Husqvarna 137/142

I wanted to post a response from Husqvarna reference my question "is the Husqvarna 137 built by Husqvarna or Poulan. trailing message is from Husqvarna:
-----Original Message-----
From: Kristi Spencer [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2005 9:40 AM
To: Jim Calhoun
Subject: Re: Husqvarna 137


Mr. Calhoun,

I wanted to pass along the following information form our hand-held product
manager:

Husqvarna and Poulan/WeedEater are both owned by Electrolux however the 137
is not a "Poulan" saw. The 137/142 are Husqvarna's entry level saw and are
assembled at the Electrolux plant in Dequeen, Arkansas. These 2 units are
design controlled out of Sweden and built to Swedish specs. These 2 models
are manufactured and branded exclusively as Husqvarna. They are not
rebadged and offered as Poulan or Poulan Pro products (Or any other brand).

The 137/142 saws have several features that are unique to Husqvarna -
Specifically:
A 3 piece forged crankshaft (vs. A 5 piece crankshaft with stamped
counterweights)
A chrome plated cylinder (vs. a bare bore cylinder)
Our "2-Mass" Principle which moves the fuel tank to the handle assembly
vs. on the chain saw chassis in order to reduce vibrations
Air Injection.

About the only components common from this saw to other Poulan Products
would be the hardware, chain and maybe a few other miscellaneous components
- I would estimate less that 5% of this saw is common to Poulan saws.

We feel confident that these units are the best consumer saws available and
have backed them with a warranty that reflects this - 15 day Crown
Commitment, 2 year Consumer Warranty, and a Lifetime warranty on Ignition
module.

Sincerely,

Kristi Spencer
Communications Manager
Husqvarna

Communications Manager = Spin Doctor

If it is not made at Husqvarna in Jönköping here in Sweden, I do not consider it a HVA.
There is multiple reasons why it is not made here.
Husqvarna has been a Sweden company for hundreds of years and it's history is far better than E-lux. I do not consider this or the others made oversea HVA.
This is my opinion.

Same goes for Jonsered, it is no more in my opinion, the Jonny's/HVA/Partner saws are the same no matter what we prefer.
There is cosmetic and style differences, but not that big.

At least they made an effort to make a detailed and informative response. My experience with customer service folks is that you might get a couple of fragmented sentences, if anything at all.

Power rating

There was a tread some time ago about the 137 and 142 disappearing from the US website, and nobody seemed to know why. :alien:
They have now reappeared, with changed specs regarding max power output.

The new versions have substansially lower power output , worst in the case of the 142 :angry2: , so if you are interested in those models make sure that you get the older version, and preferably a 136 or 141 if you don't need the starting assistance...

woodsrider said:

At least they made an effort to make a detailed and informative response. ......

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I agree with you!

By the way jcal, I have never stated that they are rebadged Poulans, just that they are made by Poulan.
There is nothing in the statement from Husqvarna that contradicts that.

"Designed by Husqvarna, adapted to Poulans way of doing things" was the statement I got from a Husky rep that I spoke to a while ago.

Mange said:

If it is not made at Husqvarna in Jönköping here in Sweden, I do not consider it a HVA.
There is multiple reasons why it is not made here.
Husqvarna has been a Sweden company for hundreds of years and it's history is far better than E-lux. I do not consider this or the others made oversea HVA.
This is my opinion.

Same goes for Jonsered, it is no more in my opinion, the Jonny's/HVA/Partner saws are the same no matter what we prefer.
There is cosmetic and style differences, but not that big.

Click to expand...

This sounds a little too patriotic, I guess. In todays industry, it is a given that industrial goods are manufactered worlwide, in order to save on shipping & labour costs, etc.. To me, it is the design and quality of parts that matter, and I care less for the place of assembly.

The answer of HVA to the matter looks very professional, and it turns out that my 136 (which I sold last year) was a real HVA after all, and not a Poulan.

i have a 141 and it doesn't feel like any poulan i have ver used.

If you bought a mexican made Dodge or chevy, would you think it was the same as a US made one?

Actually, my Mexican made VW was better than my

German built one. The German built one broke first at 175,000 miles, my Mexican one at 235,000. No scientific, to be sure, but it's the engineering and quality, not the build location.

But, yes, I would prefer a Husky built in Sweden...the way it is supposed to be.

Message I sent to Husqvarna

In order to clearify the issue, the trailing message is the one I sent to Husqvarna:

I live in Louisiana and we are still cleaning up after Hurricane Rita, things are much better though. I sent my family north before the Hurricane and stayed with my ailing father who could not be moved. Two day's after the storm passed my family was returning and called me and asked me what I needed. I said a Generator, Gas and a chainsaw. You see nothing was open within 75 miles of DeRidder, La to buy anything. She asked what kind of chainsaw I wanted and I told her get a Husqvarna with a 16-18" bar. She bought me a 137 Husqvarna and "I am thinking I have a great saw".

