Thread: Goodbye From Me

No - this is not a dummy spit. Nor am I giving a 'throwing my toys out of the cot' performance because some Mod deleted a post somewhere.
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The reason that I am saying goodbye is because today I have resigned from Felder NSW. I figure it may be considered inappropriate to continue posting under the username "Felder" if I am no longer working here, hence my farewell.
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Before I go any further, there are a few things that I should set straight.
Firstly, I would like to stress that I am leaving Felder for personal reasons, rather than anything to do with the company or product.
Secondly, it is killing me to leave Felder. This is the best job I have had, but unfortunately I have to leave.
Thirdly, yes - I have another job lined up. I have accepted a position within a company that is a competitor to Felder on a few levels, but is generally more 'industrial oriented'. Again, it has broken my heart in many respects. I have grappled with my conscience for many, many hours about this, and my wallet won the battle over my heart.
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I would like to take this opportunity to sum up my personal thoughts on the Felder range of machinery, as well as my tenure at Felder NSW.
My honest opinion is that Felder make some spit-hot machines. The machines are generally expensive, but once you get a 'tour' of the machine you can see that you are not paying for the brand name, but in fact the quality.
From the Hammer machines, through the Felder range and into the Format-4 industrial range, I don't believe that I've ever ripped a customer off, regardless of the expense of their purchase. Many clients have commented that the machines are 'just so' (I guess there is no other way to describe them) and we have often said that a Felder client only hurts once - when they write the cheque.
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Although the machines are expensive, owning a Felder agency is not be the money tree that you may think it is. Felder NSW is a small company, with huge technical backing, but little financial backing from Felder in <st2:country-region w:st="on"><st2>Austria</st2></st2:country-region>. There are three of us that work at Felder NSW, and I have been there for almost three years now.

In these three years, my personal situation has changed dramatically. My daughter was born 16 months ago, which meant that I not only have another mouth to feed, but wife has gone back to work part-time, and hence a smaller pay packet. Fuel prices have risen dramatically in three years, and we have experienced three or four interest rate rises too.
Unfortunately for me, a company the size of Felder NSW are not able to increase my pay to reflect the increase in my expenses.
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I have posted in this Forum for the past 18 months under the username of Felder. That stops on Friday. I do not have internet access at home (yet), and I do not intend to post under a new username for my new job (it's an integrity thing). I do hope that at some stage that I can re-invent myself and re-join as someone new. I have really enjoyed spending time on this Forum over the past few years, and I hope that I have somehow helped someone at some point, because I know I have been helped in many requests for information.
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A big thanks to Neil Ellis for allowing me to use this forum, and for making it available to the woodworking community. <st1:givenname w:st="on">Neil</st1:givenname>, you have the patience of a saint.
Also a big pat on the back to all the Administrators and Moderators who perform a massive task with little thanks. I apologise to all of you for any grief I have may have caused.

On Friday, I will be handing over the Felder username and password (along with my car keys, phone, laptop) but I don't think that anyone here will persist on posting. If they do, just be aware that it ain't me.

<o>Goodbye</o> folks. Thanks for having me.