Gary Slusser wrote:I disagree that a product using a highly improved redesign of a previously proven original design, as you yourself say, should be considered as R & D.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and the tack usually taken by minds that are creatively challenged.
If Moe, Larry, and Curly, (late of Fleck) couldn't come up with a better design then
copying what they had done under the employ of Fleck is all they could do and as engineers they should be ashamed.
Absent ONE SINGLE INTERCHANGABLE PART the Clack is a DIFFERENT design than the Fleck and the Fleck's proven field record over DECADES does NOT grandfather down to the Clack as much as you'd like it to.
Gary Slusser wrote:I've been tracking what dealers say about it since 2000 and since Dec. 2003 I've checked the internet constantly and I don't see complaints about the Clack line of control valves from dealers or owner/customers. I have not experienced complaints from my roughly 870 customers using it over the last 3.5+ years either; and that includes the one I sold you.
Other than the Clack control boards that were sold that don't allow the flexibility in settings as later boards do? What about noisy Clacks?
As far as mine, you hear nothing because it requires no service as a door stop and you know it.
The Clack is a competent valve, but merely a pretender to the Fleck. Let's see how the Clack does after 30 years or so, oops... but that'd be another 30 years added onto the Fleck resume also.
Gary Slusser wrote:As to increased profits... I say you should be looking at the guys that are manufacturing and selling the original 35 year old product while not only holding up their prices, they raise them substantially every year. Just last week Fleck announced another 7% increase to their distributors/my suppliers.
So you blame Fleck for the price of Noryl, labor, overhead, operating costs, advertising... get real.
You and your mail order drop-shipping distributers live by market share and profit margin...
plain and simple.
Your partner in slime, Nelsen Corp, will jump to another quick turning product in a heartbeat if there's another couple points of profit in it. They (and you) have less interest in what product is better than what product is more profitable.
Unfortunately, this is the way business is done today and it'd be nice if the people doing it would just admit it.
