by Brian Bugler, Clarke Digital Marketing & Events Manager
Here are four reasons why where your appliance comes from might be the most important factor when making that purchase…
Nowadays, where a product comes from is almost as important as the product itself. Over the last several years, there has been an increasing interest in American-made products. Americans know that a product that is built in the United States carries a reputation for quality labor and materials. Some of the companies known for American-made include Allen Edmonds, American Apparel, Maglite, Airstream, Sub-Zero and Wolf.
According to Consumer Reports, people are 78 percent more likely to purchase a product if it is made within the United States. Why is this? I visited the Sub-Zero and Wolf factory in Madison, Wisconsin to find out the answer and learned four important facts about the products they design and build.
- Quality Materials
While other appliance companies are looking for the cheapest way to provide a solution, Wolf and Sub-Zero head in the opposite direction. Did you know that the average refrigerator lasts approximately 10 years in the United States? The average Sub-Zero refrigerator lasts longer than 20 years. This is partly due to the materials that they use. The highest grade of stainless steel, the extreme quality of their compressors, and the unmatched hinging system are just some of the reasons this refrigerator last decades.
- Caring Workers
The manufacturing standards and regulations enacted by the United States are much more stringent than most other countries in the world. The employees who work at Sub-Zero and Wolf have a great sense of pride in the work they are doing. They are all specially trained in their field, care very much about the safety of everyone in the plant, and seem to thoroughly enjoy what they do. This isn’t just marketing; I saw it with my own eyes on the factory floor. This is reflected in the products that they help create.
- 100% Testing
The average manufacturing company spot-checks some of the items on the assembly line. For a company that produces 100 units an hour, they may inspect 10 percent of those units. It’s inevitable that these companies calculate an acceptable rate of product failure into their manufacturing process, based on the fact that 90 percent of their products are not tested. Sub-Zero and Wolf are different. EVERYSINGLE UNIT is tested for hours before it leaves the factory. If there is even a slight sign of a potential problem, that unit does not ship.
- Environmental Conscience
Most people think that a refrigerator is a drain on electricity, with a 48-inch-model contributing hundred of dollars annually to your bill. A Sub-Zero refrigerator is different. The PRO48 is the largest refrigerator that Sub-Zero manufactures, and it costs less than a standard light bulb to run. There are foreign manufacturers who report that they come close to the level of energy efficiency that Sub-Zero achieves, but most people don’t think of the environmental impact of transporting and delivering these products halfway around the world. If you have a 48-inch refrigerator located in Japan, you must transport it via cargo ship. Once it arrives at a dock in California, you need to get it to the distribution centers across the country and then deliver to the homeowner’s location. With a Sub-Zero manufactured here in the United States, you remove the environmental impact of that 5,000-mile journey across the Pacific and you operate it for the cost of powering a light bulb. That’s going green.
There are so many options when you are redoing your kitchen, replacing your appliances or building a new home. For some people, the most inexpensive route may be the way to go. They will go and purchase an $800-dollar refrigerator every few years, and deal with problems like premature food spoilage, broken icemakers, and cheap, flimsy plastic. For the rest of us, we want a product that will stand the test of time. We want a product that the manufacturer takes a great level of pride in producing. A product that will last decades; not just a couple of years. The bottom line is we want American-made products. This is something to keep in mind (and research) when you are buying appliances.
For more information regarding the quality of Sub-Zero and Wolf products, contact New England’s Official Sub-Zero & Wolf Showroom and Test Kitchen and come see for yourself the difference American-made appliances can make in your kitchen.