We all know that certain items are simply of better quality than their counterparts. Generally, the more you pay for something, the longer it will last, but there are cases wherecompaniesdecided to do the right thing and make the product better than it has any right to be.
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Bush’s Baked Beans. I’ve never worked at another facility where quality was focused so much more than actual production. The line stops all the time over anything remotely impactful to quality to make sure that the product is safe, and the standards are met. I’ve seen them shut production down for 3 days while they diagnosed and solved an issue that they could have ignored and just let the filters catch. Oh and they continued paying their employees through the downtime. Absolute amazing company.
Nintendo’s former president willingly took a 50% salary cut due to poor sales of the wii u so he wouldn’t have to lay off staff, this keeping morale high and quality top notch.
Some people may know, but Lego. Lego has EXTREMELY tight manufacturing tolerances, aiming for around a precision of ±0.01mm in dimensions to ensure consistent and reliable interlocking of pieces across different sets. That’s why pieces made years or decades apart snap together like they were all made yesterday. There really isn’t a competitor that comes close.
Fiskars. Scissors and branch loppers.I broke a set of loppers and I was pretty sure it was my fault because I was cutting a branch that was WAY too big and I twisted the loppers. I did this many, many times over the years. Finally it broke the blade.I sent them an email asking how much to get a new lopper blade and explained that it was my fault. They said “no worries” and sent me a new blade for free. And a whole new set of loppers for free.I only buy Fiskars for scissors and loppers now.
Most people probably realize this, but Toyota has insanely high quality control down to the individual parts. There’s a reason they last forever.
IKEA toys for children currently have tougher safety standards than what all the global laws requires.
Mars.I’m talking about the candy company. I used to work in their pet food division and we had a blank check from corporate to make sure there was never a recall.Our marching orders were to do whatever it took to make sure “Mars Inc.” and “Recall” were never in the same headline.I know for a fact I cost the company tens of thousands of dollars in lost production and product waste during my time there, all to prevent any possible problems making it to market. When a customer would send us a complaint, those details would make it all the way to the facility floor for an investigation, even if they were clearly b******t.I’ve since moved on to other industries, and it still blows my mind how the people making dog food and candy had stricter quality assurance than aerospace manufacturers.
KitchenAid. My food mixer is 25 years old, is used 2/3 times a week and looks and operates like new.
Most people know that Zeiss makes really good glasses.What some folks may not know is that they also make the ultraflat mirrors used in ASML’s EUV lithography machines - the ones that make every high end computer chip in the world.Why mirrors and not lenses? The light used passing through a lens of any material, regardless of how perfect, is too disruptive. How flat are the mirrors? To the atomic level. If the mirrors were scaled up to the size of Texas, the largest imperfection would be less than two millimeters tall.
This thread made me think of zippo. More for their free repairs and replacement on authentic lighters. all you have to do is mail them the lighter. in this day n age thats incredible. they dont even care where you got the lighter just as long as its a real zippo.
Victorinox Swiss Army knives. It was founded back in 1884 and when you think of a Swiss Army knife, you’re basically thinking about Victorinox. The level of quality of these knives is top notch. There are knives from WWII that still function properly.
Otterbox phone cases. I’m an idiot with my phone, and this case has kept my crusty a*s iPhone 7 damage-free lol.
Casio is underrated.
Obvious Bic reference. Aeronautic tolerances under a cheap af pen.
Kong Dog Toys - the red rubber stuffable toys. The rubber is a precision made compound with such high quality control to always be the same whether it is being made for a small size kong or the red kong frisbee. Because it is a ubiquitous item available at many pet stores worldwide, shelf stable and always smells the same to the dog, it is used in detection dog programs for security, police and military around the world. They cut up pieces of kong into incredibly small shavings to train the dogs to find before moving onto other target odors, as well as using the kongs themselves as a reward toy.The one exception to the “red kong material” is the red kong keychain. For whatever reason Kong changed the formula for that one, so it can’t be chopped into pieces and used in place of other kong rubber.
Tabasco. Their factory on Avery Island is the most immaculate industrial facility I’ve ever seen. The grounds are beautiful and the people are great. The “Disney” of hot sauces.
Ball the jar company. They make satellites.
OXO brand cleaning supplies. I buy the scrubbers and scrub brushes for home use and they hold up way beyond anything else I’ve ever tried.
YKK zippers. The best.
