Edward

Bartender
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25,336
Location
London, UK
Some mfg's justify a US Made perspective as long as it has greater than 50% US value (or some similar benchmark) and that can be finishing of raw goods.

That's been the legal baseline for a long time, I believe. I remember it becoming an issue years ago with guitars labelled "Made in USA" when not all the parts were. Mattered a lot to a lot of folks who were, for various reasons, paying a significant price premium for the "Made in USA" status. Last I noticed, Fender's US product now just says "Corona California" without any "made in", presumably trying to side step the controversy.
 

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