Originally Posted by Wallace
Hello guys,
I was getting phone calls from my U.S. dealers (in panic mode) pointing me to this thread, so I thought I'd stop by and set a few records straight...
Fact: SYSTEMA has only temporarily suspended production on TRADITIONAL AEG PARTS until September or October. This is done mainly to re-structure their production lines and supplier network. Apparently several of their contractors went under due to the recent automotive industry blow-out (for example some metal components used in our upgrade parts were machined by the same factory that supply parts to Honda or Toyota, and then we hardened those components internally). Since SYSTEMA’s QA is very strict (and some of these suppliers has been working with SYSTEMA for over a decade so they know what needs to be done), I think it will take some time for them to find replacement suppliers with at least the same (if not better) quality assurance.
However, please note that since most of the PTW components are manufactured in-house, there will be no interruption on those. In addition, please do not confuse the above "temporarily suspension" with the recent "PTW shortage". As you may or may not know, due to a sudden spike on global demand (for some odd reason sales in Asia went through the roof after the CTW hit the market), we are constantly fighting inventory shortage because SYSTEMA hasn’t been as fast in shipping our orders. Although I would love to speculate that "maybe people found out the CTW isn't working as advertised, and those who had been holding out for CTW all went and bought PTW instead", I believe the recent demand spike has more to do with other Asian countries (such as Thailand) started importing PTWs.
Moreover, I also felt that SYSTEMA’s inventory distribution priority may have caused some of our smaller partners to mistaken the situation. Unlike some manufacturers who "as long as you pay them, they don't care who you are", SYSTEMA value long-term relationships heavily and in these situations they will take care of their long-term supporters first. This means when inventory is limited, domestic Japanese distributors who's been doing business with them for decades usually get first dip, and we (Evolution, Redwolf, ZShot etc. - international distributors) get 2nd dip. Now, since even we couldn't get enough PTWs shipped to us, I would not be surprised if some of the independent importers (especially retail stores in Europe who opted to purchase directly from SYSTEMA) would not be able to obtain inventory quickly. For them, it would look like SYSTEMA has stopped PTW production... but I can assure you it is not the case. I am very sorry for the inconvenience, both to those dealers as well as their customers; but I do hope SYSTEMA will quickly ramp-up production to meet the demand.
In closing, for PTW users there will not be any permanent supply interruption in the U.S. We will have regular PTW shipments from Japan every month (or maybe twice a month) in the foreseeable future, so please rest assured your investment has not gone down the toilet. (And sorry for raining on some of the parade about your spare parts value would skyrocket.)
Best regards (and sorry for the panic!!)
Wallace
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