Ahhh… the joys of Facebook! You can say pretty much say whatever you like and not have to worry about it (too much).
What started out as a simple comment on Facebook by a local arborist has quickly escalated into an international furore involving two of the world's major tree climbing hardware manufacturers: ISC and DMM.
The story goes something like this. Certain DMM representatives, while visiting New Zealand recently, implied that ISC product was made in Asia with the ISC logo stamped on the spine. Around the same time, ISC product was heavily discounted by the New Zealand ISC distributor (not Treetools), providing further proof the product was crap.
The net result of all this; the bagging of ISC product in the local market.
We want to put this on record, as far as Treetools is concerned, rumors suggesting ISC product is of inferior quality are totally unfounded.
With equal conviction we believe it is extremely unlikely 'certain DMM representatives' would have deliberately suggested ISC product was not up to standard. We personally know the 'representatives' involved and they are not the kind of guys to resort to such behavior.
Both DMM and ISC are reputable suppliers to the industrial safety market and that includes arboriculture. They each have a rich history in product development and innovation. There is no documented evidence to suggest safety concerns with either brand.
If, as an industry, we are worried about counterfeit or inferior product entering the market we should not be targeting 'tried and true' suppliers like ISC and DMM but rather focus our attention on those companies willing to import, distribute and retail total rubbish, putting our tree climbers lives at risk!
Addendum: the innocent Facebook comment was exactly that; innocent!
