Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I see that Tanaka was picked up by Hitachi a few years back.  I'm thinking about picking up a TBC-430PF

Does anyone know if their higher end brushcutters are still made in Japan?

http://www.tanakapowerequipment.com/main-navigation/products/brushcutters

I decided to go with a Japanese made Echo SRM-410U instead.

I thought that Echo was an American company.  They have a corporate office in my area.  I guess they are now part of a parent company Kioritz, which also owns Shindaiwa.

It hard to find things made in Japan sold here anymore.  I have to check my Echo BRD to see where it's made.  Not that it matters, but I've seen junk made in China, and good stuff made in China.  It all depends on who let's crap get pass Quality Control.  Speaking of QC, some of them should be called QA, for Quality Allowance.  :)

That's the good thing about Stihl. The few products that aren't made in USA were made at the home plant in Germany.

Bill_H wrote:
I like my Stihl BG86 leaf blower and KM90R power head with attachments.  I haven't looked at the label to see where they are made or assembled, but the products
themselves exudes quality and robustness.  It's not perfect, cold start on both Stihl models is finicky, throttle response on the KM90R is too abrupt at low RPM's 
Turbo lag comes into mind.  "wait for it...wait for it......bam!  then the RPM takes off like a banshee.  The Stihl BG86 leaf blower has great throttle response.  The engine
likes revs up and down.

Last year, I looked at getting myself Honda 4 stroke string trimmer.  I was looking for something quiet, low vibration, and smooth throttle response, an anti-thesis
to the playful brutal nature of the Stihl KM90R.  Don't know where the new Honda trimmers are made or assembled, and I didn't care either.  The overall quality of the machine
was a noticeable step back from a Honda trimmer I bought my father 10 years ago.  Sharp edges,excessive flash, poor surface finish, poor fit, cheap hardware.  It also lacked
vibration dampening overmolded material found in Echo and Stihl products. 

I like the Honda engine, but a better trimmer with the same engine was made by Husqvarna.  Unfortunately, I cannot buy one since this Husqvarna trimmer
with the Honda engine was very rare.