4frnt Using Tunisia / North African manufacturing plant for skis, one of three new manufacturers.

nothanks

nothanks

Active member
Some info.

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maybe its a joke, or i dont get it. I thought 4frnt skis are being pressed in the Elan factory?
 
and I thought Chinese labour was questionable for a variety of legitimate reasons...

If they're being made in Africa, why are 4frnts so damn expensive?
 
Sure, quality manufacturing, and it's also dirt fucking cheap to make them there, not to mention questionable from an ethical/sustainable business point of view!

Fact: overseas manufacturing is CHEAPER, and that's why it gets used. K2 suffered no obvious quality control issues after their move to China, and it's cheaper to make skis there. Fine. It's also reflected in most of their prices.

The question therefore remains: why so damn expensive?
 
To be honest, Mid-east/North Africa/Levant manufacturing and engineering sucks ass. I have never seen skis from the region, but they don't adhere to any standards or have any quality control in any other aspect (cars, houses, buildings, appliances). Even in Dubai and Doha they fly in engineers from afar to design and supervise construction jobs because without them the structures would be un-sound.

I wouldn't buy skis from a place that has never seen snow, but that's just me. On the other hand I've seen Chinese production of extremely high quality, but never mid-eastern. Every business venture there besides western-run/built oil industry is a complete and miserable failure.
 
Not trying to be harsh but sadly is true.

Used to be some of the greatest architects and mathematicians on earth but its going downhill ;_;

Regards,
 
, and dubai flew a crew from the U.S. to make the indoor ski area... all of the top engineers there were american or european.
 
It does snow in the Atlas mountains, which are in Algeria and Morroco, possibly Tunisia as well. I believe there's even a resort there.
 
Here is the definitive word on this issue (which actually was posted on November 11, 2006 in another forum on the same issue). The MSP, VCT and EHP models are made in Tunisia at the same factory that makes G3 and Movement. The STL, TNK and Grom models are produced at Elan. The molds are still our own and unique to 4FRNT. We no longer have any skis made at the Option factory in Vancouver. Enough said on that point.

As for the reason that the skis are made in Tunisia, it has nothing to do with cheaper materials -- it has to do with the quality of the skis. The factory makes top-quality products with materials sourced from the same places from which other factories in Europe (e.g., Elan, GST, Rossignol. Atomic, Fischer, etc.) source their materials. Labor is a bit cheaper in Tunisia and there are some tax benefits, which is why the owners of the factory moved it from Italy to Tunisia several years ago. Nidecker and some Salomon snowboards are made a factory just down the road. Virtually all of the big brands have factories in the Ukraine, which is extremely cheap labor. This is the reality in a market like skiing and snowboarding where virtually all consumers believe that prices are too high for them. Tunisia and the Ukraine are part of a rapidly expanding European Economic Community and, unlike China, do not allow their workers to be exploited. If they did, we would not produce there. Period.

I hope that clears this up. We are very proud of the quality of the skis that have come from our new factories and, for the record, there is absolutely no connection between 4FRNT and Movement other than having some products produced by the same manufacturer.

Thanks.
 
Ahahah, I bet we all get banned for posting in this thread, 4FRNT likes to threaten/get people banned who talk bad about the stuff they make.
 
Israel is different though, they have higher standards of living, education, and I assume manufacturing as well... and obviously they're in the Middle East...
 
Well obviously Israel can manufacture F-16 avionics so yes they are in a different class. Education is MUCH higher there. I'm talking mid-east engineering in countires that lack good educational infrastructure. Morocco/Tunisia are North African and certainly ahead of the game, but I would be weary. I think the best thing 4frnt could do is post a factory tour with some product shots during the build, which would answer half of the labor/materials quality equation that skis rely on. Fact is, I've seen quality products from China in all fields, skiing, electronics, hi-fi, heavy machines, ships, snowboards, etc. But I've never owned a product from North Africa or the Levant that I liked. If 4frnt can turn a quality product out of these plants, it would certainly change my mind and a few others. Point is, they've yet to prove themselves.

Maybe I'll have a chance to demo some. But I wish them good luck in their new location either way. I'll stop in for mint tea and shisha some day ^^
 
Just thought Id point out that neither Ukraine or Tunisia are in the EU (Formerly the European Economic Community EEC). In fact Tunisia is in a seperate continent altogether. Jesus Americans have no sense of Geography.
 
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