Paradigm/Anthem Factory Tour

[Woochifer]

Not a huge amount of insight in this Sound + Vision blog post (hey, what do you expect from S&V?), but lots of cool pictures of Paradigm's manufacturing facility. About 250 people work at Paradigm, so they're not a huge company.

Compared to other speaker and electronics companies, Paradigm has always been very vertically integrated. They make their own drivers, cabinets, and even circuit boards. According to the article, Paradigm is now in the process of bringing more of their manufacturing back from China to Canada.

Paradigm and Anthem: Factory Tour | Sound and Vision Magazine (http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/blog/2011/10/21/paradigm-and-anthem-factory-tour)

Also, the article shows the Martin Logan speakers being assembled in Paradigm's facility (ML's production line moved to Canada last year).

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/files/imagecache/gallery_image_620/_images/201110/1%20-%20factory%20establishing.jpg

[ForeverAutumn]

Hey that was pretty cool. Thanks for posting that. And the prospect of Paradigm headsets is very exciting to me. :)

[RGA]

I think one of the problems in China is being able to oversee production continuously. Papa Johns opened in Wenzhou China and for the first month or two it was very good. But once the Westerners left for home and left it to the management in China - they cut corners and the whole place was a bit of a shambles - it looked dirtier and the food portions were cut (less cheese, and ingredients) and it basically sucked. Probably because the store owner could charge the same cut the price and pocket the difference - who would know right? Certainly not the Chinese customers there since they have not had REAL Papa Johns.

And with manufacturers of speakers or amps etc you have to stay on top of them because you just don't know if they will use less wood or wires to save some money and pocket the difference. And if you build in the armpit of the world like Wenzhou good luck keeping a western manager there for more than a few months.

I find the exceptions seem to be the companies that started in China with Chinese owners who actually care about audio and their business - like Joseph Lau of Antique Sound Labs or the heavyweight high end makers like Jungsan and Shengya among some others.

I enjoyed reading this factory tour - makes me want to give them another try.

[Feanor]

Not a huge amount of insight in this Sound + Vision blog post (hey, what do you expect from S&V?), but lots of cool pictures of Paradigm's manufacturing facility. About 250 people work at Paradigm, so they're not a huge company.

Compared to other speaker and electronics companies, Paradigm has always been very vertically integrated. They make their own drivers, cabinets, and even circuit boards. According to the article, Paradigm is now in the process of bringing more of their manufacturing back from China to Canada.

Paradigm and Anthem: Factory Tour | Sound and Vision Magazine (http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/blog/2011/10/21/paradigm-and-anthem-factory-tour)

Also, the article shows the Martin Logan speakers being assembled in Paradigm's facility (ML's production line moved to Canada last year).

...
Great pics! Thanks, Wooch.

Kudos to Paradigm for their vertical integration in North American, (fewer companies have the balls for that these days). And even for recovering some production from China, (circuit boards?). I was amazed to hear Paradigm is assembling for Martin Logan, (all models?). But why not? They seem to have very compotent facilities.

Speakers are one thing, but they are large and heavy to ship; electronics is another, and I see high-end Anthem prepros in the pictures.

I could have done without the inane comments about Canadians but heck, they were well-intentioned.

[Hyfi]

Cool view. Since I spent 25 years in MFG, nothing I saw was earth shattering for me but always nice to see a clean productive shop.

I was a little confused with the 2 pics of the Paint Booth and then a speaker cabinet that looked like grained wood. Are they painting the grain on or was this pic mislabeled and they are actually spraying on the clear coat?

[ForeverAutumn]

Here's the description of the finish on the Studio series from their web site.

Beautifully Sculpted Cabinets with Real Wood Veneer Finishes. Add a whole new dimension to the classic appeal of this series. Seven coats of the highest quality lacquer, hand-sanded between coats. Available in four luxurious real wood veneer finishes.

My Studio 60 cabinets are absolutely gorgeous. We got the Rosenut finish (dark reddish colour). You can see all the grain of the wood but they are smooth and hard as glass.

And, on the Paradigm website there's a countdown clock that looks like their headphones are being released at noon EST today. Welcome to the New Official ParadigmŪ Website. (http://www.paradigm.com/)

[Hyfi]

Here's the description of the finish on the Studio series from their web site.

Beautifully Sculpted Cabinets with Real Wood Veneer Finishes. Add a whole new dimension to the classic appeal of this series. Seven coats of the highest quality lacquer, hand-sanded between coats. Available in four luxurious real wood veneer finishes.

My Studio 60 cabinets are absolutely gorgeous. We got the Rosenut finish (dark reddish colour). You can see all the grain of the wood but they are smooth and hard as glass.

And, on the Paradigm website there's a countdown clock that looks like their headphones are being released at noon EST today. Welcome to the New Official ParadigmŪ Website. (http://www.paradigm.com/)

Thanks, FA. So the text that goes along with the pictures is wrong. That is what I thought since they were not painting a Black Cabinet, but lacquering a veneered one.

That was a big obvious mistake in the blog. Who else caught that one?

