Thread: Hills industries and Triton

Interesting observation. Time will tell about the second bit.

Hills Industries sold Triton to GMC so it's out of their control whether or not it goes to China. I guess we'll have to see what GMC will do with it, :eek: although since talking to some people at Hills, GMC are supposed to have some positive things in the wings regarding Triton. I hope so, as a newbie with woodworking and getting into the Triton gear, I'd hate to see it go bad.
As for Hills manufacturing in China, not relevant to a Triton forum but it is certainly interesting to see a true Aussie icon now being made overseas.
Why not!
The Aussie flag has been made in Hong Kong for as long as I can remember.
HB

Before starting,
I sell Triton, am not employed by GMC, Hills or Triton.

As the distributor for Japan, I have been privelaged to see some of the products that are in the pipe line for Triton, at least for my market.

There are some great products there that I want now (speaking as a woodworker).

There are some other products, differrent ones that I want now, as a business man.

There are some there that I would want, if I could afford them. (By this, I mean that if they were affordable I would want one, but if it was a choice between the new product or 5 other things, would not buy) Note, I have not seen any pricing yet.

There are some orange things that seem a bit me too.

The great thing that I see GMC bringing to Triton is economies of scale. This means that because they produce so much product, they can add features at a much lower cost per unit than Triton ever could.

In woodworking terminology, they are like the cabinet maker that has a jig for everything, so that most difficult jobs can be done quickly and easily. Though we as woodworkers can buy books on jigs, we (Sturdee aside) tend not to make as many as we could, because we would not get the use out of them.

I suppose the biggest difference between Hills and GMC is that GMC has a couple of blokes at the helm who built the company from nothing, and have a burning passion that is hard to maintain in a company as old as Hills. Though Hills started out as a back yard invention, it now has to be a lot more rigourous in its reporting and actions because it is accountable to the stock exchange and a multitude of shareholders.

George had the passion and ability to insist on features that made Triton what it is, because the buck stopped with him. If he had to justify every one of his ideas to a board of non-woodworkers in an environment where the first models were almost unsaleable, Triton would never have passed infancy.

Look forward to the new products. If you don't like them, don't buy them. If you are not sure, wait a few weeks after their release and ask the forum for feedback.

Steve

Just so long as some are not in the Triton Drill category. I'm sure it is a great tool, but I can't seem to justify spending >$300 for a cordless drill. On the other hand, I wouldn't want the product to be anything less than perfect. I started buying Triton by buying their power tools, as they seemed at the time to be a cut above the rest.

Hmm what am I getting at?

Personal note- don't reply to posts at 3am.