Laugh or Cry?
 

My new swiss Bernina 550QE is made in Thailand. Not sure if I should laugh or cry!

I think only the highest-end Berninas are still made in Switzerland. That doesn't mean your machine isn't a good one, though!

Might as well laugh. Crying change anything.lol

More important is how it sews. Hopefully it will do great sewing.

Sews great!

I would have thought you would have researched the machine before purchasing? Bernina is making some of their lines at their Thailand facility.

Shoulda got the 1130 for $200 :) I asked the dealer and she said the 550 was Swiss made. Only saw the sticker on the bottom when I got home. I was spending my research on features not manufacturer. Thought the dealer would know. My assumption was wrong. Oh well...my Pfaffs not from Germany either. And I like my iPhone from China.

I have 12 vintage machines to fall back on it this one implodes :)

I have a 1230 that I absolutely love *but* my understanding is if the motherboard ever goes out on it, the machine is done for. This is because the parts factory had some kind of disaster that wiped out their inventory of motherboards for that era of machine, and the company decided not to manufacture more.

Mother boards can usually be repaired. There are techs on the Bernina yahoo group that do it, for not all that much $.

So what else is new? Seems like most things are not made where we hope/think they are. Enjoy you new machine!!

I was told the newer lines were being made in Thailand. ?

As far as I can tell, the Berninas series 600 and higher are still made in Switzerland:
http://sewing.patternreview.com/Sewi...ns/topic/61158

LOL that's why I go green and buy vintage machines

1260 is my favorite machine-from same series. I bought a second one on ebay for taking to class so I don't have to take down and set up each time. Good to know that there are some who can repair, if needed.

Even u.S. or Swiss or German made items have parts from the Asian countries. It's just how it is now. We buy the foreign products and they buy other US made products by the boatload. I know others who have the machine you bought and they love it. Happy sewing.

Enjoy your new machine, I guess as long as it is a good machine it does not really matter.

I have the last Pfaff model that was made in Germany, which is the 7570. Pfaff has been bought out by Viking.

IF company had to list, where ALL their parts came from, and where it was assembled, they would have to add a booklet because it comes from MANY countries.

it seems these days we must go to other Countries to buy anything Made in The USA. shame.

If it performs as it should then just enjoy it. I've wanted a high end machine forever, but ended up buying a Singer for about one fifth of the cost of the one I drooled over. That was five years ago and my Singer does everything I ask of it, it is easy to maintain, has never failed me and I love it. Sounds like I'm putting Singer down, but we all know that the Singer of the past is not the Singer of today. I learned to sew on a Singer treadle and so far I'm very pleased. So enjoy your new machine and make wonderous quilts and be happy.

There's a song that says, "Be with the one you love...Love the one your with....." or something like that ! Just think we should all enjoy what we already have and not spend time crying over what we don't.

My Japanese machine was made in China. As long as it keeps working with no problems , it is okay with me.

I have learned my lessons too, one is not to accept everything sales people say or promise, it's a shame our world has come to this. Even with buying a Bernina - he didn't tell me I have to buy another place to do straight sewing or the beginning of the fabric will bunch up and go down into the hole below, I have to use a piece of fabric to start it then move what I am working on under the needle, not a big deal but again sales people not disclosing everything!! I asked a million questions and thought I had covered everything. Now that I think about it when he was showing me how to work the machine he started somewhere in the middle!! I didn't catch it.

Huh? That doesn't make sense to me. Wouldn't it just be a Chinese machine then?

I also have a 1230. Love my machine and now I pray the motherboard never goes out. Thanks for the heads-up tho.

I think she means a Japanese-owned brand that is made in China. Since it isn't a Chinese-owned brand, it is a Japanese machine made in China.

They are most likely still engineered in Switzerland and as long as the QC is good, you're okay. The problems with overseas-made items are usually quality control.

They are most likely still engineered in Switzerland and as long as the QC is good, you're okay and I can't imagine Bernina not having good QC. The problems with overseas-made items are usually due to a lack of quality control.

Question: with so much of "quality" items being made in Thailand or China or Korea or wherever - What are the "experts" in Switzerland, Germany et al doing with themselves?

It depends on the company's QC. I have a Pfaff that was made in the Czech Republic, now I think they're made in China. I was at LQS Bernina dealer and saw that the lower end machines are made in China. At the Viking dealer, some are made in Korea.

My Honda is made in Japan. My Toshiba is made in Japan. Who cares where something is built as long as it meets our expectations? I care about child labor and fair wages. But country of origin should not be a concern. Workers just about anywhere are capable of building reliable technology, regardless of what nation's flag is flying outside the plant.

If you have problems with it, no matter where it was manufactured, the company still should make good on the warranty. Here's hoping you don't have anything to worry about anyway!

I noticed that the lightweight Rowenta irons are now being made in China. I checked and all my Rowenta were made in Germany.

Perspective: I work in manufacturing and they've probably outsourced it for cost. The assembly process and required materials list should be the same, as should the critical components and final result. Hopefully yours was put together by a fellow sewist and brings you eons of sewing bliss.

Does that help? lol

I think the biggest problems with this are typically quality control and tolerances. A lot of time the parts aren't machined to the finest tolerances. But then a lot of stuff made in the U.S. suffers from the same two issues........ My dh has taken apart a hot tub and couldn't believe they substituted a cheap plastic part for metal at a critical join, exposing buyers to inevitable failure after a period of a few years and potentially costly water damage. The company saved less than $1 per hot tub doing that!

The deal is we are outsourcing all our cars, machinery, sewing machines, etc until we no longer can buy anything made in the USA. So we are getting dependent on everything we have on other countries, and they are making all the wages. People in the USA have no way of making a living. Also those countries refuse to buy what we do make, because we charge too much for labor.

Our local Janome/elna/brother/etc. dealer reported two years ago that all machines are made in the Far East now...she may have overlooked one or two top lines, I guess, but she said all were....if it has the warranty and features I want, it will work for me.

It's pretty much the same with everything. My Toyota was made in USA, most "American" cars are assembled in Mexico or Canada with parts from Korea. By the way, Janome is a Japanese brand, and frankly they have long been known for excellent quality. It's a global economy now, and a very small world indeed.

We can't get away from them can we...:rolleyes:

No need for harsh comments. We have all overlooked things because we were caught up in the excitement of deciding on a new machine. The dealer lied to you so maybe you should return it.