Hey guys
I wanted to let everyone know that I have not used Keller shells in about 3 years.
DW makes their drum at their factory in Oxnard. The are not made offsite. All Pacific drum are made in Mexico.
Gretsch had everything retooled in Taiwan when
they went into business with Kaman (Gibralter)
Tooling cost here in the states makes it almost impossible to tool here in the states. When I was tooling my lugs, the quotes here in the states was about $30,000.00 per lug. Having it made in Taiwan was about $4,000.00 per lug. At 30K per lug mold, the end cost of a drum would be so expensive that nobody would buy it. Pure economics.
As far as I know, Ludwig and DW are the only companies in the USA that make their own shells. All of Gretsch shells come from Keller. Does that make them a company that people call a Keller company? Hmmm.
Yes all of the metal parts that we all use come from Taiwan. All of them. They are not available by USA companies. Cost is the issue. We could make the same parts but the peice price would make the end product not affordable.
I hope this helps with any questions. I am in the middle of this stuff everyday so these are not thoughts or ideas, this is all facts.
Bill D