Stanley thermos flasks.Yeah I know they became a big Tiktok craze. I don’t know how that model holds up. I do know that my regular Stanley’s have been solid as a rock. I have one that I got from my grandmother’s house which is (I am pretty sure) older than I am. It still keeps my drinks hot for 10+ hours at a time. Despite now looking like it was dug out of a fallout shelter.Edit:Honestly I don’t even care if they’re everywhere. Stanley trucked along turning out sensible quality products for 100 or so years. If they invested in some fresh R+D, found a smart marketing guy and in response genX 10x their sales - well good on them. At least the fad chasers end up with a decent thermos. Likely better than whatever influencer branded tat Tiktok will latch on to next.
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Most Kirkland products from Costco.
In terms of temporary adhesives, anything 3M. Especially post-it notes and command strips. Somehow their materials science is so far above every other sticky note company that it’s barely comparable, and I don’t know if there’s any alternative to 3M command strips.
Totes umbrellas have a lifetime warranty. You can return them back to the manufacturer and they’ll send you a brand new one.
Uniqlo.A friend of my wife manages material supply chains for Uniqlo across Asia. While almost every single economy company chooses the lowest bidder, Uniqlo will always choose density, familiarity and quality over cost every time. The standards they post are extremely strict.Through this, most Uniqlo products maintain consistency across the world and generally the same reliability.Sure, it would be a push to claim that Uniqlo is a “buy it for life” brand with colours that don’t eventually fade, but as a mid-tier basics brand it’s generally a really reliable, high quality choice.
Electronic products from IKEA. They use good quality components and have good electrical separation of the high voltage side and the low voltage side.Search the bigclivedotcom channel on YouTube for teardown videos of IKEA products. For example, the IKEA SMÅHAGEL USB charger.(He also does teardowns of dodgy electronics products that will straight up kill you. Those are always exciting!).
In the tool world/construction it’s hard to beat Hilti but they are expensive.
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Carter’s clothing for babies and children.I still have onesies and pajamas that were thoroughly put through all the stains, strains, and antics of each one of my kids.Yet my 4 month old can wear my 4 year old’s old clothes and there’s not a tear at all. The colors are faded a bit and there’s some paint, berry, and spaghetti in places but overall they’ve held up well.Same can be said of New Balance. I’ve worn the same pair for about a decade and the worst thing about them is the grass stains.
Michelin tires for sure.
Speed Queen washers and dryers.
Hanna Andersson pajamas, I always slept naked but bought one pair and they’ve lasted two years of wearing every night and are still like new. They’re so comfy that when I put them on it gets me ready to sleep.
EDIT: company is Caterpillar (I misread this as what products have higher quality standards than expected)Tractor gears. I used to be a fine grind machine operator and I don’t remember the exact tolerances but these giant gears (sometimes several feet in diameter) had to have their center bore ground down to a specific size within about the size of a particle of smoke. Then if it passed size tests, it then had to pass tests for the finish texture and then a test where we dunked the whole gear into hydrochloric acid which the operator who trained me said was to test for chemical changes from burning the steel with the fine grinding wheel, but I wouldn’t put money on either of us actually knowing why that test was done.
Thermopro thermometers! Their quality control is fantastic, and they have remained accurate for years. I’ve had the same digital probe thermometer for ten years, and now and then, I bring it into my lab to test its accuracy - still spot on after all this time. You can absolutely tell the difference between this and a cheap, nearly identical knockoff from Amazon that sells 1/4 of the price. We’ve bought a few to test them, and the accuracy ranges are STRIKING (± 15° F - quite possibly the difference between safe and very dangerous for certain foods).
Hanks Belts.I needed a new belt And I decided I wanted to spend the money and get an actual quality one that was full grain leather because im tired of the cheap $45 genuine leather belts that I was replacing every year because they fall apart so I looked for the best belt that existed because I was looking for something that would last me until I couldn’t remember how much I paid for it and I found hanks belts and they have a customer for life.Absolutely exactly what you pay for the one of the Best purchase of my life I would never buy a belt from anyone else. 100 year warranty and the customer service is truly amazing and hassle freeI do a lot Construction type work and ive hung framing nailers on it, drag across the concrete working on cars and I have ruined and worn through countless pairs of jeans because I’m rough on whatever I’m wearing and the its still in perfect condition no matter what I get on it or what I throw on it with a little care and conditioning it is back to lookin like the day I got it. I have one belt and that’s all I need. I can work all week in it and then throw it on a pair of nice jeans and go.
Rolls Royce. I worked for a company who for 2 years tried to produce exhaust vanes for their jet engines. Every time an inspector came, we failed.
Maybe this is just my local ones but Kroger bakeries. I live in an area with a ton of specialty bakeries but when it comes to your basic breads Kroger does it best.
I remember reading an article about McDonald’s having some crazy amount of quality assurance, as this ensures the product is exactly the same at all locations. This was a long while ago but it’s the first thing that comes to mind.
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