LN stuff?

[Scott W]

I have a question... and maybe somebody knows something. Please no political junk.

Have I missed a statement from LN about sales? Why SO lean? Any plans on increases? 
I know about covid but I don't see LV having problems or am I missing something? 

Thanks in advance for not saying masks are great or masks are pointless.

[Ohio Mike]

I have a question... and maybe somebody knows something. Please no political junk.

Have I missed a statement from LN about sales? Why SO lean? Any plans on increases? 
I know about covid but I don't see LV having problems or am I missing something? 

Thanks in advance for not saying masks are great or masks are pointless.

They have a statement on their website that addresses this topic.

From their home page click on INFORMATION.


Mike

[Turtlewoods]

Tom Lie-Nielsen recently did an interview explaining what the company has gone through: Where have all the planes gone? An interview with Thomas Lie-Nielsen – Hand Tool Book Review 

As mentioned in the interview, he is not sure if some of the items will come back at this point.

[Scott W]

Tom Lie-Nielsen recently did an interview explaining what the company has gone through: Where have all the planes gone? An interview with Thomas Lie-Nielsen – Hand Tool Book Review 

As mentioned in the interview, he is not sure if some of the items will come back at this point.

Thanks....I will listen to that today. I went to listen but I don't have enough time right now.

[CStan]

It looks like every single bench plane on their site is backordered. Not sure how they survive that, or if they even should. Lean inventory, JIT, aggressive outsourcing of critical components, -- hard to actually plan for a viral pandemic, but they appear to have been vulnerable to any supply shock no matter the source or reason.

What a shame.

[Mike Brady]

It looks like every single bench plane on their site is backordered.  Not sure how they survive that, or if they even should.  Lean inventory, JIT, aggressive outsourcing of critical components,  -- hard to actually plan for a viral pandemic, but they appear to have been vulnerable to any supply shock no matter the source or reason.   What a shame. 

I listened to the TLN interview referenced above.  Lie-Nielsen Tools is a conservatively-run company.  The management is cautious about being caught with an inventory of items, some of which sell briskly (the core tools); and others, not nearly as well.  A costly inventory of slow-turning items could bring down the whole enterprise.  For this reason, and also the need to spread staff for health / safety reasons, the production capacity is now devoted to "core tools".  That seems prudent to me for the time being, as they begin the gradual return to normal business function.

[Rob Lee]

(snip)
I know about covid but I don't see LV having problems or am I missing something? 

(snip)

Hi Scott - 

We are having lots of problems....out of just about everything - with capacity running at about 20% lower than normal - with demand through the roof. Lead times are pushing 8-12 months for our products now.

That's before supply chain issues - 

Not a fun time for manufacturing....

We can't even run all the machines we have, let alone increase capacity.

There is light at the end of the tunnel.... but there's still a lot of tunnel.....

Cheers - 

Rob

[Scott W]

Hi Scott - 

We are having lots of problems....out of just about everything - with capacity running at about 20% lower than normal - with demand through the roof. Lead times are pushing 8-12 months for our products now.

That's before supply chain issues - 

Not a fun time for manufacturing....

We can't even run all the machines we have, let alone increase capacity.

There is light at the end of the tunnel.... but there's still a lot of tunnel.....

Cheers - 

Rob

Thanks for the responses.  Maybe it's just shear chance but everything I look at on your site is either available or soon to be, so I just assumed the demand picked up since LN has stalled. Clearly I am wrong since you are kind of an authority on LV...



I have a handful of LV stuff and I am glad I have them especially now. LN #3 was always a "one day I'll justify it" purchase. I was about ready to actually do it and I notice there's nothing available and there some super high prices on swap and sell...i guess I have had my head under a rock.

[msweig]

LN also mentioned in the interview how small/specialized the crew of employees is.  He mentioned one employee flattens the backs on chisels, and like one or two do handles for planes (I'm basing the specifics on memory from listening yesterday so the details.might not be perfect). 

So if one of those employees gets COVID, or has close contact and has to stay home for two weeks, that is a stop in production for that group of tools. Which would definitely slow things down.  

Mark

[AHill]

Maybe in the beginning of Lie-Nielsen, they had ample inventory, but for the last 10-15 years, they really haven't had the same kind of inventory. In fact, they have not introduced any new tools in quite some time. And they've dropped several tools from their catalog. For example, you can no longer purchase normal angle block planes - only the low angle ones. They also dropped their No. 9 miter plane. Their long promised plow plane may never make it to the market - beat to the finish line by Lee Valley. Their focus seems to be on maintaining production of their core tools, and keeping the inventory at levels just enough to meet normal demand. As far as the non-core tools, it seems their strategy is to periodically produce a lot (not many, but a group of the same production run) of them when there's enough demand to merit it, then let that inventory drop through sales.

As Rob Lee pointed out, availability and lead time of key materials is scant at best. Government rules on COVID vary by state / province, so that also plays a role (as Tom Lie-Nielsen pointed out). And that's not just at the manufacturing plant, but also for the various suppliers they have.

The good news if they have backorders. That means there's demand for their tools. As the more and more people get vaccinated for COVID, and the case rates begin to decline, the supply chain will loosen up. It'll just take time. Also keep in mind that the consumers of these tools may also have been affected by the pandemic. Not everyone has been fortunate to be able to work uninterrupted by the pandemic. I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to work uninterrupted through all of this. I continually remind myself when I feel constrained by telecommuting and observing all the precautions that go with this pandemic that I have a well-paying job and have little to complain about.