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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DHC" data-source="post: 1531407" data-attributes="member: 78106">Kruger Optical CommentsHello,I am the person who Steve spoke with at Kruger Optical yesterday.  I am very glad to read your comments in this thread and always take positive and negative feedback seriously.  We want to provide the best optics at the best price and have a service level that is unmatched, that is our goal.I would like to clarify a few topics/comments that I read in the previous postings and would also welcome your feedback.Our company is based in Sisters, OR as Steve said and we did recently move into a new, larger facility.  It's not quite 70,000 sq. ft. but it's large with space for US assembly and a machine shop.  The term "US Crafted" is a phrase we use because we DO have several optical, mechanical, and design engineers working for us who have been doing optical designs for binoculars and riflescopes for many years and hold more than 20 optical patents.  They do most of our designs, but some do come from China.  We are trying to make each product we launch in the Kruger brand unique with at least one feature that is patented and/or our own design.  As far as US Assembly, we have a new clean room with the ability to do this in our Sisters office and are planning some US assembled products, but not all products will be US assembled.  We definitely think it is the right thing to do and will try to develop as many products as we can that will be assembled in the US.  We do not use the term US Made unless all components are from the US and the final assembly is done here in the US.I saw someone's comment about Kruger having the capital to open a new facility and assemble in the US.  Allow me to address that:  We started in the optical components business over 11 years ago and also have an extensive private label list of customers such as Cabela's, REI, LL Bean, and West Marine.  We currently make private label binoculars and spotting scopes for all of these retailers and that business is continuing to grow every day.  The reason they come to us for their private label needs rather than source directly to China themselves is because we have a quality control lab owned and operated by Kruger personnel in Shanghai and we can design and bring to market very quickly using our own employees.  This gives us the ability to completely control the quality of product being made at the factories we do business with in China if we are not assembling in the US.  None of the other optics companies that I am familiar with have a QA lab over there, but they try to QA the product after it is already built and shipped to the US putting them way behind on production if there is a problem.  So in the end we provide optics in three different manners, US crafted and assembled, US designed/crafted products that are assembled in China, and also some Chinese products at the lower price points that fill a need.Regarding the Kruger Caldera bino and the Columbia Malheur, both are great birding binoculars with ED glass and wide FOV in the Caldera and Fluorite glass in the Malheur.  Both are phase coated with BaK-4 prisms and also have our own H2C scratch resistant water repellent lens coating.  At $399 and $299 with these features they stack up very well with most middle to higher-end binoculars out on the market.My Optics background started at Leupold, then went to Uncle Mike's which was purchased by Bushnell and I continued on there for three years, and then came to Kruger in 2007.  I would encourage any of you to contact me with any questions and I would be happy to engage in a conversations with enthusiast's such as yourselves.  Thank you very much for your interest!</blockquote>

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