Viking battles to keep manufacturing in U.S. (Upscale appliance maker hit by housing decline)

MSNBC ^ | 5-18-10 | Schoen

[wardaddy]

GREENWOOD, Miss. - If you want to know what it takes to manufacture a product in the United States these days, just ask Fred Carl.

The founder, president and CEO of Viking Range, Carl virtually invented the market for half-ton, restaurant-sized stoves in the home, launching his company in the late 1980s, just as a cooking craze swept American kitchens. The company rode a second wave of demand in the early 2000s, when the easy-money housing boom sent homebuyers, builders and remodelers on a shopping spree for $10,000 trophy stoves.

Now, with lower-cost appliance makers invading Viking’s turf, new-home construction down some 70 percent from five years ago, and recession-weary homeowners hunkered down, Viking is fighting to maintain its foothold as an American manufacturer.

[wardaddy]

1,000 workers out of 16,000 population is a big hit for Greenwood..plenty of labor around....

[freedumb2003]

Leflore County voted 68% for the TOTUS-reader.

Hope & Change really rocks, right?

[expat_panama]

"...new-home construction down some 70 percent from five years ago, and recession-weary homeowners hunkered down, Viking is fighting to maintain its foothold as an American manufacturer..."

So he's saying he'd do better if there were more homebuyers.   Maybe not.  Expanding the home market with foreign home buyers increases the 'trade deficit'.

[Pessimist]

They can close the whole company for all I care.

My wife and I payed good money for a double oven and have had nothing but problems with it from day 1.

Ink coming off the front panel, Hinges failed (botyh ovens) repeated element failure.

Anecdotal? maybe. But just Google Viking Problems and see what you get. We got suckered into thinking we were paying for “quality”, when all we were really paying for was a name.

Our bad. We’ll rectify it next time.

[bigbob]

This is a BS excuse for a bad business model. Viking and others like them thrived on the 25-year long drunken orgy of overspending and overconsumption by American consumers. These ranges may be nice and all, but are clearly overkill in about 99.9% of residential applications, and now that the free money, free interest, free refinancing party is over, they’ve found their home market has vaporized.

More to follow.

[Nachum]

Yep, our oven is a pain in the rear too. Now we have trouble with the fridge.

[VAFreedom]

they’re definitely over-priced. I would NOT be surprised if they re-badge cheap appliances and just slap a vikings label on it and mark it up 10 times.

[Imgr8t]

Years ago, when I worked there they did. Now they manufacture their own appliances in house. I don’t think they are outsourcing anything anymore.

[Pessimist]

“I would NOT be surprised if they re-badge cheap appliances..”

Fankly, I would be surprised. It would probably work better than it does now if they did. :)

[Pessimist]

” but are clearly overkill in about 99.9% of residential applications.”

Overkill? I don’t know about that.

Overpriced and under-performing? Definitely.

[US_MilitaryRules]

We have Wolf and SubZero. The ice make just went out after 6 years. Bought a new one online for $165 no tax and put it in myself. Works great for now!

[Tupelo]

I feel for Fred Carl. he single handed tried to bring Greenwood back to some of it's past prominence. he manufactured appliances, remodeled several building in downtown, including the Alluvian (sp?), a world class hotel.
All this in a pig sty town in the middle of the third world known as the Mississippi Delta. Wanna see real racial hatred? Go to Greenwood. Whites hate the Blacks, Blacks hate the whites and both hate anyone that tries to change their bigoted minds. City is filthy and parts of it actually stinks. Too bad. I lived there as a child and can not believe how far that little city has fallen.

[bjorn14]

My brother bought a complete Viking kitchen about five years ago and every appliance has had a major issue. He would advise anyone never to buy a Viking.

I’ve had a SubZero/Wolf kitchen for about the same time...one small problem that was my fault (knock on wood)

About Greenwood can’t say I was too impressed with the ‘work ethic’ there.

[Notary Sojac]

If I wanted to drop major bucks on a stove, I would go here.

http://www.antiqueappliances.com/

[wardaddy]

Carl is one my cousin’s best buds.

They vacation together.

he is a decent man...

i don’t own any Viking products

I do have some high end Electrolux fridge and some Swedish dishwasher and stoves...Asko?

I was pals with the Emmerich clan there and used to duck hunt at Matthews Brake and Doc Geary’s plantation

Luscos....

town is black now basically except for one big white neighborhood

Greenville is worse

I don’t think bigotry is the issue so much as decline

[Oztrich Boy]