Rumor on US Groups.io that Hornby Moving Production to Hungary

[autocoach]

I would like to make you aware that there is a presumably fake news story going around the US boards and e-mail groups that Hornby has moved production to Hungary. I would assume that this is completely false as this board would be lit up like a Christmas tree and Andy's servers would be getting too hot burning out their boards with the traffic.  The rumor started with something about an unnamed factory in China closing abruptly due to the owners ill health and closing.  Atlas was mentioned as one of the impacted US companies but again this could be completely false. 

 

The moderator reviewing this may wish to make their own announcement and not publish my topic. 

 

best

 

ken

[Andy Y]

Hornby uses several 'vendors' in China so even if there was a closure there would be no need for them to move all their production. I don't know of any foundation to this 'rumour'.

[woodenhead]

Maybe it was the factory with the tampo machine that would have lined the Maunsell Restaurant car 

[autocoach]

Hornby uses several 'vendors' in China so even if there was a closure there would be no need for them to move all their production. I don't know of any foundation to this 'rumour'.

Andy

 

Atlas announced their sudden problem today  on their website.  Rumor has it that Internmountain and Trainworkx are the other two known affected companies. 

 

The Hornby rumor is real "fake news" that appears to be going around. 

 

Also is there a time limit for my "moderation" status or is it forever? 

 

best

 

Ken

[Nile]

It's the time of year for silly news stories, even this hobby isn't immune from them.

[woodenhead]

https://shop.atlasrr.com/b-atlas-rolling-stock-and-locomotive-factory-closure.aspx

[The Johnster]

The Chinese production model is for the Western company to deal with an agency there, who will arrange for production and assembly.  Production of components takes place in a large number of small factories, who are supplied with the CAD information and are able to turn out identical products, so the system is proof against any single factory closing, or suffering natural disaster such as earthquake or flooding, both sadly common in China.  Once produced, the components are shipped to a smaller number of assembly facilities, and then packed for final shipping.  The system depends on fairly rigid quality control to ensure all components are to spec, but the Chinese are very good at this.

 

Production delays occur because the Western companies have to rely on their Chinese agencies to book factory time at the correct volume, and this is competitive as there is never quite enough capacity; this is what keeps the system running efficiently.

 

But closure of a factory, even an assembly plant, should only have a very minor impact on supplies even in the short term; shipping delays have more impact!

[DJM Dave]

For those that dont know, and why would you, the company 'AFFA' closed this last Friday.

from my sources, it took quite a few companys that use them by surprise.

 

These are becoming more common for some reason i will not speculate on, but one thing i do know is a strong rumour (yes i know, speculation, sorry) that another, larger company are rumoured to also be close to doing the same.

 

HTH

cheers

Dave

[Legend]

I’m not sure that Hornby have the capital to do it, in fact fairly certain they don’t, but setting up their own production facility would be desirable. Clearly they still don’t have control over their supply chain with models like the 87 being delayed. If these factories in China are closing they will create , at least, short term turmoil with other companies looking for capacity. Hungary, Slovakia or Turkey would make a lot of sense . Not as cheap as China but still relatively low cost. And it’s obviously easier to get to Hungary than China, less cultural issues, like dealing with Chinese New Year too . So I think a good move for the future, possibly at least sub contracting in Hungary with options to buy later. They’ve got to do something to get capacity , get some sales to generate cash for these large overheads. If you can’t get it made , you can’t sell it no matter how attractive your product.

Edited July 30, 2018 by Legend

[brianusa]

BR even had problems when they had Hungary build them some 47s.  Perhaps Hornby should have pondered that point!

 

Brian.

[Downendian]

That was Romania Brian, and it was class 56s.

Neil

[black and decker boy]

Maybe that was the problem,BR ordered more 47s from Hungary but got 56s from Romania such was the bad quality ;-)

[adb968008]

Maybe that was the problem,BR ordered more 47s from Hungary but got 56s from Romania such was the bad quality ;-)

 

Depends who you speak to, some Roumanians consider themselves Hungarian, some consider class 56's to be newer versions of Class 47s.

Of course they can debate that amongst themselves, both 47 and 56 now run in Hungary.

Edited July 30, 2018 by adb968008

[Vistisen]

Maybe that was the problem,BR ordered more 47s from Hungary but got 56s from Romania such was the bad quality ;-)

 

What you mean they had too much power and had to be re-classed?

Edited July 30, 2018 by Vistisen

[woodenhead]

What you mean they had too much power and had to be re-classed?

They were too wide and started to corrode

 

 

 

Edit: No sorry, that was Heljan, not Hungary

Edited July 30, 2018 by woodenhead

[Vistisen]

I’m not sure that Hornby have the capital to do it, in fact fairly certain they don’t, but setting up their own production facility would be desirable. Clearly they still don’t have control over their supply chain with models like the 87 being delayed. If these factories in China are closing they will create , at least, short term turmoil with other companies looking for capacity. Hungary, Slovakia or Turkey would make a lot of sense . Not as cheap as China but still relatively low cost. And it’s obviously easier to get to Hungary than China, less cultural issues, like dealing with Chinese New Year too . So I think a good move for the future, possibly at least sub contracting in Hungary with options to buy later. They’ve got to do something to get capacity , get some sales to generate cash for these large overheads. If you can’t get it made , you can’t sell it no matter how attractive your product.

mind you Hungary is inside the EU... so perhaps not there then. The irony of British companies possibly being forced to move production to Turkey as a result of Brexit!

