The materials MTC uses for our products are the best available. Three main reasons, quality, machinable and longevity. Better materials are more stable, consistent and maintain dimensional accuracy. They do come at a cost, quality materials are not cheap and continually rising in price. Postage and shipping cost is another out of control matter.
Recently I looked back at the material cost when I sold wind flags for $25.00. The current material cost has risen over 300% since then, shipping has risen about 450%. I could make MTC products cheaper with other materials, but why would I? The objective is to make the finest products and plastics can’t meet those criterias. MTC has made a substantial investment in machinery to utilize these materials. Plastics are less expensive and much easier to fabricate with minimal equipment and investment, but they do not offer nearly the same advantages. Anodized aluminum was selected over plastics at an added material and processing cost for performance and appearance reasons. The anodized aluminum surface is close to diamond hardness and very resistant to wear and corrosion and it has options for colors. MTC is not in this business of offering limited life or inferior products. Hopefully, MTC products will be the last you will ever have to buy. Several MTC products have additional machining operations that are not functional but intended to enhance appearance. Please review the detailed views of the components that are used for the MTC products and compare them to those details of similar product offerings.
Most of our equipment is manually operated, but very accurate. Quantities produced do not justify the application of CNC equipment. The high precision Hardinge lathes are eight-station production turret machines. Each station is tooled for specific functions. Tooling cost is staggering, a holding collet for my Hardinge Chucker cost $160.00 plus shipping. It is used only for the 1-3/8″ bubble level. Several other tools have single applications at a similar cost. A used Hardinge Releasing Tapping Head cost over $450.00 and the collets are another $30.00 each. But they are the most accurate and reliable made. The Cincinnati tool room lathe is mostly used for the fabrication of tooling for MTC products. It is not a high production machine as the others are. The vertical milling machine is DRO equipped and completely tooled with holders and cutters. MTC has a 30″ vinyl cutter/plotter and software for producing the tail overlays and direction arrows. A spin roller is employed to remove the curled memory for the stored and shipped sheet aluminum and a finger break is used to crease (or fold) the tail sheet metal edges to stiffen and maintain straightness. Deburring/tumbling, sandblasting and polishing equipment is ready in preparation for anodizing. The anodizing processing line is permanently set up and with activity accurate digital processing controls. Additional equipment includes a rectifier anodizing power supply, metal cutoff band saw, floor stand drill press, tool/cutter grinder, disk sander, an arbor press, surface plate and a full array of inspection and measuring tools. Setup, scrap, and consumables enter into the eventual cost of the manufacturing process and they cannot be avoided.
All MTC products are produced in batch quantities in an effort to achieve cost control and dimensional consistency. Over the years the batch size has increased due to interest and sales. A minimum inventory is maintained in an effort to react rapidly to orders. If the inventory becomes depleted, orders should normally be shipped within four weeks.
MTC attempts to utilize USA manufactured components, unfortunately, many are no longer available or priced so high they are not affordable. Recently I purchased several miniature stainless steel ten (10) ball high-speed ball bearings from a USA company. When the package arrived “Made in China”. This happens more than expected anymore. I don’t have a choice, but every component goes through a complete inspection. What is disturbing about this is that some USA companies are charging 10X markup for the Chinese items with no inspection or sorting offered. MTC will not allow any inferior product to be used in our products.
Stands and posts are not offered as they are readily available from eBay or camera store suppliers. If MTC were to offer these we would add a profit and shipping cost. MTC is not in that business, so you can do better and save money.
Consumables are a factor in the manufacturing cost, Anodizing requires a lot of distilled water. Machining requires replacement cutters and polishing supplies. Scrap is always a possibility and sometimes I make mistakes.
MTC has made a substantial investment in equipment and time specifically dedicated to producing the finest products we can. I will not call ours the “BEST” that is for you to determine. However, every aspect of each product has gone through our complete evaluation and testing to ensure superior performance and user satisfaction. MTC is prepared to respond to the needs of target and bench rest shooters.
I will not offer negative criticism of other wind flags currently available as many users are pleased with their performance and price. It is not for me to attempt to make those decisions for you. Realizing that MTC products represent a major cost decision to achieve the results you are seeking, I hope you will review the details, features and technology of all our products offered. We welcome your comparison.