White's is done after 70 years....
- Thread starter H2O ADDICTION
- Start date
Rob O
Forum Supporter
Very Sad ....I was looking forward to the next V3i
metaladdict
Elite Member
Ooooohhhh nooooo not another company of detectors!!!
davidlhyde63366
Forum Supporter
Sad news
Was hoping they would be coming out with some new machines , hate to see a company like that go out of business .
Was hoping they would be coming out with some new machines , hate to see a company like that go out of business .
Estima8tor
Elite Member
This is sad. I bought my first White's detector in 2010. Great company that produced some really good machines.
longbow62
Forum Supporter
My first detector was a White's. My oldest and 3rd oldest coins were found with a White's machine. It's sad when a well known company shuts it's doors. Especially one your invested in emotionally. That's how business works though. Very few companies can stay on top forever or even last forever. This is especially true when the company builds electronic devices that are prone to rapid advancements or potential obsolescence.
HaroldILL.
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2014
- Messages
- 28
Sad day indeed. I found my first silver coin a 1918s Merc. with a XLT been hooked ever since. I always remembered their big ads in the Treasure Mags in the 80s and thought one day when I have the money I will get a Whites detector and I finally did.
longbow62
Forum Supporter
They started having actual television commercials on certain cable television networks right after I got my XLT. A guy saying what good exercise it was and touting the machines ability to tell you what was in the ground before you dig.
GreenMeanie
Elite Member
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2006
- Messages
- 523
Well if you think about it the market is Flooded with Detectors/Companies for a small group of hunters with not much land to hunt and really no new tech since I started hunting years ago.
Whites always treated the customer right except when they hired that one guy that posted on the Forums he was rude.
I see more biting the bullet in the future.
Whites always treated the customer right except when they hired that one guy that posted on the Forums he was rude.
I see more biting the bullet in the future.
NickelPlate
Senior Member
My local dealer is a Whites Distributor and I worry how this will affect his business.
John-Edmonton
Elite Member
It's always sad when a popular company shuts. They built some great machines back in their day. I still have a Whites water detector collecting dust. Had some nice hunts with it.
Nubster
Full Member
Are they actually finished though? It says manufacturing suspended while they reevaluate the future of the business. I wouldn't be surprised if they sold to another company that continues to bring stuff out under the Whites name. Or maybe even someone else that will continue the company as a unique brand. Who knows. I don't use Whites stuff but I still hate to see an American company close up.
DIGGER27
In Memory Of
I don't think this is ever going to happen.
Be nice if it did but nobody bought Tesoro and nobody is going to buy this company, either...name notwithstanding.
The company that made Twinkees folded but they were manufactured under a different name and company...eventually.
That was a huge national, maybe even a worldwide popular brand and product, this hobby is a niche one and much smaller type of business so I don't see it happening.
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My guess is that there is nothing in the pipeline under development at White's and then the Apex is ready to come out..... the last straw for them as far as sales expectations go. Without a creative engineer and cash, no way to dig out of the hole. Very sad. A good company with a good reputation. I hope they find a way to keep going and make money.
DIGGER27
In Memory Of
Some interesting posts from Carl Moreland about current events over on this forum...
https://www.detectorprospector.com/profile/312-geotech/them
Says he that the family never really respected engineers over there, thought one was as good as another...A dime a dozen I believe was the statement.
They put people in charge with the same attitude who ended up chasing several pretty good engineers away or got them fired and other quality people left over the years, too.
Supposedly there was some new technology, Half Sine, Carl came up with and wrote the code for but research on that ended early before anything came of it.
He thinks there might be a little worth there if someone wants to take it over and see where it can take them but who knows.
As for their other tech much of their patented technology has already been surpassed by other companies or their patents are about to be expired so not much worth there.
He says nothing they have would be of any interest to FTP or probably anyone else, currently, as far as he can tell.
It seems they realized long ago that their clumsy distribution set up was costing them big time, too many people between the manufacturer and end user with too many markups all along the way, but their big issue was they had nobody that could successfully figure out how to fix it or if they did how to go about doing it..so it was a lack of execution more than anything.
I think they definitely had the name and a move into big box stores or direct to the consumer online like FTP did with the Patriot and other of their rejangled product lines might have been successful but I guess we'll never know, now.
When I first got into this hobby I saw there was a Whites dealer in the area that I called and talked to...some guy with another business but he sold Whites detectors on the side.
Supposedly he was a well known local hunter that was very successful over the years in this hobby.
I said I was new and looking to get into the hobby so I wanted to pick his brain.
He then immediately shut me down, never asked what or where I wanted to hunt, how much I wanted to spend...nothing.
I could have wanted a water rig, or a gold hunting unit, a PI unit or I might have been in the market for something high end but he never cared to find out.
All he kept hammering me with was I needed to buy a Prism 5.
I would find rings and coins galore he kept saying, never let up or got off that one point of that one model.
After being a very successful retail man for almost 30 years this form of selling technique really turned me off, I just assumed he had way to many of those models in stock, thanked him for his time and hung up so he could try bullying someone else into buying a model it was obvious HE wanted, or needed, to sell.
