December News / Shipping/ Supply chain issues
Dates to note: Last shipping day: December 23rd.
Holiday closure: late morning Dec. 24th to afternoon Jan 6th.
December 2024 updates:
We are in the race to end of year. Canada Post is on strike and FedEx and UPS are overloaded - we probably ship over 10 tons a year with UPS yet our daily pickup driver said his boss had set a 10-box pickup limit for everyone today (5th) which is ridiculous. We'll find a way around it which probably involves Ian and his truck waiting in long lines for you at the UPS hub at the Airport. Every shipping estimate *is* live-quoted from the carrier for weight and postal code but based on what we see, our recommendation is to pick a faster shipping method if you want it there by Christmas, we're skeptical and shipping times quoted are their estimates, not a guarantee. Our own processing times internally are good, back to school is done and we're no longer overloaded.
Thank you for your patience and brand loyalty, and we will keep your trust with the quality craftsmanship we put into your long-lasting folders.
As we cycle through building many styles of folder, the oldest-made ones might become temporarily out of stock. My strong recommendation for those who don't want to wait, and for best value, is to buy any "Grade A, factory second" folders you can see, described in our 'Discounted Factory Seconds' section, even for an entire choir order, because we're pretty ruthless with quality control, and their 'non-conforming' issues range from negligible...to undetectable by many, in addition to the significant 25% discount. There is a total of *thousands* available; and can ship immediately. Our production target for 2024 is over 100,000 folders and even a small percentage of non-confirming folders that don't pass as 'perfect', add up.
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General news and current plans:
The past couple years have been incredible in terms of our primary component suppliers going bankrupt or closing business for various reasons.
We have responded to this supply chain chaos by taking on all manufacturing functions of former key suppliers and are expanding our staff by more than double. We have set up significant credit lines and invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into equipment and supplies purchases as we have set up a new bindery division.
And bought other folder manufacturers. NEWS: Last year we purchased remaining assets of Deer River Folio Co., and their machinery and an array of incomplete folios has arrived to a warehouse across the street. Much of their machinery, sadly, is worn out and in need of vastly more extensive repair than expected.
All this isn't done overnight, and demand is higher than what we can supply, until we are fully staffed, and smoothly operating. Some popular folders have significant waiting lists that will expand to months and miss concerts, instead of our former order-in-the-morning-ship-this-afternoon fulfillment.
Know that we wouldn't invest this much, nor put in insane weekly hours to roll out these projects, unless we believed that it would all work out in the end, with benefits of vertical integration and eventual better control of quality, in-house, here. We kindly ask for your understanding and patience.
December 2024 planning will see work on
- 4000 Choir RingBinders with Two Expanding Pockets (1" rings) (done).
- 4000 Choir RingBinders (1")
- More BNO Band & Orchestra folders then a mix of Standard, Deluxe, and Deluxe Classroom Choral Folders.
- Note that we have significant numbers of red folders (new) available, about in choir and band sizes, and will finish some other incomplete builds from Deer River Folio, making them ready to purchase. Get them while they last!
-Ian Bullen