[Woochifer]

Great pics! Thanks, Wooch.

Kudos to Paradigm for their vertical integration in North American, (fewer companies have the balls for that these days). And even for recovering some production from China, (circuit boards?). I was amazed to hear Paradigm is assembling for Martin Logan, (all models?). But why not? They seem to have very compotent facilities.

Speakers are one thing, but they are large and heavy to ship; electronics is another, and I see high-end Anthem prepros in the pictures.

I think with some of Paradigm's low end speakers, either the drivers or other components were made in China.

I did a little bit of snooping around the web, and found that last year Martin Logan was acquired by a venture capital group. This group is already an investor in Paradigm , so they moved production from Martin Logan's Kansas headquarters up to Canada. I'm not sure how much of Paradigm this venture capital group owns -- the article I saw only mentioned that they participated in a recapitalization. But, that might explain Paradigm entering all these new markets, such as headphones and computer speakers.


I could have done without the inane comments about Canadians but heck, they were well-intentioned.

This is S&V's attempt at being clever. They usually fail. :cool:

[Woochifer]

I think one of the problems in China is being able to oversee production continuously. Papa Johns opened in Wenzhou China and for the first month or two it was very good. But once the Westerners left for home and left it to the management in China - they cut corners and the whole place was a bit of a shambles - it looked dirtier and the food portions were cut (less cheese, and ingredients) and it basically sucked. Probably because the store owner could charge the same cut the price and pocket the difference - who would know right? Certainly not the Chinese customers there since they have not had REAL Papa Johns.

And with manufacturers of speakers or amps etc you have to stay on top of them because you just don't know if they will use less wood or wires to save some money and pocket the difference. And if you build in the armpit of the world like Wenzhou good luck keeping a western manager there for more than a few months.

But, the things you're describing are management issues. You're going to run into this anytime you use an outsource partner. A contract manufacturer or pizza franchisee can cut corners in the US, Canada, Europe, any country. It's up to management to stay on top of their product quality and take decisive actions when things slip.

I mean, Apple has the highest product reliability in the consumer electronics industry, and it's all made in China. The key there is that they have great supply chain and production management.


I find the exceptions seem to be the companies that started in China with Chinese owners who actually care about audio and their business - like Joseph Lau of Antique Sound Labs or the heavyweight high end makers like Jungsan and Shengya among some others.

In those examples, do they also own the production line, or do they outsource as well?


I enjoyed reading this factory tour - makes me want to give them another try.

It's interesting to read about a company that's repatriating some of their production. Paradigm's talking about bringing things in-house to improve product quality. But, I think the real reason why this might be a sign of things to come is the simple fact that production costs are escalating in China. Some of it come back to North America, but a lot of it will disperse to other low cost labor sheds like Vietnam.

[Feanor]

But, the things you're describing are management issues. You're going to run into this anytime you use an outsource partner. A contract manufacturer or pizza franchisee can cut corners in the US, Canada, Europe, any country. It's up to management to stay on top of their product quality and take decisive actions when things slip.

I mean, Apple has the highest product reliability in the consumer electronics industry, and it's all made in China. The key there is that they have great supply chain and production management.
...
There are all manner of Chinese arrangements. Everything from wholely owned and control factories over there, to made-to-specification, short-run lots with no on-site QA. But there is nothing inherently inferior about making products in China, it depends on objective of the producer.


...
It's interesting to read about a company that's repatriating some of their production. Paradigm's talking about bringing things in-house to improve product quality. But, I think the real reason why this might be a sign of things to come is the simple fact that production costs are escalating in China. Some of it come back to North America, but a lot of it will disperse to other low cost labor sheds like Vietnam.
It will be a couple of decades before China looses the wage advantage. I'd guess that QA and logistics are the more likely reason right now.

[Woochifer]

There are all manner of Chinese arrangements. Everything from wholely owned and control factories over there, to made-to-specification, short-run lots with no on-site QA. But there is nothing inherently inferior about making products in China, it depends on objective of the producer.


It will be a couple of decades before China looses the wage advantage. I'd guess that QA and logistics are the more likely reason right now.

A seminar I recently attended projected that China's production cost advantage will be seriously imperiled in about 5 years if current trends hold up. The costs have a lot to do with wage growth, but also high transportation costs and infrastructure issues.

[Feanor]

A seminar I recently attended projected that China's production cost advantage will be seriously imperiled in about 5 years if current trends hold up. The costs have a lot to do with wage growth, but also high transportation costs and infrastructure issues.
Could be optimistic. The big threat to China is from yet lower cost labor in aforementioned countries. Transportation today is very efficient today and becoming more so. Infrastucture is crumbling in the US but improving in China.

Of course Right-wing economic policies are enacted, US jobs, hence wages, will sink like a stone. A "race to the bottom" will improve US compeditiveness but screw over the middle class at the same time.

In-sourcing could make perfect sense for Paradigm, though. They're big enough to justify their own production equipment, but small enough that out-sourcing don't deliver big savings when turnaround and QA are taken into consideration.