St. Croix to announce.....

[S Hovanec]

Rumor is: St Croix to announce next week they will discontinue the sale of USA rolled sc2, sc3 and sc4 blanks.  USA rolled SC5 blanks will be available exclusively through Rodgeeks.

[Janderson45]

Bummer!  I hadn’t heard that, do you have a link?  Going to google it after posting...

 

Moving the SCII - SCIV blanks to the manufacturing plant in Mexico?  A large number of the SCII blanks are already made in Mexico, I think the Premier might be the only SCII blank still made in the USA.  The USA made blanks have traditionally come with a longer warranty period as well, but knowing St. Croix I can’t imagine warranty issues are suddenly going to be a major problem for them.

[S Hovanec]

No link.  Verbal confirmation from my supplier.

[Angry John]

This is terrible and one of the reasons i supported them and bragged on them so much.  Keeping American made products in America really did it for me.  I was as loyal as about anyone and it breaks my heart.

[S Hovanec]

At least we'll still have the SCV.

[haggard]

If the "rumor" ends up true, I may have already bought my last new St. Croix. I understand businesses do what they need to do to survive but I've seen too many products and services outsourced in the name of making budgets or gaining efficiencies, only to see the overall product or experience diminished and cost more in the long run. On a positive note, it's a free market economy so this could open up some opportunities.

 

[Vilas15]

That would be a shame, but I can't imagine they'd do it unless necessary for financial reasons. I'm a strictly St Croix guy and I'd probably buy one last Avid before considering other options for future purchases. Would the blanks be done in Mexico and rods finished in USA? Are the Mojos, etc. currently done that way? I'd like to think they lower the price a bit to compensate but know that wouldn't happen. 

[jimmyjoe]

   I heard the same thing, but I heard it a little different. I heard that they weren't going to SELL BLANKS anymore. I guess the volume was too low. The way I heard it, it had nothing to do with finished rods at all. Of course, the guys who told me that might be wrong, too. But I visited their site. You know how they used to have a link to their catalog of blanks? That's gone, or at least I couldn't find it. A woman at St. Croix earlier this year told me that the Mojo rods are US-made blanks that are shipped to Fresnillo and finished up there. She might have been blowing smoke up my you-know-what, but if you can't trust someone at the actual factory, who CAN you trust? That's why I say, "I heard ...". That's because that's all it is so far. RUMOR.   jj

[Vilas15]

5 minutes ago, jimmyjoe said:

   I heard the same thing, but I heard it a little different. I heard that they weren't going to SELL BLANKS anymore. I guess the volume was too low. The way I heard it, it had nothing to do with finished rods at all. Of course, the guys who told me that might be wrong, too. But I visited their site. You know how they used to have a link to their catalog of blanks? That's gone, or at least I couldn't find it. A woman at St. Croix earlier this year told me that the Mojo rods are US-made blanks that are shipped to Fresnillo and finished up there. She might have been blowing smoke up my you-know-what, but if you can't trust someone at the actual factory, who CAN you trust? That's why I say, "I heard ...". That's because that's all it is so far. RUMOR.   jj

That makes much more sense. Also why this was posted in the rodbuilding forum. I was very concerned!

[S Hovanec]

That's what I posted.  Discontinuing the sale of blanks.

 

The Park Falls made blanks will be used for their production rods only, except for the SCV.  They will be distributed to builders exclusivity through Rodgeeks.

[.ghoti.]

Just got the call from my supplier. They were told almost the same story. The only St Croix blanks now sold will be SCV blanks, which will be made in their Mexico facility, not in Wisconsin, and will be sold only through Rodgeeks.

 

No more American made blanks at all from St Croix. Period!

 

My supplier has about 300 St Croix blanks in stock. When those are gone, that will be it. They have no plans to discount remaining stock. The run on these blanks has already started. They expect to sell out quickly. 

 

Better get your orders in right now. 

[S Hovanec]

My dealer said the SCV will still be made in Park Falls, just distributed through Geeks.

[fishballer06]

I know most of you guys are builders. Any word if this will effect production rods as well? If so, I maybe need to stock up on more of my favorite Avids.

[S Hovanec]

9 minutes ago, fishballer06 said:

I know most of you guys are builders. Any word if this will effect production rods as well? If so, I maybe need to stock up on more of my favorite Avids.

It won't affect production rods. All blanks made will now be dedicated to production rods.

[.ghoti.]

