buzz111

I recently bought a Campagnolo spares kit to rebuild the wheel hubs on my Campi-equipped bike. Imagine my shock when I noticed the Parts Code label on the pretty little Campagnolo box stated "Made in China" instead of "Made in Italy"!

I did some research and learned that Campagnolo expanded manufacturing operations into Romania a while back, but this did not explain what I saw. I did some more digging and discovered that certain wheels manufactured by Fulcrum, a Campagnolo subsidiary, share identical parts with some Campagnolo wheels. The corresponding part numbers are, of course, different and brand-specific. This extends to spares kits as well - Campagnolo Code HB-RE100 is identical to Fulcrum Code RS-100.

So what to conclude from all this? Apparently, it's that Fulcrum has manufacturing operations in China, and since Campagnolo only manufactures parts in Italy (and now Romania), the parts in the Campagnolo kit are in fact Fulcrum parts re-boxed as Campagnolo parts.

It seems a bit sneaky of Campagnolo to outsource manufacturing this way. It was inevitable that the days of "Campagnolo" being synonymous with "Made in Italy" would come to an end. I just never thought I'd learn of this day from a printed white label on a tiny Campagnolo box. Such is life I suppose.

datlas 

Danger! Asplosion is imminent! Danger!

redlude97

The wheels are probably assembled in italy/romania, which is generally enough to label things made in italy etc, just like the many carbon bikes that are "made in italy" when the frames are clearly from taiwan. As long as you throw it together and put some stickers on it you can call it whatever you want. Same with a lot of made in USA products

rpenmanparker 

Did you think it was important enough for it to be in the NY Times. A total non-issue.

texaspandj

Not surprised.

rms13

Newsflash: everything is made in China

Road Fan

I don't see the shock value. Campagnolo is design, a knowledge-base ("the Knowledge") and a standard of quality, as well as a cache of precision Italian craftsmen. They were compromising as soon as they started selling lower-priced gruppi, which started with, well, maintaining the Gran Sport after the Record was introduced. But for most of these products quality and durability were not sacrificed (we all know about the exceptions, no need to pile on, dudes!). In many industries the craftsmanship has been mechanized and not diminished - why not Campy?

Rumors in Techieland are that Apple intends to build a car. Are they planning to build Apple Car Assembly line (imagine a little bomb icon when a part is not installed right!)? No, they are negotiating with auto makers (who have factories and know how to run them) and assemblers (ditto) all over the world asking, will you build my car for me? We can pay you well! They are hiring a fab, like they did for iPhones! Why not Campagnolo?

China is just the current move in industry, world-wide.

The great seams on car bodies today are not just the result of designers and systems engineers enforcing that the panels shall be fit right - there are also better machines for placing the panels precisely and ensuring stability as the body is welded into one solid piece of car steel. Better craftsmanship AND better quality AND better performance AND far lower cost for what you get.

Sy Reene

Maybe just the box was made in China?

jtaylor996

Or maybe just the barcode sticker...

o_O

Reynolds 

坎帕尼奥洛

Kǎn pà ní ào luò

kbarch

It's more of a wake-up than a shock. I get what you're saying about design, but think there's a little more to it than that in this case. Maybe we thought we were getting something where the name meant something substantial about where it came from and who did the work. There is the notion that some things are not commodities - that it actually matters who does the work. Some people have a kind of native care for their work, some are kind of diligent mercenaries, and others are completely indifferent and will screw it up unless they're watched like a hawk.

Most people will return to a repair shop, and not go to just any mechanic not because that shop is any better at merely turning a wrench. Anyone can turn a wrench. Usually we make the decision not based on how well they turn the wrench or how little they charge to do so, but based on the belief that they know what they're doing and actually care.

Likewise, anyone can watch a machine cut or stamp out a part and put it in a box. And if they do the work without screwing it up, what difference does it make? Well, it just seems awfully degrading to make cheap labor the goal, and personally, I don't like realizing that I'm participating in that. If a brand doesn't care who makes their stuff as long as they make it cheaply - if they'd rather pay to ship it around the globe than pay a little more to have it made in some more convenient place - then it's just so much stuff. There's nothing personal about it, so why should we care if it has their personal label on it? Sure, some parts really are commodities, but why should a cog be more important than the person who made it?

rpenmanparker 

But what if good are being made in China because the Chinese do a really good job AND don't charge a lot?

kbarch

It's not enough that anyone can be made or found to do a good job. One likes to think that they want to, were meant to, That there's more to work than responding to calculated business moves.
I remember seeing pictures of streets in the cities of China flooded with bicycles. No one had cars. I think it would be very cool to have one of those bikes for riding in the city, not because I think they're well made, but because they are so authentic.

rpenmanparker 

That is a very romantic view of business and one at odds with reality. It is quite enough that SOMEONE can be made or found to do a good job. That is exactly the goal of business.

The Campagnolo Italian mystique has always been and will always be horse puckey.

indyfabz

+1.

CliffordK

There are a lot of very high quality Campagnolo parts.
Also some good Shimano parts, and some pure JUNK bearing the Shimano name.

Look at the US tool industry. For years there were some very high quality American made tools. But often EXPENSIVE. So the importers came in and prices fell (or failed to go up). But so did quality. The response, the big American companies started importing their tools. Some things are better and cheaper. Some have chosen to go with bottom quality not good enough to use as paper weights.

So, if Campy manufactures to the same specs. Good steel. Quality machining. Heat treating. Polished cones and races. Then it probably doesn't make any difference where the parts are made. But, it is a slippery slope.

Plus, if companies stop employing locally, who's going to pay the workers enough to buy their products?

joejack951

The US is pretty strict about what can and cannot be called 'Made in the USA': https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/busi...e-usa-standard

That's not to say that some don't bend the rules as many bicycle frame vendors do, calling their frames 'made in the USA' when the tubing and other components (lugs) are made elsewhere.

But don't confuse 'made in the USA' with 'country of origin' (for import/export purposes). The latter is far more lenient.

rmfnla

More to consider than just where it was "made".

If a product is designed and materials are sourced elsewhere but assembly is in China and well monitored the resultant quality can be every bit as good as the original...

kbarch

That may be the goal of business, but it's not the goal of life - not mine, anyhow.

I don't think there's anything "romantic" about the idea of there being more to life than business, but it does strike me that the reduction of our behavior to mere business, or the belief in the infallibility or primacy of "practical" business decisions is naive in its own way.

Reynolds 

30 or 40 years ago Campagnolo high end groups were (relatively) much more expensive than today IIRC. But maybe it's just I had less money at the time... Anyone remembers about this?

brn2run

Why wouldn't you want your Italian bike parts to be made in Italy?
They make such reliable cars over there.

CliffordK

Hmmm...
FIATS got a bad reputation in the USA, but have been accepted elsewhere. I think the new ones are better.
The Yugo, of course was an Italian car made out of country.

FIAT also owns many of the better known Italian brands.

Until very recently, I don't believe any Chinese cars have made it to the USA.

rpenmanparker 

We have a significant disconnect here. You are talking about your own life, while I am talking about a business. The topic was Campagnolo and whether where its products are made matters. Suggesting that coming from Italy imbues a product with intangible value is quite literally romantic. There may be more to your life than business, but business is everything to Campagnolo. I guess that is because they are in fact a business. If they forget that, you will have more to grieve than where they have started sourcing their goods. You will find them just plain gone.

Lazyass

This laissez-faire attitude everyone has towards China producing everything, which is sad to see, is why they will someday be the lone superpower.

WhyFi

I tried really hard, but I was still unable to get worked up over this.