McCulloch-McCulloch...any difference there?

[Bernhard]

I´ve seen, that Electrolux took over McCulloch. Indeed newer McC here in europe look very similar to the Huskies. But, and that is my Question: What happend in US? I´ve readen in the net that US McC had been taken over by the korean Talon.

The Talon stuff is only a wholesalerws brand here, cheap but looks very junky to me. Is there any differecne now between european and US McC now???

[Tom]

Bernhard

Here is a link to some of the business history of late.
http://www.mccullochpower.com/ebpage.asp?page=history

McCulloch, and it only my opinion, produced a fairly good, but not top-of-the-line saw for years.  The saws worked but there were always complaints of broken chain oilers, hard starting, uncomfortable design and things of that nature that allowed the Stihl's and Husky's to bypass them in the market.  Mac kept leaning more toward home-owner use and found the competition unbearable.   They went out of business.

It's the same tactic of mass marketing that a lot of the professional saw users are afraid will happen to Husky and Stihl as they enter the Mass Market arena of department stores and draw away from their own brand stores.

I started my business with a Mac PM620 that I had used for 6 years prior and it serviced me for another 3.  My complaints were like those I mentioned above, but I never realized the ramifications until I replaced it with a Husky 61 in 1993.  The Husky was not only more dependable, but was lighter, more comfortable, cut faster, and my customers looked at me in a different light.   It seems that there are some saws that just lend an air of professionalism to their use and some saws that are considered a homeowner brand.  When you use a homeowner brand in a business, you don't get the same kind of respect as you do when you use one of the "elite" saws.

McCulloch has not presented itself to the marketplace for a long enough time this go around to earn back any of the 'recognition" that it may have once possessed.

[Bernhard]

The first McC where sold here in mid 70`by professional shops, but as their Quality wasn´t compareable to Solo or Stihl, they disappeared and had been sold by wholesalers then.Huskies we know here since starting 80 maybe, not sure.
You´ve hitten the point with the customers and I think it will be a good reputation, if You work with good tools without any probs at customers place.

We work only with Stihl stuff since 1985 and we are very satisfied with it. Also we have a chainsaw collection with some vintage Stihls and Solos and one russian Drushba (friendship) from 1990.

Prob with the Huskies for me is that they have no dealership like the Stihls have around here, good connection to my Stihl dealer and that the Husky dealer is a freaking a..ehole ;)

BTW: The McC shown in brochures here, even at the net www.mcculloch.info show  nearly same design like Husky, Partner or Poulain. What´s about design overthere???And what´s about Quality???

I never would buy a Talon or a Homelite. Even the Homelite is only sold at wholesalers here and known for their poor quality and poor parts support.

[woodbowl]

I've had good success with every saw that I've ran and I've had 4 Huskys, 1 Echo, 2 Pollands, 1 McCulloch, 1 Homelite and some off brands as well. Weedeaters have been the same way...............It's when I didn't run them that the problems started. The best running chainsaws were the ones that bounced around in the back of my truck upside down and leaking gas everywhere. In the rain, in the sun, cold winter time, didn't matter. They all cranked with just a few pulls. My customers would say, you better get that saw out of the weather and put it under the shed so it doesn't get wet. You got to take care of a saw if you expect it to run. Well.............that's when I told them I had several under the shed right now and that's why they  won't run. It took me a few years to figure out what was going on there. Everything that I ran on a regular basis always had fresh gas! It got cranked at least 3 or 4 times a week. It never set up because I used it too often. Fresh gas to me is under 30 days. The varnish in the fuel will deposit itself in a short while. I even smell the fuel to make sure it is fresh at the pump before making a mix.--------------Just think about what's going on every spring and fall at the small engine repair shops. A big percentage of their busness is cleaning carbs. Just like clock work,........ spring time it's lawn mowers, in the fall it's chain saws. I've done it too. I let that lawn mower set up again! It was only for a few months, but that was all it took. I begged my uncle last winter to drain the gas out of his lawn mower, put fresh gas in and run it for a little while. Awhhh.............It will be alright he said. The biggest problem that I have is keeping a chain saw. The hurricane tore up Ft Walton Beach Fl. My best runner is loaned out.   ;D      

