Question for Germans - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 09, 2020, 10:40:06 pm
content: Germany reunited sometime in 1990, right? For how long did stuff say "Made In West Germany" after that?I am thinking of prepared food packets and stuff like that.I found some +-30 year old cake frosting at my Dad's place and I want to know how old it is.The expiry date is written Aug 92. It says Made in West Germany.I want to write this information down so when I eat it the coroner will have exact dates...

author: MadTux
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 09, 2020, 10:57:56 pm
content: You can also see it by the postal code, 4 digit code (D-xxxx) is "West Germany", anything with 5 digits is after it reunited.Some companies wrote "Made In West Germany" long after they renunited, because anything in the east was more or less known as a shithole.

author: pidcon
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 12:12:40 am
content: Quote from: Alex Eisenhut on September 09, 2020, 10:40:06 pmWhy eat a family heirloom?

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 06:54:22 am
content: German re-unification became effective October 3rd 1990 (so we have an anniversary coming up). I don't think the transition from "Made in Western Germany" to "Made in Germany" was regulated in any way. Probably up to the manufacturers to use up their packages and tooling as they liked, or continue to point out the "Western" origin if they wanted to.Transition to the 5-digit post codes happened a bit later, in 1993.

author: Ranayna
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 06:59:29 am
content: I was 9 when the reunification happened. Sorry, I can't really be of help here :pBut yes, 4 digit post codes are a nice approximation for age, though I do not know how long the transitioning period was. I dimly remember the advertisements of the new codes, and i'm sure my parents still have the post code book lying around somewhere...Mind posting a picture of the package? Maybe there are other clues.

author: HwAoRrDk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 08:51:01 am
content: Not German, but I recall seeing things marked with "Made in West Germany" in to the early 2000s. No idea about how much time had elapsed between production and sale, of course...I would postulate that things like packaging, labels and the like would be switched pretty soon, but more enduring things like plastic mouldings, castings, etc. probably took much longer to be changed.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 02:04:19 pm
content: At the time straight after re-unification there would be nothing marked "Made in the GDR". "Made in Germany" would have caught on immediately because communism was (and still is) associated with mediocrity, poor quality and lies. "Made in West Germany" could have hung around for a while because West German goods were associated with high quality, integrity and truth. The company like Gruenenthal is one big exception. These days, Volkswagon is the German company that can't be trusted.

author: Cerebus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 03:12:39 pm
content: Quote from: ebastler on September 10, 2020, 06:54:22 amWhat!?!Das ist nicht richtig!. This is chaos. Where is 'Die deutsche Ordnung'? Did someone forget to make a regulation or something?(Lest anyone get the wrong end of the stick - this is obviously tongue-in-cheek.)

author: iMo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 03:15:51 pm
content: Quote from: Alex Eisenhut on September 09, 2020, 10:40:06 pmDo not eat it. Sell it on ebay as a "Germany Reunification Cake"..

author: Nusa
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 03:30:08 pm
content: And perhaps in the near future, it'll be "Made in EU"? I hear it's in the works.

author: HwAoRrDk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 03:38:56 pm
content: Quote from: Nusa on September 10, 2020, 03:30:08 pmYou jest, but I do see the occasional product in the supermarket that is labelled "Product of the EU". But, rather than being required to, this is more to do with the fact that the maker sources their main ingredient from a constantly revolving number of countries and they don't want to have to keep changing their packaging.

author: Nusa
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 03:52:19 pm
content: Quote from: HwAoRrDk on September 10, 2020, 03:38:56 pmYou thought I was jesting? Not this time. Of course the UK isn't in that pot anymore, so you don't have to worry.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_in_EU

author: asmi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 04:28:36 pm
content: Quote from: Nusa on September 10, 2020, 03:30:08 pmThe world paid very high price for their previous attempt at that.

author: Cerebus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 04:33:42 pm
content: Quote from: Nusa on September 10, 2020, 03:52:19 pmThis is probably the pet project of everyonebutGermany. You're probably quite confident if you buy any engineering product that says "Made in Germany", perhaps not so if that says "Made in EU" where the EU includes quite a lot of states that aren't exactly known for their manufacturing prowess.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 04:52:07 pm
content: In todays political correctness era they would not hesitate to slap "made in EU" to everything giving no shit to quality of manufacturing processes in a particular member country.

