FS at Costco (02-18-2023) Weber Genesis II S-435


 
A Genesis II. Bottom line if you saw what a ghost town the "factory" is in Huntley IL and it was back when I was still reading the Tribune and they put out a story that Weber had dismissed something 90% of the employees there. I can't see how they're producing anything there anymore. So if not China I don't know where those full boxes are coming from
 
IN any case literally every box I opened to put it together was labeled Made in China. The grates, the control panel, and so on. This was a while ago when they first came out and before I read about Weber getting rid of everyone at the Huntley plant. Not saying I am happy about it. I have a very good friend who works for a company out of Switzerland that makes mfg equipment. He actually was in the Chinese weber plant and helped with setup. They invested very heavily in China. This was prior to my reading about them getting rid of production staff.
 
LMichaels said:
IN any case literally every box I opened to put it together was labeled Made in China. The grates, the control panel, and so on. This was a while ago when they first came out and before I read about Weber getting rid of everyone at the Huntley plant. Not saying I am happy about it. I have a very good friend who works for a company out of Switzerland that makes mfg equipment. He actually was in the Chinese weber plant and helped with setup. They invested very heavily in China. This was prior to my reading about them getting rid of production staff.
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I went to Home Depot yesterday.

I needed a new spading fork and I know Home Depot sells Ames brand.

I saw the distinctive green handles behind about 10 black Husky brand ones, so I started to dig one out.

An employee approached and asked if I needed help.

I am just digging through this Chinese made trash to get to the American made product I said.

The guy had no idea what I was talking about.

When I told my family the story at dinner time, my son and wife both told me “nobody cares”

They are mostly right about that.

Right?D9D0A2E9-2C0C-47C3-9B30-C79EA1161B05.jpeg
 
John_NJ said:
I went to Home Depot yesterday.

I needed a new spading fork and I know Home Depot sells Ames brand.

I saw the distinctive green handles behind about 10 black Husky brand ones, so I started to dig one out.

An employee approached and asked if I needed help.

I am just digging through this Chinese made trash to get to the American made product I said.

The guy had no idea what I was talking about.

When I told my family the story at dinner time, my son and wife both told me “nobody cares”

They are mostly right about that.

Right?View attachment 67601
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John, unfortunately the head of that fork is made overseas and then shipped here to be assembled in to the final product. That's the same game Weber plays although in reality the only thing they are "assembling" here are the foreign made parts into a box for us to put together at home.
 
Steve Hoch said:
John, unfortunately the head of that fork is made overseas and then shipped here to be assembled in to the final product. That's the same game Weber plays although in reality the only thing they are "assembling" here are the foreign made parts into a box for us to put together at home.
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Yeah I know that, but at least a few US taxpayers are putting food on the table somewhere because of those spading forks. The hardwood handle doesn’t look like it came from Asia in my opinion.

I bought an Ames spading fork many years ago and it broke. When I bought it to our town recycling center, one of the workers told me to contact Ames and they would replace it for free.

I sent an email, they asked for a photograph of the broken fork and my address- they sent me a brand new one free.

Last fall my son was digging up some tulip bulbs for transplanting, and he broke the Ames fork. He went to Home Depot and bought a Husky fork and it broke the same weekend (we are hard on spading forks). When he returned it, the customer service person told him it was the third broken Husky fork that weekend. Cheap Chinese crap.

I didn’t feel right about hitting Ames up for another free fork so I bought one.
 
John_NJ said:
Yeah I know that, but at least a few US taxpayers are putting food on the table somewhere because of those spading forks. The hardwood handle doesn’t look like it came from Asia in my opinion.

I bought an Ames spading fork many years ago and it broke. When I bought it to our town recycling center, one of the workers told me to contact Ames and they would replace it for free.

I sent an email, they asked for a photograph of the broken fork and my address- they sent me a brand new one free.

Last fall my son was digging up some tulip bulbs for transplanting, and he broke the Ames fork. He went to Home Depot and bought a Husky fork and it broke the same weekend (we are hard on spading forks). When he returned it, the customer service person told him it was the third broken Husky fork that weekend. Cheap Chinese crap.

I didn’t feel right about hitting Ames up for another free fork so I bought one.
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Don't get me wrong, I would buy the Ames tool over the Husky one as well, and I'm sure that the handle is sourced here. I do still appreciate Made in America even as it gets more difficult to identify and buy those products.
 
Chris Ober said:
What is better about the E325 vs this Costco
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It may not cook better, but when I looked side by side, the new Genesis had a taller lid that would be better for rotisserie, a larger warming rack and larger side tables. Of course, it has all those new accessories that Weber offers for it that do not fit the older model. It just looks more substantial. The pictures make it look worse than in person. If you value a side burner and a $100 savings, the Costco offering is a good deal.
 
