MAK Grills closing

[912smoker]

MAK Grills Permanently Closes After 16 Years Making Pellet Grills - CookOut News | Grill Business News, Grill Reviews, Grill Releases

Unfortunately, MAK Grills has announced on social media that it's time to hang it up. Below is the text from their post.

www.cookoutnews.com

Keith

 

[SmokinEdge]

Sad to see. But based in Oregon might be a big part of it.

 

[clifish]

Sad to see. But based in Oregon might be a big part of it.

I thought it was Dallas after reading the article??

 

[SmokinEdge]

I thought it was Dallas after reading the article??

Dallas, Oregon. Kind of a suburb of Salem.

 

[sandyut]

WOW! Thats sad news. Hate to see American companies folding. I dont have one but know a few who do. @schlotz Sorry brother.

 

[schlotz]

Actual town is Dallas, Oregon

 

[schlotz]

WOW! Thats sad news. Hate to see American companies folding. I dont have one but know a few who do. @schlotz Sorry brother.

Yeah, I just sent a note to the owner. Sad to say the least. They have been supurb in supporting their equipment even when the issue was actually caused by me. Truly an exceptional American company. My 2 Star Smoker is a tank and I suspect it will continue to do it's thing for many more years.

 

[mike243]

Well when they had to send the manufacturing overseas I wondered what was up

 

[schlotz]

Well when they had to send the manufacturing overseas I wondered what was up

Are you certain that was the case?

 

[chopsaw]

just sent a note to the owner.

This sucks . Let us know what they say if you can . Mak was at the top of the list if the SmokeFire ever gives up .

 

[sandyut]

This sucks . Let us know what they say if you can . Mak was at the top of the list if the SmokeFire ever gives up

Same, years ago when I was shopping for a pellet smoker my top 3 were MAC, Yoder and RecTeq.

 

[jcam222]

If imagine their cost was high enough to make for slim margins or pricing that wasn't competitive main stream. They look like great cookers.

 

[Winterrider]

Yep looked heavily at the Mak

 

[schlotz]

If imagine their cost was high enough to make for slim margins or pricing that wasn't competitive main stream. They look like great cookers.

I've had their 2 Star model since 2014. I took a tumble off the back deck in very high winds because I had the cover over it (turning it into a sailboat) but hadn't repositioned it against the house. The lid handle got bent downward but it fired right up after (with help) getting back up there. Definitely a tank that consistently performs. Sad to see them take down their shingle.

 

[mike243]

It may not have been sent but last I heard a year or 2 that was the plan the best I remember, Im sure they will be able to be kept running for a lot of years as the frame will last forever control boards will be a little harder but not impossible to add a different 1.

 

[bill1]

Used to be an industry group that tracked the sales of various outdoor cooking products...but I can't find it now.
I worry the actual market for our hobby was artificially buoyed up by Covid and that societal trends of declining home ownership, declining lot size, and just less leisure time may cause others like MAC to throw in the towel as well. Then again, those that bought nice grills and BBQ rigs during Covid are coming up on 25 years of usage and wear. There could be a 2nd wave of sales coming if the vendors can just hang on a bit longer.

 

[schlotz]

Covid was 2020, i.e. 6 years ago. Missing the 25 year correlation?

 

[bill1]

Covid was 2020, i.e. 6 years ago. Missing the 25 year correlation?

YOu're absolutely right! I was confusing 9/11 with Covid 19. Sheez I'm getting old!
So I think that's the real problem with any outlook for premium grill sales...I may have sold well in 2020, but I won't see those customers come back for more (even if they're happy!) for another 10-20 years. I have to rely on word-of-mouth (new customers) or lower-profit support services (pellets, fans, temp probes, etc)
"Hanging on a bit longer" when a bit is 23 years not 3 years, is not a viable business strategy for a company in trouble.
Sorry for the confusion.

 

[schlotz]

Trouble is I'm old too, so getting confused on any given day has become an almost weekly event.

 

[clifish]

The way I see it is, there was a ton of covid money thrown into the system. People getting paid to stay home..that money has played it's way through the system and is gone. Also, the fact that Mak built such solid units, repeat sales are a long way down the road.