X-PRO BOUNCES BACK WITH THE FIREFLY!
The ProView Dragonfly V1 was the first ever Project successfully Crowd-Funded via BizKit-Tin, hitting shelves in Aug 2014. Immediately getting rave reviews it was also quickly upgraded to the V2, (Both the V1 and V2 are now Discontinued).
Sadly, a small percentage had minor teething problems, easily fixable in the next run, but they spoiled what was an otherwise great product launch.
During this period the project also suffered a serious setback after discovering our distributor had been turning away all the buyers we had been sending them, putting the project out of commission and taking us another three years to refinance and get to a point where we can restart. We believe this was an intentional act intended to put the project out of business!
MOVING FORWARD
Wanting to put these early production issues right and still aiming to create the perfect product, the V2 was scrapped and a replacement product was completely redesigned from scratch, even adding additional new features, resulting in the new 2018 Firefly Scaffolders Level you can see here in this website! Even this product has been evolving further prior to commissioning production, and it is the new Firefly 2019 version that has now been put into production!
Scheduled originally to arrive in January of 2019, the project was again stonewalled by those already in the Spirit Level industry, causing several months of unnecessary delays and further set-backs, until production was only Started in January of 2019 instead of completed. To this end we also decided to shift production to the UK and take control of production for ourselves in an effort to prevent any more deliberate delays. Production has now been commissioned and we were expecting first product in Late May. Everything was finally Ordered on Jan 17th 2019, and everything went swimmingly with all Metal Frames and other hardware parts arriving at the end of June, a little later than expected, but no real issues!
The Plastics Supplier on the other hand left a lot to be desired, with constant delays and excuses, poor workmanship and even worse quality of parts? Having received first samples around late April/early May they were given a long list of jobs to do to correct the parts, but when they finally came through as supposedly finished at the end of July, after endless excuses and delays, they had done virtually nothing to them other than change the material colour. I had no choice but to fire the company and start searching for another supplier in early August 2019, 7 months after giving the initial Order! Of course I am gutted, not only for the lost time and money paid for the deposit, but more for the Customers still waiting for their products!
Restarting instantly introduces a minimum 35 day Re-Tooling schedule, plus the test and tweak time and the production time too, so this will add at least another 60 days to the wait? However I felt there was no choice but to take this action, as otherwise I believe I'd still be waiting in six to twelve more months? Everything else is already delivered and waiting for assembly, only the Plastics needed to be re-ordered. Thankfully they finally arrived from the Factory on the 13th November 2019, so assembly can finally begin. Only the Firefly Illumination Pack are still in production and they are expected approx. 26th November. It is hoped now that the full product will be shipped to our long awaiting Customers before December!
The full list of Firefly modifications over the Dragonfly are as follows;
• A complete redesign and mirrored reversal of the Body with the entire mid-section being moved further down allowing the EndView Adjuster to open wider for a clearer TopView.
• A wider EndView to get those chubbier fingers in to more easily clean the adjustable mirror.
• Reducing the EndView side wall height to further increase TopView visibility.
• The EndView Adjuster split into two parts, trapping the Mirror in between. No Tape!
• The PlumbView Retainers now completely cover the Mirrors at both ends. No Tape!
• The addition of our new Hands-Free Bungee Tie feature allowing a 6mm cord to be inserted for ‘Non-Magnetic’ surfaces like Aluminium Scaffolding, Timber Posts and Plastic Pipes. Simply tie a knot in one end, wrap around the job and hook into the specially designed quick-release slots provided.
• The two round Dragonfly N42 Grade Magnets merged into one larger Firefly N52 Grade Magnet, possibly the most powerful Magnet ever used in a 250mm Spirit Level. During tests, a single Firefly Magnet was able to pick up a 4ft steel scaffold tube, and two can lift an 8ft.
• The introduction of the new Firefly Pack for Vial Illumination. With replaceable batteries.
• Resizing of the Firefly Pack cavity to accept a second N52 Grade Neodymium Rare Earth Magnet if needed.
• The addition of a new built-in Spare Mirror/Battery Case to carry a spare set of Mirrors and Batteries if needed.
• The addition of a built-in Allen Key Slot to carry an Allen Key (Supplied) to assist with on the job maintenance.
• The addition of a 6mm thread for our new Ball Hanger mounting, making it ready to fit our new Belt Clip when it arrives, which is currently in the design phase
NOTE; THIS SPECIAL RE-LAUNCH PROMOTION IS DIRECT TO END-USERS ONLY! – IT IS NOT AVAILABLE VIA RE-SELLERS LIKE DISTRIBUTORS OR RETAILERS OR ANY OTHER WEBSITES.
ONE MORE STEP IS ALL IT TAKES!
NEVER GIVE UP!
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