Where Is The US Stuff?

by Al Hargus

Had some time at work last night and I spent some time looking at the latest issue of a leading kite catalog. As usual there was some really great stuff. BUT I did notice something else that I had never noticed before. This catalog includes the location of manufacture for all their kites and windsocks. As I paged through the catalog I realized that not a whole heck of a lot of the "stuff" found on those pages is made in the United States. I got out my pen and paper and started counting and adding things up. Here is what I found:

There are approximately 375 "Things" made out of ripstop nylon pictured in the catalog. That includes Dual, Quad, and Single Line kites and also windsocks and banners.

This is the break down by country of manufacture.....

Dual and Quad Line Kites:

 59 total pictured, 17 made in the United States (28%), 42 made outside the US (China, England, Poland, 72%).

Single Line Kites

 172 total pictured, 59 made in the United States (34%), 113 made elsewhere (Mostly China & England, 66%)

Windsocks and Banners

 144 total pictured, 57 made in the US of A (39%), 87 made outside the US (mostly China, 61%)

OK, I know you all think that this is going to be a "Buy American" speech, and maybe it is. I'm not recommending that everyone stop buying foreign "stuff". Most of the foreign kites are inexpensive and that's what people want these days. I'm not implying either that the foreign "stuff" is cheap. As these "Out of the US" percentages include companies like Flexifoil, and Greens of England. I am planning on picking up a Bandit for this season myself. I guess that I have just been making that "Trivia" type of observation that I'm so good at. This may sound like an ad for Prism, but the percentage for US made dual line kites would be about 5% without them. Just think about all those great flying, inexpensive Chinese, Polish, and Tunisian kites the next time you go out to a kite festival and wonder where all the sponsorship is. It's not in the USA.

The New World Order

by Mike Gillard

The entire world economy has seen fundamental change over the last decade, and the "micromarket" of kiting directly reflects those changes. 

Demand For Inexpensive Goods

The US consumer generally expects and demands high-quality goods, at the lowest price possible. With the costs of doing business in the US at such high levels, mass manufacturers are virtually forced to outsource their manufacturing to foreign lands to have a chance at competing in the marketplace. With wage rates in Eastern Europe and the Far East being only a fraction of those in the US, manufacturers are able to have quality goods made by a skilled work force, and sell them in the US for the type of low prices that consumers demand.

Case Studies

Seattle Air Gear, makers of the "Wind Dance" foils, originally manufactured the kites in their shop in Washington. After several years of struggling to make a profit, they realized that they had to change the way they did business in order to survive. The owner toured Asia, looking for suitable alternatives for a manufacturing source.

"Wind Dance" foils are now made in a sparkling-clean facility in Vietnam, to very high quality standards. Without this change in manufacturing location, it is doubtful that these great kites would be available today.

The premier US manufacturer of stunt kites has also recently moved some of their production to Asia. Prism Design, makers of some of the greatest kites in the world has recently turned to China for production of their low-end kites, with no loss of quality. This has enabled them to maintain low prices on their entry-level kites, and has freed up all of their shop resources to concentrate on handcrafting their high-end kites, and increase their research and development efforts for the future. This is a win-win situation.

Shoe On The Other Foot

There is an exception to the rule about consumers demanding low prices, and that is the high-end consumer that wants handcrafted quality and ultimate performance. To this consumer, price is not the ultimate determining factor.

This consumer, rather than buying a Chevy Lumina, will invest the extra money in a Porsche, Ferrari, Acura NSX, or Mercedes SLK. Price be damned, they want something distinctive that will provide a level of pleasure that the old Dodge just won't produce.

The high-end kite consumer has a variety of handcrafted, ultimate performance machines to choose from... MADE IN THE USA! Peter Betancourt Sportkites, Blue Moon's Mojo, Ron Gibian's flying art, Kevin Shannon's creations... the list goes on.

My view? Let Europe and Asia make cheap stunt kites, windsocks, and 6' deltas. They can make the Dodges and Chevys, US craftsmen will make the Porsches and Ferraris, and I will buy as many as I can squeeze into the budget. To me, nothing compares to true craftsmanship; besides knowing exactly WHO made my new kite. 

Inexpensive foreign-made kites help make our sport accessible to all. We need to do a better job of attracting new fliers, many of whom will develop discerning tastes and graduate to handcrafted kites. 

Go to almost any retail store, and you will find it full of items made outside of the US. Look beyond the "mall", and you will find craftsmen and their goods.

Publisher's Note: There are many craftsman outside of the United States that are also making fine goods. This opinion piece was not meant to disparage their efforts, or the quality of their kites.