Ibanez 2024 NAMM
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AltecGreen
Well-Known Member
Fujigen making some Fenders again is probably not helping the capacity issue.
Church2224
Guitar Whore
You have to think Fujigen makes FGN, Ibanez, Jackson MJ Series, and the new MIJ Schecters, they are stretched way too thin right now.
Not to mention the not-guitar stuff they do, like automotive interior trim.
Church2224
Guitar Whore
I never knew that they did that too.
But to put a long story short there are still some supply chain issues to iron out. Even in my line of work (Commercial Landscaping) you are JUST seeing some stuff that premiered over a year or two ago (Or was supposed to be released) actually reach dealer floors. Some companies are still catching up.
There is a good variety of quality gear out there right now. Any other released is just icing on the cake.
Guitars are an absolute side hustle for Fujigen, their MAIN business is supplying the Japanese auto industry with interior wood.
Somehow that just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. On the one hand, it's impressive the guitars they build as a side hustle, and on the other hand, it's unfortunate that Ibanez doesn't have enough demand to take it "seriously".
In contrast to PRS who are so dedicated to their products that they decided to build their own factory for Cort Tek so that they could built the best SE guitars they can. I guess it must all come down to demand.
crushingpetal
SS.org Regular
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???? FujiGen has been building guitars since the 60s. ???? Also, there's wood in cars?
FujiGen - Wikipedia
I've been employed in the semiconductor business just about all my life. Been a part of the AMD CPU's back in the clock rate wars. However, we make automotive parts now. You wouldn't think it would be as profitable as some of the more glamorous semiconductor sectors. The thing is, the automotive industry has contracts, and are expected to make spare parts for many years after the point of sale. It is a super stable business to get into, because it's not just one and done.
I imagine its something similar for FugiGen. Because not only do they have to supply the wood part for the car being sold now, but also replacement parts for many years down the road (so to speak).
That being said, I wonder if a lot of this is more of a Japanese infrastructure problem. Prior to Covid Tokyo was a major airline hub. The Japanese government during Covid only allowed 10000 people into the country a month. Most airlines moved their hubs. I wonder if the same happened in the shipping industry? It's not easy to establish a major distribution hub (or airline hub) overnight. Most airlines have not returned to Tokyo (as a hub) even to this day. Seoul has replaced Tokyo for a lot of the airlines as a hub. Like I said, I wonder if the same has happened to Southeast Asia shipping. That maybe the major shipping hubs have moved from Tokyo to some other port?
I imagine its something similar for FugiGen. Because not only do they have to supply the wood part for the car being sold now, but also replacement parts for many years down the road (so to speak).
That being said, I wonder if a lot of this is more of a Japanese infrastructure problem. Prior to Covid Tokyo was a major airline hub. The Japanese government during Covid only allowed 10000 people into the country a month. Most airlines moved their hubs. I wonder if the same happened in the shipping industry? It's not easy to establish a major distribution hub (or airline hub) overnight. Most airlines have not returned to Tokyo (as a hub) even to this day. Seoul has replaced Tokyo for a lot of the airlines as a hub. Like I said, I wonder if the same has happened to Southeast Asia shipping. That maybe the major shipping hubs have moved from Tokyo to some other port?
Today, FUJIGEN has two business divisions: The M.I. Division (Music Instruments) and the C.A. Division (Car Audio).
FUJIGEN's M.I. division has excellent production lines for electric guitars. We concentrate on top signature models for famous domestic and overseas brands. Within this line, we produce our original FUJIGEN brand guitars and the FgN series for Japanese market.
The C.A. division became possible due to our experiences with coating- and sound applications. We produce wooden dashboards, sound control panels, cabinets and gearshift levers for luxury cars. The processes to manufacture all these products from the selection of woods to the final polishing are nearly the same as those of electric guitars. In particular our top coating technology is able to render stunning colors to any wooden surface.
There are some secondary business FUJIGEN is engaged: small music boxes named HEART FIELD, an ukulele named PUPUKEA and a Japanese traditional drum named RYU-SYO (rising dragon).
And most of their income is from the CA division.
FUJIGEN's M.I. division has excellent production lines for electric guitars. We concentrate on top signature models for famous domestic and overseas brands. Within this line, we produce our original FUJIGEN brand guitars and the FgN series for Japanese market.
The C.A. division became possible due to our experiences with coating- and sound applications. We produce wooden dashboards, sound control panels, cabinets and gearshift levers for luxury cars. The processes to manufacture all these products from the selection of woods to the final polishing are nearly the same as those of electric guitars. In particular our top coating technology is able to render stunning colors to any wooden surface.
There are some secondary business FUJIGEN is engaged: small music boxes named HEART FIELD, an ukulele named PUPUKEA and a Japanese traditional drum named RYU-SYO (rising dragon).
And most of their income is from the CA division.
StevenC
Needs a hobby
2025, the year of the PIA7
Hollowway
Extended Ranger
Japanese conglomerates are CRAZY. I always blows my mind how many different things they're into. I had no idea that Fujigen was one of them.
KentBrockman
Bite back with Kent Brockman!
That is absolutely wild. Had no idea.
The Japanese make millions of cars. How many guitars do the build?
One of my favorite fountain pen brands is Sailor. It blew my mind when I learned that they also have an automation and robotics division that is actually quite successful, whereas their fountain pen division has dwindled in sales over the last few years until another large Japanese stationery conglomerate took over a large percentage of shares sometime in 2022. So yeah, the Fujigen thing is kind of inline with this.
What if Ibanez would open their own factory in Japan? No more problems with production slots and the cost line would probably be more streamlined. Yes, I know they have calculated this out and been thinking every possible solutions regarding productivity.
KentBrockman
Bite back with Kent Brockman!
It never occurred to me because my Japanese car isn't fancy enough to have wood in it lol
narad
Progressive metal and politics
Well that was all probably calculated out with the old value of the JPY. I could see it making sense to do more domestic production with the current exchange rates, but it's a little risky to tool up more domestic production with volatile currency fluctuations.
Yeah, that's true. But still like to play around with the thought that Ibanez would have it's own factory. Would they end up like ESP, with J Custom to be the signature and high end brand, and then some kind of "MIJ standard line" like the E-II with all the possible variations.
