EKCO Lives again!

[Yorkie]

Just spotted elsewhere that the Ekco brand has been bought by the International Audio Group and has emerged as 'Ecko Audio' producing a valve amplifier:

http://www.ekcoaudio.com/

Ecko has been added to the list of other famous brands acquired by IAG, such as:

WHARFEDALE
QUAD
AUDIOLAB
MISSION
LUXMAN
CASTLE ACOUSTICS
WHARFEDALE PRO
QUAD INDUSTRIAL

Other brands include luxury yachts:

APOGEE LIGHTING
COEF
FAL
IAG YACHTS
SURGEX

IAG Audio Group states that it produces everything within the four walls of its factory (In China – where else?) – it doesn’t buy in components.

http://www.internationalaudiogroup.com/

I wonder if circular Ekcos might enjoy a renaissance?

[tiv48]

and a fasinating history of ekco http://www.ekcoaudio.com/About.html
rob t

[Bushbaby]

Hi David,
Thanks for the link.
I was very much interested in this until I saw 'made in China' and then to be honest, I lost interest.

I really do wish (if only I had some cash!) that someone would rekindle this in the UK and build such things here (assuming there is the demand). Alas, I beleive though that the view would be that such things have 'had there day!'.

Rob

[tiv48]

i think there is a demand ,just serch ebay for valve amps, i belive it is the cost of the trasformers that prohibit them being made here.
rob t

[Paul_RK]

Quite a leap upmarket for Wharfedale: only two or three years ago the brand was being used for low-budget DAB sets and clock radios, now all of those seem to have vanished from the market. Maybe there's hope for Goodmans yet...

Paul

[Yorkie]

Hi David,
Thanks for the link.
I was very much interested in this until I saw 'made in China'and then to be honest, I lost interest.

I really do wish (if only I had some cash!) that someone would rekindle this in the UK and build such things here (assuming there is the demand).
Rob

To drift right off the topic of Ekco (as we're allowed to do in this neck of the woods), there's an understandable view that we no longer make anything any more, and it's a view I've held, but it's an erroneous one. I recently attended a talk by the economist and TV and radio presenter/business commentator Even Davis, based on his book ' Made in Britain - How the Nation Earns it's living' which makes an interesting read. Evan's talk and book certainly altered my perceptions and cheered me up a bit!:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Made-In-Britain-...1408703300

Before the financial crisis in 2007 our manufacturing output was 28% higher than in 1970, and reached an all time peak in Feb 2008, and Britain is the financial centre for a quarter of the world's population. A lot of manufacturing is in higher tech fields such as aerospace, (BAE Eurofighter Typhoon) and pharmaceuticals, (Tagamet - highest selling prescription drug of all time).

Consider the car industry. The Honda Civic used to be made in Japan - it's now made in Swindon. Toyota at Derby, Nissan on Tyneside. A far cry from the 'Red Robbo' days when - on the days that under capitalised car factories weren't on strike - they made badly designed and put together cars that no-one wanted to buy. And let's not forget that McClaren is British. (I'd assumed that cars were an important part of the German economy, but they only account for about 3% of GDP).

The (British designed and made) Brompton Folding bike is unique in its design - they make 25,000 a year. It uses 1,200 components of which 900 are unique to Brompton. If you want one you'll probably have to wait three months, and the price tag of upwards of £1,500 doesn't put customers off, who could buy a £100 (made in China?) bike from Tesco.

The biking fraternity will know all about the way that Triumph rose from the ashes.

Of course it's a fact that labour costs in China are far lower - workers on piece rate work six days a week and earn about 80p an hour compared to the UK minimum wage of about £6.00 an hour, so we're not going to compete with that. The Apple iPhone, which was designed in California, is made in China, but the chips that are made in China are under licence from ARM Holdings of Cambridgeshire.

Berwin and Berwin (who I'd never heard of), are the largest British maker of suits - half a million a year. In 2000, UK wage costs were such that the manufacturing plant was moved to Hungary with the loss of hundreds of jobs in the UK. By 2006, wage costs had risen in Hungary, so the firm transferred to a purpose built factory in China with the loss of hundreds of jobs in Hungary. It just shows how rapidly the economics of manufacturing change, especially for what are low tech jobs. (Suit makers aren't putting rockets into space).

If anyone has read down to here without their eyes glazing over, I hope this off-topic ramble, little to do with Ekco apart from the China connection, is of some interest.

[Paula A]

I will have to add a photo of my EKCO fan heater then.. nice woodgrain it is

Whats stopping people investigating home toroid winding? .. In fact.. I must get on with my project when I feel better.. theres no need for transformers at all with valve amps.. thats 1920's thinking, all that heavy big iron.