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 07:42:49 pm
content: Quote from: Bud on September 10, 2020, 04:52:07 pmI've now read this sentence at least ten times, and it is still indecipherable. What are you on about?

author: Domagoj T
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 08:57:47 pm
content: Back to gastronomical archaeology, you may try to find a recent equivalent product (preferably by the same company) and look at the expiration date on that. Shelf lives should be fairly comparable.Instead of eating it, perhaps you may want to send it to Stuart Ashen. He eats expired crap all the time, on camera (and couch).

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2020, 09:13:51 pm
content: Quote from: Bud on September 10, 2020, 04:52:07 pmWell, take cars for example. Everyone knows, that Italian cars spontaneously combust or turn into a pile of rust overnight. French cars fall apart, nobody knows why. German cars lie to you that they are green, and their turbo blows up after 4 years + 1 day and everybody knows why. And all these nations are very proud of what they produce.So made in EU is used by countries for outside market. It is used, when an average 'merican would have trouble knowing, if that is a name of a country or a type of a shampoo. Even though, they would probably really think about, of the 45ish states the EU is.

author: bsfeechannel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2020, 01:08:24 am
content: Quote from: NANDBlog on September 10, 2020, 09:13:51 pmJust slapthison your products and they'll figure it out.

author: Ysjoelfir
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2020, 07:11:29 am
content: Quote from: MasterTech on September 11, 2020, 02:08:48 amSadly thats not the case anymore, since Ford and then Geely took over.<-- owns a Volvo 940 with half a million kilometers which runs perfectly fine after 22 yearsAlso the made in germany thing is sadly (in many, but not all, cases) a thing of the past. many companies who say "made in germany" just don't care about quality anymore. there are a few exceptions though. also I noticed a recent increase in a logo which says "Engineered in Germany". Seems like they noticed that people know that "made in germany" doesn't mean that its actually built here anymore, so more honest companies at least don't claim that any longer.One example where I personally noticed that recently is Stahlwerk, a companie who builds welders. On my new welder it says Engineered in Germany, but its manufactured in china. the support though is here and when talking to them you instantly noticed that the people knew what they were talking about. So this is kind of a good thing I guess?Regarding the split in east and west: as many other already said, you can't completely say "everything after XYZ doesn't have made in W.Germany on it". I remember a Grundig (?) television I serviced once, it was from the late 1990s and it still said made in W.Germany.Also I noticed one strange thing: This prejudice that east german products are crap doesn't always seem to be true. I have acquired many eastern products over the years and even though they are most of the time more simplistic, they seem sturdier than some western counterparts of the same era - and there are still plenty of them around, as many things were made to fit multiple use cases. Like my air compressor. it uses the general purpose compressor HS1-40/70 from VEB Harzer Kompressorenwerke which was used for a wide range of trucks like tie IFA W50, S4000, Robur, several ZT300 series tractors, and in many commercial and homemade shop compressors. That thing still works great.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2020, 08:35:35 am
content: Quote from: MasterTech on September 11, 2020, 07:22:05 amThat is not true at all. There is huge amount of engineering going into German products and they are very well enginnered. It is just not going into the parts that they should. To stay with the car example: They know how to make quality, understandable cars, that will go forever. Look at Mercedes W124. Goes forever. And that is a problem.You see, an VW has a few hundred EUR profit on a car. Something like 5%. It's nothing.They also have some 50% profit margin on servicing, and 25-30% on parts. Their goal is a broken car, outside the warranty. It takes enormous amount of engineering to make something break exactly when you want it. But they are well made on other aspects. Like have you seen a rusting VW in the last 20 years? Something on the back of a trailer, that goes into the junkyard? Something that breaks and kills you? No, they just break ever slightly so you have to go to the service to get it fixed. Turbocharger for example.It is reprehensible, but it is todays reality. Hopefully tomorrows reality is different, probably we have to pay huge amounts for infotainment and gadgets.

author: jfiresto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2020, 08:45:39 am
content: Quote from: MasterTech on September 11, 2020, 02:08:48 amIf you ever encountered a Swedish moose up close, you appreciate why old Volvos were built like tanks.

author: jfiresto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2020, 09:15:11 am
content: Quote from: Ysjoelfir on September 11, 2020, 07:11:29 amMy friends and I make it something of a sport to spot how German companies feed the wish for "Made in Germany" without denying the reality, for example, by artfully including the national colors. Here is the box for an electric egg cooker I bought a few years back. First the top and then the bottom. Why is the explanation in English?

