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Suzo- Happ PC Arcade Spinner? Plug and Play?
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AndyWarne:
Ok firstly the spinner:
I have seen the Happ version of the Tornado and also seen the IL version. They are different enough to confirm they are not made in the same location. In fact the Happ version is made in their ChinaTec plant in China, whereas the IL version is made by IL themselves.
Its true that Slikstik initiated an agreement with Happ to produce the spinner under license. It is alleged that Happ did not keep their side of the bargain on this though.
I asked Christina from IL if they had any production agreement for the spinner, she replied that they just made it, no agreement in place.

Happ changed tack when they bought out ChinaTec. Previously to this they were mainly a distributor and not a manufacturer. They did resell many IL parts including buttons, joysticks etc. When they became a manufacturer via the China purchase they started producing many of the previous IL items themselves in the China plant.
Now, its possible to compare the Happ Chinese product against the original IL product. I have several examples here, such as buttons, a top-fire joystick etc. Its quite easy to tell them apart if you dont know which is which because there are obvious quality differences.

I dont know if IL receive any royalties from Happs production of IL designed items in China, but if its the same situation as the spinner, they don't. I will ask them about this next time we meet.
 
RandyT:

--- Quote from: AndyWarne on February 27, 2009, 01:46:32 pm ---Its true that Slikstik initiated an agreement with Happ to produce the spinner under license. It is alleged that Happ did not keep their side of the bargain on this though.

--- End quote ---

It is called the "SlikStik Tornado" in the HAPP catalog.  If you think HAPP is just using their trademarks, including their business name, without compensation, well, I just don't know what to say about that.


--- Quote ---I asked Christina from IL if they had any production agreement for the spinner, she replied that they just made it, no agreement in place.

--- End quote ---

Nice folks...


--- Quote ---Happ changed tack when they bought out ChinaTec. Previously to this they were mainly a distributor and not a manufacturer. They did resell many IL parts including buttons, joysticks etc. When they became a manufacturer via the China purchase they started producing many of the previous IL items themselves in the China plant.

--- End quote ---

Not entirely accurate.  HAPP has been selling parts from their own tooling for many years and started out as a "manufacturer".  I know, I deal directly with one of their US manufacturers who has told me a number of stories about the early days of HAPP and the relationship they had together with the industry at that time.  It is true, however, that some previously US made parts, have joined the ranks of others that were and still are being manufactured off US shores.  For the record, not unlike just about every other manufacturer in the world.   Actual ownership of the design of these parts has not been made clear yet, but it has been inferred that there was a great deal of input from HAPP on them.  It would be interesting to hear the real story on that one, as it is certainly not as clear as an apparently knocked off spinner design from a loosely related US company.

As for quality, the joystick parts that are buried below the panel are clean and extremely well made, but don't have the more pristine appearance of the iL parts.  Where "the rubber meets the road", meaning actual usage, the two varieties are very comparable.  Of course, we don't ship the stock HAPP part without doing what is necessary to ensure this for our customers, so our situation is somewhat unique in this regard.

RandyT

AndyWarne:

--- Quote from: RandyT on February 27, 2009, 02:51:12 pm ---I deal directly with one of their US manufacturers


--- End quote ---

Thats what I mean. In the past they primarily used other US manufacturers, although they have always done their own quality control and a large amount of design input. They probably did some manufacturing in-house as well.
In fact in the early days all of their arcade controls were manufactured by Coin Controls in the UK. Thats how Frank Happ started, he took over the control sales division of Coin Controls. I suspect the original design of the classic horizontal microswitch button might have been a Coin Controls design.
But their aim of buying the China factory was to move more production in-house in a facility the group themselves own.  http://www.suzohapp.co.uk/websites/suzo/main.nsf/cd/IMPP-78YL3S
RandyT:

--- Quote from: AndyWarne on February 27, 2009, 05:05:58 pm ---
--- Quote from: RandyT on February 27, 2009, 02:51:12 pm ---I deal directly with one of their US manufacturers


--- End quote ---

Thats what I mean. In the past they primarily used other US manufacturers, although they have always done their own quality control and a large amount of design input. They probably did some manufacturing in-house as well.
In fact in the early days all of their arcade controls were manufactured by Coin Controls in the UK. Thats how Frank Happ started, he took over the control sales division of Coin Controls. I suspect the original design of the classic horizontal microswitch button might have been a Coin Controls design.
But their aim of buying the China factory was to move more production in-house in a facility the group themselves own.  http://www.suzohapp.co.uk/websites/suzo/main.nsf/cd/IMPP-78YL3S


--- End quote ---

This is splitting hairs.  No company who manufactures does all of it in house.  You design and have your injection molding done someplace where it's cost effective and the expertise exists, and assemble the parts wherever it makes the most sense.  That doesn't make you any less of a manufacturer.  This move to bring Chinatec under the same corporate umbrella was a strategic, forward thinking initiative to allow products to come to market quicker, and more cost effectively.  This is different than simply "handling" another manufacturers established product lines, which is what you were inferring they did primarily from the start.

AndyWarne:

--- Quote from: RandyT on February 27, 2009, 05:20:31 pm ---This is different than simply "handling" another manufacturers established product lines, which is what you were inferring they did primarily from the start.



--- End quote ---
Thats exactly what I was saying. In the field we are concerned with, arcade video game controls, until fairly recently the majority of their products were other manufacturers product lines. Not all but most.

Now most are made in-house.

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