[sawguy21]

Tom, the guy rhat wrote that blurb must have been on some really good happy cabbage. :D  As you said, they never had a really good product, even in the 60's when they were well known for saws, and really went downhill after the original company disbanded. Seems R.P. McCulloch ran into problems with the tax and anti-trust people.
The U.S. operation was taken over by Asian interests after going  bankrupt several times.  E-lux got the Italian branch which apparently is better known for commercial refrigeration equipment than saws.

[Tom]

Sounds like Bernhard is a saw collector.  Maybe he'll find a home here.  How about it Bernhard?

What's your native language.  You handle English real good. 

[Bernhard]

German is my native language, Tom...and Yes I`m collecting saws...cause it´s part of my small biz, I ran. I have a garden and landscaping business and have only Stihl stuff in use...reason of that you can read above.
But beside of this I started trading with used  garden machinery...mowingtractors in summer, tillers and saws in fall and winter. So if I buy saws in winter often I can get vintage saws for cheap...I hold them, so I had a little collection now.
My working saws are 018, 024,028,044 and 046. In collection I have a Sthil BLK, 07,08,030,045, 3 Solo saws and a russian "Drushba" (friendship)without bar and chain, bought in Poland at 20 $.
My wife owns a very small farm in Poland and at this place is stored a 08, 290 and a 046, my BIL got a small Solo 641 from my collection to do some timberwork, and wifes cousin has a 009 to earn some money with, even former part of my collection.

I often read here how fine the Homelites and the McCulloch ran, I suppose that the guys mean the older ones...even I have figured out, that there had been much more brands in US in the past...it seems that only Homelite and McC survived (is Poulan US or CDN?).

The McC and the Homelite here are known as Junk...I never owned one for my work...so I cannot judge about  them . But with that poor support in dealership and parts, it makes no sense to buy a cheap tool.

Poulan we had here around 25 or more years ago...and now, as they belong to electrolux they appear again, but only at the DIY markets and the smaller ones for cheap.

BTW: this smaller poulan which had been offered here looked like the italian Alpina.

I´m interested in thoughts from all around the world, so I can paint me my own picture of the different kinds of living and working.

English we learn in school...and not so hard to figure out, how this language works.I´m living next to the borders of belgium and the netherlands, so french or netherlands is not a big prob too,  in eastern belgium (Eupen-Malmedy) german is a common language.

Not sure, where You´re dads or grandpas had been during ww II, but if they had been in europe, ask them about the "Huertgen-Forest"...so You can imagine in which part of Germany  I´m living.

[Bernhard]

Now I´m totally confused!!! :-\
A visit at the McC homepage leads me to MTD by a click at "Corporate Home"!
Whats on now?..Is McC belonging to MTD, has Talon bought MTD or has Talon sold McC???

[Bernhard]

And here links for someone who is intrested in:

www.feuerwehr-derichsweiler.de , german rural VFD , Mitglieder=Members, Fahrzeuge =Trucks, Bilder=Pics      
www.eifel.de/go/regionen-detail/rureifel.html , part of my county                                         

[sawguy21]

You are so right, Bernhard. It is all very confusing. Apparently MTD is distributing McCulloch in the U.S. and not doing a good job of it.  I noticed  Canada is listed but no contact number, not that it matters.
On another forum, an Aussie was complaining bitterly about his new Mac. As it turns out, he has a rebadged Poulan. So we have an Aussie bought, Italian distributed, Swedish owned and U.S. built saw. Whew.
I understand E-lux is setting Husqvarna up as the parent company of all these companies and is going back to their core business which is white goods or appliances.

[Bernhard]

ok...seems there are 2 differend types of McC saws. European are the Poulan, Partner or whatever in yellow. In US www.jennfeng.com sells the Talon and the McC, a bit difference in the engines, but same design.