21 hours ago, S Hovanec said:

My dealer said the SCV will still be made in Park Falls, just distributed through Geeks.

I hope your dealer is right, and mine is wrong. In either case my nice wholesale discount is gone. Won't be building on any St Croix blanks if they are not made in the USA, and won't be building on many USA made blanks without the discount. 

 

If it turns out that my dealer is correct, and all SCV blanks will be built in Mexico, I will be going to my dealer and buying as many SCV blanks as I can afford, while they are still available.

 

 

[S Hovanec]

51 minutes ago, .ghoti. said:

 

 

If it turns out that my dealer is correct, and all SCV blanks will be built in Mexico, I will be going to my dealer and buying as many SCV blanks as I can afford, while they are still available.

 

 

Just hope they don't do like one retailer did when Loomis stopped selling blanks and suspend all wholesale purchases.   Everything became retail after their announcement!

[.ghoti.]

10 hours ago, S Hovanec said:

Just hope they don't do like one retailer did when Loomis stopped selling blanks and suspend all wholesale purchases.   Everything became retail after their announcement!

Well, if they do that, I will.not be buying any.

[bish0p]

I got an email from RodGeeks about the St Croix SC5 blanks. The SC5 blanks are still made in the USA. At least RodGeeks gives you the option to have them painted.

 

The email had this link.
https://rodgeeks.com/collections/st-croix-scv-blanks

[S Hovanec]

I was just gonna post that.

 

St. Croix's Highest Performance Blanks Now Available at RODgeeks We are very pleased to announce that RODgeeks now offers St.Croix SC5 blanks.  These blanks are made in the U.S.A. in St. Croix’s Wisconsin factory.  They are shipped to our factory in Mexico where they will be painted to order, just like the rest of the RODgeeks line-up. The SC5 blanks are St. Croix’s most advanced designs.  They are made with high modulus carbon fiber prepreg that features a carbon veil scrim cloth, and nanotechnology FRS - a Fortified Resin System.  Add in St. Croix’s ART – Advanced Reinforcement Technology, and TET – Taper Enhancement Technology, and it is clear that these are the most advanced blank designs in the world.  These blanks are shockingly light and insanely sensitive, but still have the power and durability demanded by the most discerning anglers.  At prices ranging from $165 to $260, these blanks are an outstanding value.  Click here to see the lineup.   Key things to know:   We are initially offering 21 of the most popular SC5 models.  Let us know what other models you would like to see in the line-up.  As always, we will expand our offerings with your input.   All RODgeeks paint options – 34 colors, 2 tones, clear coats – are offered as options on the St. Croix SC5 blanks.    The RODgeeks C2 Series are St. Croix SC2 designs, and the C4 Series are St. Croix SC4 designs. If you currently build on St. Croix SC2, SC3, or SC4 blanks, you will likely find comparable models in the RODgeeks lineup.  The only difference between the blanks is that the RODgeeks blanks are made in our factory in Mexico.  We use the same materials, tooling, and processes that St. Croix uses to make these blanks in the U.S.A.    Let us know if there are some models we should add to our lineup, SC1 - SC5.  We have been basing all of our product development on customer input for 5 years and we will continue to do so.     We are excited to take our partnership with St. Croix to a new level since it enables us to offer so much more to our customers. Thank you for all of your support.   Bob Penicka RODgeeks Buy Now Copyright © 2019 RODgeeks, All rights reserved. You are receiving this because you subscribed to our email distribution. We will use email to announce new products and special offers. Our mailing address is: RODgeeks 7 Avis Drive Unit B Latham, NY 12110 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

[Jrob78]

Well, at least we can get SCV blanks unfinished now.

[S Hovanec]

7 minutes ago, Jrob78 said:

Well, at least we can get SCV blanks unfinished now.

 

That was the first thing I said to myself when I read that.

[.ghoti.]

40 minutes ago, Jrob78 said:

Well, at least we can get SCV blanks unfinished now.

That was the second thing I said. The first was thank you.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

I can see how it's like walking a tightrope for a rod company to sell blanks. The price they need to get to protect the brand of the finished product really isn't competitive. I think they struck a compromise that will work for everyone. 

[Tim Kelly]

That's very true. I used to buy St Croix blanks, but it worked out too expensive. The last two spinning rods of theirs I bought, both SCV, I bought as finished rods, stripped the horrible handles and rebuilt the handles. It was still much cheaper than buying a blank, the torzites and the handle and building it myself.