[Graham Heather]

Hi from Downunder,

It appears the factory closure in China has affected Atlas, Bowser, Exactrail, Fox Valley,

Intermountain, Tangent Scale Models and Trainworx in the US.

Wondering if there is any others.

Graham.

[brianusa]

BR even had problems when they had Hungary build them some 47s.  Perhaps Hornby should have pondered that point!

 

Brian.

 

C'mon you guys, you know what I meant!

 

Brian.

[DCB]

Maybe Hornby should move their production somewhere Brexit proof. Like Margate or Liverpool? 

[TravisM]

As Hornby has moved some of its Airfix production to India, fair bet that some of the Hornby range will follow.

[mdvle]

The Chinese production model is for the Western company to deal with an agency there, who will arrange for production and assembly.  Production of components takes place in a large number of small factories, who are supplied with the CAD information and are able to turn out identical products, so the system is proof against any single factory closing, or suffering natural disaster such as earthquake or flooding, both sadly common in China.  Once produced, the components are shipped to a smaller number of assembly facilities, and then packed for final shipping.  The system depends on fairly rigid quality control to ensure all components are to spec, but the Chinese are very good at this.

 

Production delays occur because the Western companies have to rely on their Chinese agencies to book factory time at the correct volume, and this is competitive as there is never quite enough capacity; this is what keeps the system running efficiently.

 

But closure of a factory, even an assembly plant, should only have a very minor impact on supplies even in the short term; shipping delays have more impact!

 

Don't know about any of the others, but certainly Rapido with their 2 factories don't appear to "farm it all out" given what has been shown of their factories in the newsletters and YouTube videos.

 

As for impact, all of the companies who have had a terrible weekend are saying it will take many months to sort things out as they try and get molds, CAD files, and in some cases finished product out of the now closed factory - then find a new factory to take on work - sort out working with the new factory, etc.

 

It could end up being a bad second half of the year - and the all important Christmas shopping season - not just for the manufacturers involved but also for the remaining hobby shops.

[Ozexpatriate]

Does anyone remember the thread where we were keeping track of the manufacturer's codes used by Hornby on their red boxes? (I can't seem to find it.)

 

Even if Hornby were using "AFFA" (presuming that is the factory in question) the loss of this manufacturer would not shut down all their production.

 

Hornby was careful not to place 'all their eggs in one basket" after learning this lesson the hard way when the Sanda Kan factory was shuttered by Kader Holdings.

 

Incidentally, Atlas was a long time Sanda Kan customer.

[bigherb]

Does anyone remember the thread where we were keeping track of the manufacturer's codes used by Hornby on their red boxes? (I can't seem to find it.)

 

Even if Hornby were using "AFFA" (presuming that is the factory in question) the loss of this manufacturer would not shut down all their production.

 

Hornby was careful not to place 'all their eggs in one basket" after learning this lesson the hard way when the Sanda Kan factory was shuttered by Kader Holdings.

 

Incidentally, Atlas was a long time Sanda Kan customer.

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/92424-hornbys-new-factories-whos-doing-what/

[Craig Watson]

Fox Valley have released a statement on the closure as have Intermountain.

 

Good Morning,

 

Over the weekend, news broke that a large supplier of model trains in China has closed its doors. Fox Valley Models has used this factory for a large portion of our products. As of today, there is no clear path that will resume production in short order, or an easy way to move projects. With this news, we must reluctantly list all previously announced products as Postponed/Cancelled. If projects can be moved, it will take a number of months to do so, and then get a new factory up to speed on our projects will take even more time. We will keep all previously recorded pre-orders on file. If a resolution presents itself over the next few months, we will reconfirm specific projects as they get close (well into next year at best). If this process takes and extended time, it may be best to re-announce each project.

 

This is an unexpected and sudden development. We recently received paint samples for new projects and had the indication that many of our orders were moving forward. We were looking forward to getting back to work after our extended summer trip with our son. Sadly this is not the case. But we will keep moving forward.

 

For now, we still have a good selection of recent N Scale locos and cars available. We have a few projects at another factory that will now be our focus while things get resolved. We started as a small model company before, and will continue on. We sincerely apologize to everyone who was looking forward to announced releases and greatly appreciate your patience and understanding as we move forward through this unexpected interruption. We will share news and new products as they become available. Thank you.

 

Best regards,

 

Matt Gaudynski

 

[JeremyC]

I’m not sure that Hornby have the capital to do it, in fact fairly certain they don’t, but setting up their own production facility would be desirable. Clearly they still don’t have control over their supply chain with models like the 87 being delayed. If these factories in China are closing they will create , at least, short term turmoil with other companies looking for capacity. Hungary, Slovakia or Turkey would make a lot of sense . Not as cheap as China but still relatively low cost. And it’s obviously easier to get to Hungary than China, less cultural issues, like dealing with Chinese New Year too . So I think a good move for the future, possibly at least sub contracting in Hungary with options to buy later. They’ve got to do something to get capacity , get some sales to generate cash for these large overheads. If you can’t get it made , you can’t sell it no matter how attractive your product.

Marklin has some of their production in Hungary.

Edited July 31, 2018 by JeremyC