Spiel Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=5485602e-e0ee-4fc8-9cb1-9767277e724f&c=47c4c9e0-338a-11e4-aa5e-d4ae52a686bc&ch=48964ab0-338a-11e4-aada-d4ae52a686bc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Cliff Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Because I have never been involved in rod building I'm not sure how this might affect things, is it a good thing or a bad thing? Would you be kind enough to enlighten me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solopaddler Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Wow, that is big news!! Perhaps NFC blanks will now be a more viable option especially in Canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiel Posted January 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Because I have never been involved in rod building I'm not sure how this might affect things, is it a good thing or a bad thing? Would you be kind enough to enlighten me? At this time Cliff I don't have enough insight to even speculate. Wow, that is big news!! Perhaps NFC blanks will now be a more viable option especially in Canada. I'm thinking more so for here in Ontario Mike, west coast tends to be more up to speed on the market options particularly (south of the border) for salmon/steelhead options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esoxansteel Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 2 great North American companies merging talents, that explains the discontinuation of some Batson Blanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Ironmaker Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 The same thing happened in the Golf club building world about 15 years ago. If there is any comparison between the 2 industries I wouldn't know. A small business making custom clubs could not get off the ground because the big guys said to the suppliers of good quality shafts "thou shalt sell to us and only us". So the quality components were not available to the little guy. Similar to retailers shelf space. I can develop and market the best shampoo ever seen by mankind for less lets say. Proctor and Gamble tells the retailers if you stock that new product we will pull all of our products from the shelves in your stores and only sell to your competitors. Like Kevin O'Leary says they will squash you like a cockroach. Until the people that developed the quality in the first place fulfill their non competition clause and go back manufacturing quality products may the little guy be able to purchase from them again, maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 tone z71 Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 I always thought Loomis was Canadian and custom ..sold to Shimano in 1995 ..Jesus what do I know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Ironmaker Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 Darrell, not only did I think G. Loomis was Canadian and from Mount Hope to be specific, I was convinced by a few co workers he was the G. Loomis we worked with, those rascals. They had a good laugh and I'm in the "what do I know boat" too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave524 Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 Weren't the Frontier line of blanks that Lorne marketed from Loomis Canada, and solely sold in Canada, really made by Batson??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solopaddler Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 Weren't the Frontier line of blanks that Lorne marketed from Loomis Canada, and solely sold in Canada, really made by Batson??? Yes, and compared to actual Loomis blanks they were garbage. For this reason I find it ironic that Gary's new company is merging with Batson. I do believe that Batson has upped their game in a big way in recent years, and it's safe to say they're an industry leader now when it comes to design and production within the United States. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDR Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 Weren't the Frontier line of blanks that Lorne marketed from Loomis Canada, and solely sold in Canada, really made by Batson??? Yes and no Dave. If memory serves me right, the original Frontier/LG Custom blanks (the green ones) were made by Cascade in Washington state and were sold thru Batson to LG. The second gen (the grey ones) were done by an offshore manufacturer, also supplied to LG thru Batson. Neither of those series were an exclusive to LG, save a very few of the steelhead blanks. Batson is essentially a component/blank supplier. Not a manufacturer per se......... Yes, and compared to actual Loomis blanks they were garbage. For this reason I find it ironic that Gary's new company is merging with Batson. I do believe that Batson has upped their game in a big way in recent years, and it's safe to say they're an industry leader now when it comes to design and production within the United States. Some of the Frontiers (RX7's) were better than others, no doubt Obviously, hard to compare to a Loomis blank and were only offered as a contingency option by LG after the sale of the parent company to Shimano, when it was unclear where the future of the business was going.........I often think back at how fortunate we were as fisherman/rodbuilders to have a place like LG/Loomis available in Mt. Hope to check out a variety of options. Nowhere else had that kind of inventory locally and I doubt ever will.....The business is a tough go even for guys with a provenance like Gary. It's my feeling that NFC will benefit from it's marriage with Batson. Most likely on the distribution side. Time will tell if Gary keeps his Edge (finished rods) lineup rolling along or he becomes strictly a domestic OEM/Blank supplier to other companies. There is an offshore pressure now, more than ever, on NA rod manufacturers and after all it boils down to the mighty $$$$ Batson is a good company and I hope they both profit from this venture. Gary deserves it!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiel Posted January 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 Thanks for weighing in RDR, your seemingly infinite knowledge on these matters and inside track in regards to such matters have always been a huge help to me over the many (many) years. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDR Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 No problem Mister! You're the one who got me into this mess..........LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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