author: Cerebus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2020, 11:37:23 am
content: Quote from: jfiresto on September 11, 2020, 09:15:11 amBecause they hope to sell it to non-german speaking markets? English speakers worldwide: 1.3 biillion, German speakers worldwide: 132 million - a tenfold (originally said hundredfold, I can't count) difference. If you're rhetorically trying to suggest that it's to hide the true origin from German speakers I think that's untenable as an explanation - 56% of Germans also speak English (for comparison, only 38% of Britons are bilingual or better and only 25% of the USA).

author: blackbird
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2020, 11:57:13 am
content: Quote from: Cerebus on September 11, 2020, 11:37:23 amIf you juggle with numbers.... 1.3 billion divided by 132 million is about 10, not hundred.Or the world has more humans than we know (13 billion) or there are only about 13 million German speaking humans, you are right.

author: jfiresto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2020, 03:07:30 pm
content: Quote from: Cerebus on September 11, 2020, 11:37:23 amTo answer my own question, late in the day, the bottom explains and completes the statement on the top: "GERMAN QUALITY since ...." I am a bit sleep deprived today and probably should not have posted.

author: Cerebus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2020, 03:15:32 pm
content: Quote from: blackbird on September 11, 2020, 11:57:13 amYup, slip of the pen (and sadly I though I'd double checked it too). Tenfold is still enough to make English on packaging imperative if you intend to reach as big a market as possible.

author: babysitter
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2020, 06:49:29 pm
content: "Made in germany" formula is still in use today. Fun fact: The british demanded that marking for their "Merchandise Marks Act 1887" (so they can boycott it properly?Meanwhile, there was a split into "MADE IN W. GERMANY" and afaik "MADE IN GDR" you know when.The change from 4 digit to 5 digit Post code was in 1993, if you want to use that for dating german things.

author: SparkFly
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2020, 02:05:28 pm
content: I bought a new tube of Autosol metal polish paste last week, which has "Paste made in F.R. of Germany" written on it. Is Germany today technically the FR of Germany? Or just Germany?

author: Fixpoint
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2020, 02:35:37 pm
content: Quote from: MasterTech on September 11, 2020, 07:22:05 amYa. There is a guy on eBay who happens to be a trained engineer who wants 15 EUR for shipping and does a bad packaging job. Meaning: German engineering is not what it used to be.In fact, yes, German engineering is not what it used to be, in the same way as British engineering is not what it used to be. The reasons for that are changing conditions on a globalized market where customers expect Chinese prices from every manufacturer, also the local ones.

author: Cerebus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2020, 02:39:16 pm
content: Quote from: SparkFly on September 17, 2020, 02:05:28 pmYes, Germany is a federation of states: NRW, Bavaria, Hessen and so on. The formal title (in English) is the Federal Republic of Germany (Ger:Bundesrepublik Deutschland) but that's a bit of mouthful so in English most people just say 'Germany'. (cf 'Britain' versus 'The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland').

author: bc888
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2020, 04:04:50 am
content: Quote from: Alex Eisenhut on September 09, 2020, 10:40:06 pmWhy are you going to eat 30 year old cake frosting? Hmmm. Sig Sauer had stamped a bunch of P220 W.Germany. They simply struck out the W. part and sold them until they were gone, also approx 1992. Regarding E. Germany mfg being crap I have 2 words in refutation: Carl Zeiss.

author: GlennSprigg
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2020, 09:34:56 am
content: Not German, but I remember my Grandfather, 45 years ago, bought a load of boxes of WW2 Army rations.They contained tins of what I think they called 'Bully-Beef', which is something like 'Spam'.I remember him actually eating them, and he didn't die!!

author: Nusa
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2020, 10:28:15 am
content: Quote from: GlennSprigg on September 20, 2020, 09:34:56 amPretty sure bully-beef is just another name for corned beef.

author: Cerebus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2020, 12:52:18 pm
content: Quote from: bc888 on September 20, 2020, 04:04:50 amIf you want to cherry-pick manufacturers and have them stand for the whole, then I can refute your two word refutation in one word: Trabant.

author: chris_leyson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2020, 01:14:39 pm
content: Nothing to do with Germany but this brought a smile to my face, Gnomes Polokonzerva Rocket, thanks too Amanita Design

author: jfiresto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2020, 01:36:56 pm
content: Quote from: Cerebus on September 20, 2020, 12:52:18 pmAs long as we are cherry picking, those who owned an early example of a BMW E36 3-series, a Trabi's later, high-tech contemporary, can give you an earful about which one was more reliable.

author: eti
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2020, 02:16:34 am
content: Quote from: Alex Eisenhut on September 09, 2020, 10:40:06 pmSend it to "Big Clive" or "Ashens", I'm sure they'd happily taste it for you.