We have electricity back now and I did a search on your web site for this saw and only found the article in the news about the E series 137 -141 with your email at bottom. I went to a website http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=25492&highlight=Husqvarna+137
and searched for info on this model only to find apparently the 137-141 model's are not Husqvarna at all but are made by Poulan, I am totally up-set. I asked for a Husqvarna saw and apparently got Poulan. The statement below was taken directly from the web site:

"Husqvarna's 340, 345, and 350 would also be good choices. Avoid the 137 and 141, as they are simply rebadged Poulans, complete with the Poulan problems."

I have used the saw and it cut good however I am concerned about longevity. Had I known the saw was made by Poulan I would have told her not to buy that model and go for the real Husqvarna not a replica, in fact she called me and asked me if I wanted a Poulan I said no find a Husqvarna! There is something not right about this, when you are in the middle of a battle to save your house and community you don't have time to read fine print, research or anything you just rely on instutional knowledge as I did then, my friends in the pulpwood business use and recommend Husqvarna (wish I had one).

Something is wrong with this picture if in fact the Husqvarna 137 is made by poulan? By the way the generator she bought a Coleman ran 2 days and quit lost food and ICE, its setting in the shop waiting on repair along with a building full of others, don't know when it will be repaired had to borrow another generator, hope my saw holds up. I have read about the innovative things Husqvarna had built into this saw however the bottom line is: 'Is this saw built by Husqvarna or Poulan'?
If it is built by Poulan I would take it back spend another $100 dollars and buy one built by Husqvarna if I could.
Up-set in DeRidder, La!

Thank You

What do you think about Dewalt power tool, a "premium" American brand. Engineering is outsourced to an Indian contract firm and built in China by another contract firm? Is it a Dewalt? Very few products/brands are what a most ppl think they are. An Electrolux "Husky" saw engineered in Sweden built with model specific parts at an Electrolux AYP plant in the USA sounds pretty close to the Stihl Virginia Beach operation. Most ppl consider those "Stihls". BMW actually outsources an entire vehicle to a different company and country. Can't remember, which one,,X5?. is it a BMW? I don't think GE appliance makes hardly any washers or dryers anymore. Might be fridges, can't remember. All are subbed out. I wouldn't be too (proper grammer Simonizer) hard on the little 137/142, they have a market purpose. I know a former Plant Manager for that operation and he is definitely not ashamed of them.

Mange said:

If you bought a mexican made Dodge or chevy, would you think it was the same as a US made one?

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I don't know, but it should be, or even better. Everything comes down to the design and the specs that they are built to. A product that does not live up to the spec will not pass quality control.

And don"t forget that quality brands have their name to protect. I don't think STIHL or HVA would allow for ex. US products to be manufactered with lesser quality than the european ones or the other way around.

Last but not least, I have been fortunate to travel a lot in my life, and the feeling of the superior western technology or quality of labour has long gone by now. The Tigers out in the East are catching up quicker than you can imagine, and the time that we will be logging or bucking with top quality saws out of China or Mexico may be not too far off.

belgian said:

And don"t forget that quality brands have their name to protect. I don't think STIHL or HVA would allow for ex. US products to be manufactered with lesser quality than the european ones or the other way around.

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This is why the pro saws are made here. Reputation!
The consumer saws is just not that important, to build saws here is much more expencive than over seas. To build saws here is not fair since they are sold at common market with saws built cheeper, that is why the consumer saws exist in my opinion to get money in to the company.
To solve this problem E-lux build their consumer saws at the same places with same rules and prices as the rest of them.
I do not belive E-lux will produce saws here in the future if nothing major happends.
It all comes down to money in the end.

Mange, you are definitely correct. It is all about showing increased earnings each Qtr. I don't think anyone looks past the next quarterly earnings report. Unfortunately I am speaking from a remarkably informed position. Company leadership is ultimately responsible to the stock holders. People buy company stock to make more money,,,now. Most investors want analyst to say great things about this quarter not about great decisions that will postion a company for great earnings five years from now. That's were the Japanese killed all of us in the 70's, 80's and 90's. They might be moving towards the American and European way of investing now. Better learn Chinese and Indian!!!

Luke

Very well said, I think it's a defect in the ideology of almost all American corporations. It doesn't support longevity of the company or quality.

I don't think many Americans truly understand how serious the problem is with mfg in the USA. Ppl complain about everything going oversees then dump the first stock in their portfolio that actually performed ok but missed the earnings report. That company has to do something. They are obligated to the shareholders. So then the hunt begins to outsource something. Hell, just the press associated with talking about a closure and outsourcing will bump a stock. I am very aware of a company that will be closing an obscenely profitable operation and moving it to Mexico to pick up one point!!

i would never buy a american truck.

i only drive toyotas.the ones made in japan.

Both saws are terrible. Cheers.