Steve Hoch said:
Don't get me wrong, I would buy the Ames tool over the Husky one as well, and I'm sure that the handle is sourced here. I do still appreciate Made in America even as it gets more difficult to identify and buy those products.
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Steve- I really appreciate your feedback.

I have always sought out American made products, and I know I am in the minority.

I am a simple guy, no in ground pool, fancy cars or vacations, so I have the resources to follow my convictions.

Recently my wife and I decided to replace the workhorse of our kitchen, the 12” skillet.

The first American made skillet turned out to be made in Italy after assurances from the vendor to the contrary 0205678B-4747-461E-AB9C-23F296EC0366.jpeg

So I bought one from Amazon and it will be here next week.

A9895CA0-15A7-40E9-B434-2EC70AD81CB6.jpeg

I don’t care if anyone else has an opinion about how much it costs…

I’m done!

Cheers
 
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LMichaels said:
A Genesis II. Bottom line if you saw what a ghost town the "factory" is in Huntley IL and it was back when I was still reading the Tribune and they put out a story that Weber had dismissed something 90% of the employees there. I can't see how they're producing anything there anymore. So if not China I don't know where those full boxes are coming from
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When Genesis II models first launched, they were indeed made in China. Genesis II LX models were made in Huntley. Production switched location at some point, and for a while all Genesis II and II LX models were made in Huntley. Can't recall the dates as this was a few years ago, and I work on the Charcoal Product Management team, so it was never that relevant to my day to day.

Current generation Genesis models are a mix of Asia and Huntley made units, depending on the exact model. The factory is running everyday producing dozens of models, across several product category lines. Almost all Charcoal models sold in the Americas come out of the plant in Huntley. It is definitely not a ghost town. The parking lot is packed with 100's of cars every week, and while I work at the HQ in Palatine, I have been to the plant many times and know lots of people that work there. I disagree strongly with the accuracy of that Tribune article you mentioned.

As always, the caveat to all of this is that many parts are globally sourced from all over the world, and the percentages vary by product line, and even depending on when something is produced, as multiple vendors may be used for the same component. #IworkforWeber
 
My hope is what you're saying is true. I don't wish ill on Weber but, I've driven by that plant during all times of the week and day and not seen all the cars you say are there. Nothing would give me more pleasure than to see things succeed. but, I just don't see things happening you indicate there are. But, again I would LOVE to be wrong
 
John Burns said:
When Genesis II models first launched, they were indeed made in China. Genesis II LX models were made in Huntley. Production switched location at some point, and for a while all Genesis II and II LX models were made in Huntley. Can't recall the dates as this was a few years ago, and I work on the Charcoal Product Management team, so it was never that relevant to my day to day.

Current generation Genesis models are a mix of Asia and Huntley made units, depending on the exact model. The factory is running everyday producing dozens of models, across several product category lines. Almost all Charcoal models sold in the Americas come out of the plant in Huntley. It is definitely not a ghost town. The parking lot is packed with 100's of cars every week, and while I work at the HQ in Palatine, I have been to the plant many times and know lots of people that work there. I disagree strongly with the accuracy of that Tribune article you mentioned.

As always, the caveat to all of this is that many parts are globally sourced from all over the world, and the percentages vary by product line, and even depending on when something is produced, as multiple vendors may be used for the same component. #IworkforWeber
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props to the charcoal team -signed, your biggest fan of the WSK

thanks for the highly informative reply. facts versus supposition are very important.
 
LMichaels said:
My hope is what you're saying is true. I don't wish ill on Weber but, I've driven by that plant during all times of the week and day and not seen all the cars you say are there. Nothing would give me more pleasure than to see things succeed. but, I just don't see things happening you indicate there are. But, again I would LOVE to be wrong
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I know you're a Weber fan, and didn't construe your comments as wishing ill on Weber or anything like that. I just wonder if you saw the distribution plant and not the factory. Both are in Huntley, but not in the same location. I'm in constant contact with people at both locations, and know there's plenty of activity going on.
 
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Jose DT said:
Drops the mic and walks away...
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Now in response to this comment. I try VERY hard to not respond in a dismissive manner (yeah sometimes I know I haven't had my coffee) but this one REALLY got under my skin. So in response. Right from Costco today. Not trying to be mean spirited here. But Weber is like so many other companies that are worried more about the CEO bottom line than supporting they're own country, customers and workers. I don't like it. But, it's fact
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