I know not all dealers were like this guy but I lost a lot of respect for this company that would let a "knowledgeable salesman" like this man represent them.
I bought another brand not long after and never looked back but maybe if I had dealt with a different and more competent dealer I could have been another happy White's guy to this day.
Carl also said the repair center, and I believe most of the other manufacturing buildings, are located on family property so if they wanted to they can shutter most of them in an instant and keep the repair center open with very little cost...and the repair center did make them some decent money so again, we'll see.
Steve Hersbach thinks the Whites name and web address could still be worth something to somebody but as to someone taking over and continuing on making any of their current product I don't think anyone believes that will happen.
To me, if all of this stuff is true, it seems like there was a lot of bad decisions, dropped balls and lost opportunities that could have continued to make this old company stay successful up to this day if they didn't stay their course and things were different but it is what it is.
Not the first company to fold that just made too many wrong moves over the years and I am sure they won't be the last.
https://www.detectorprospector.com/profile/312-geotech/them
Says he that the family never really respected engineers over there, thought one was as good as another...A dime a dozen I believe was the statement.
They put people in charge with the same attitude who ended up chasing several pretty good engineers away or got them fired and other quality people left over the years, too.
Supposedly there was some new technology, Half Sine, Carl came up with and wrote the code for but research on that ended early before anything came of it.
He thinks there might be a little worth there if someone wants to take it over and see where it can take them but who knows.
As for their other tech much of their patented technology has already been surpassed by other companies or their patents are about to be expired so not much worth there.
He says nothing they have would be of any interest to FTP or probably anyone else, currently, as far as he can tell.
It seems they realized long ago that their clumsy distribution set up was costing them big time, too many people between the manufacturer and end user with too many markups all along the way, but their big issue was they had nobody that could successfully figure out how to fix it or if they did how to go about doing it..so it was a lack of execution more than anything.
I think they definitely had the name and a move into big box stores or direct to the consumer online like FTP did with the Patriot and other of their rejangled product lines might have been successful but I guess we'll never know, now.
When I first got into this hobby I saw there was a Whites dealer in the area that I called and talked to...some guy with another business but he sold Whites detectors on the side.
Supposedly he was a well known local hunter that was very successful over the years in this hobby.
I said I was new and looking to get into the hobby so I wanted to pick his brain.
He then immediately shut me down, never asked what or where I wanted to hunt, how much I wanted to spend...nothing.
I could have wanted a water rig, or a gold hunting unit, a PI unit or I might have been in the market for something high end but he never cared to find out.
All he kept hammering me with was I needed to buy a Prism 5.
I would find rings and coins galore he kept saying, never let up or got off that one point of that one model.
After being a very successful retail man for almost 30 years this form of selling technique really turned me off, I just assumed he had way to many of those models in stock, thanked him for his time and hung up so he could try bullying someone else into buying a model it was obvious HE wanted, or needed, to sell.
I know not all dealers were like this guy but I lost a lot of respect for this company that would let a "knowledgeable salesman" like this man represent them.
I bought another brand not long after and never looked back but maybe if I had dealt with a different and more competent dealer I could have been another happy White's guy to this day.
Carl also said the repair center, and I believe most of the other manufacturing buildings, are located on family property so if they wanted to they can shutter most of them in an instant and keep the repair center open with very little cost...and the repair center did make them some decent money so again, we'll see.
Steve Hersbach thinks the Whites name and web address could still be worth something to somebody but as to someone taking over and continuing on making any of their current product I don't think anyone believes that will happen.
To me, if all of this stuff is true, it seems like there was a lot of bad decisions, dropped balls and lost opportunities that could have continued to make this old company stay successful up to this day if they didn't stay their course and things were different but it is what it is.
Not the first company to fold that just made too many wrong moves over the years and I am sure they won't be the last.
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hamiddetecting
Elite Member
That’s so sad, White’s Electronics made great metal detectors.
amc rulz
Forum Supporter
Once semiconductor stocks are depleted due to the ****demic, won’t all manufacturers be affected?
Mud-puppy
Forum Supporter
pretty much Yep old Pal AMC...Its what I'm seeing here on the ground level of ALL US mfg!......Anybody that has any China produced chip component or assembly in their gear is at jeopardy to experience this exact same scenario Whites just did. Tip of the iceberg and you heard it here first!
Steam powered detectors are our future! Little carbide pill dropped into a tank and add some water, strike a match, and we are back in business Boys!
DIGGER27
In Memory Of
pretty much Yep old Pal AMC...Its what I'm seeing here on the ground level of ALL US mfg!......Anybody that has any China produced chip component or assembly in their gear is at jeopardy to experience this exact same scenario Whites just did. Tip of the iceberg and you heard it here first!
Steam powered detectors are our future! Little carbide pill dropped into a tank and add some water, strike a match, and we are back in business Boys!
I'm waiting on nuclear power.
I will be 65 in a few days so how much time do I really have left and a constant rosey glow emanating from my body might actually make me look healthier.
