Brand Map / Guide: A family tree, a short bio. Help me out!

[ipearce]

I know that Aqua Lung owns Pelagic Pressure Systems, so is that where the majority of their manufacturing comes from, or do they outsource from other countries? Are Hollis & Oceanic products still manufactured at PPS? I know the Aqua Lung website says PPS manufactures for other dive companies, but do we know which ones? Also ScubaPro outsources BC's, plastic products, etc. but from where? Very interested about the relationship between the distributors and manufacturers, as I was led to believe that the distributors manufacture more than they actually do.

 

[David Wilson]

Also ScubaPro outsources BC's, plastic products, etc. but from where? Very interested about the relationship between the distributors and manufacturers, as I was led to believe that the distributors manufacture more than they actually do.

Take the Scubapro Rubber Full Foot Fin:

Sole detail:

The embossed print provides the country of manufacture (Taiwan) and the code number of this fin design (802). This number appears on fins of the same design made in Taiwan for brands other than Scubapro (e.g. the following Aropec Swift fin):

Drilling down further to establish which Taiwanese manufacturer actually moulded the fin is still problematic, however. Aropec is one such manufacturer and it may be safely assumed that an "Aropec Swift" fin was created in the company's factory. But Aropec may not be the only Taiwanese firm to make these fins. Take, for example, these Problue brand fins:

The front view has the Problue logo, while the rear view has the now familiar code number 802. Problue is another Taiwanese fin manufacturer. So which company is the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of Scubapro's Rubber Full Foot Fins? Aropec? Problue? Another Taiwanese manufacturer? I get the impression from online research that there is some degree of collaboration between manufacturing companies on the island of Taiwan when it comes to completing production runs and fulfilling orders from western importers and distributors. Things are never clearcut with an easy to understand flow diagram mapping the relationship between western diving equipment firms and the manufacturing plants in the Far East to which they outsource their production.

 

[David Wilson]

Another country to which fin manufacture is outsourced is Malaysia, which began with the rubber plantations it inherited from the British Empire and diversified into the production of rubber consumer goods. It has taken me several years to disentangle the country's web of rubber fin manufacturers. Here's what I have gleaned so far from my online searches:

Malaysian Manufacturer: Adila

Design used for Aqualine, Eyeline, Swim Stuff and Water Gear brands.

Malaysian Manufacturer: AFSCO

Design used for Aqualine, Aqualung Sport, Boltz, Sporti, Equina, Tritan, Hawaiian Reef Explorer, Madwave, Kiefer, Finis and many other brands.

Malaysian Manufacturer: CYH

Design used for Aqualine, Aqualung Sport, Atlantis, Deep See, Hawaiian Reef Explorer, Kiefer, Madwave and many other brands.

Malaysian Manufacturer: PWin

Design used for Beco, Head, Ocean, Eyeline, Vorgee and many other brands.

Note how the same brand names crop up for several different fin designs. In practice, this means that a western brand would opt for one design over a given period then replace it with another design to encourage their loyal consumers to replace their old fins with new ones.

 

[David Wilson]

And here's an intriguing set of photographs taken within an OEM rubber fin manurfacturing facility:

The Malaysian fin factory being photographed is unidentified. I have my own theories about its identity and I'll leave it there for the moment. Can anybody identify any of the fins on the production line? I'll start you off with those in the third picture: DMC Hydrofinz Training Fins, since discontinued:

 

[Zero52]

One approach I've adopted when investigating the availability of traditional underwater equipment is to trace an anonymous product from its Original Equipment Manufacturer in the Far East to its branded equivalent distributed in the West. Here's an example.

The original Subgear Stream long-bladed freediving fin was just one of several manifestations of a Taiwanese prototype modestly dubbed "702":

Subgear Stream

Aropec Dash

Long Blade Rubber Diving Fin (F-JS702) - AROPEC SPORTS CORP.

Poseidon Diving Fin

Diving Fin | Poseidon

Problue Rubber Full Foot Diving Fins

Problue

Sopras sub all rubber full-foot fins

https://dixiediver.com/products/280...ASK-AND-SNORKEL-PLUS-A-DIXIE-DIVERS-GEAR-BAG/

F-702 Camo series

In the case of this "702" design, an OEM production facility in the Far East actually made the fins, branding them with the logo of the client in the West commissioning them to produce the fins. There may be slight differences between these "outsourced" branded products, e.g. material, weight, colour, size range, but the fins will presumably have all emerged from the same moulds at the manufacturing plant.

Is there any information on who sells or manufactures the F-702 Camo series available?

 

[David Wilson]

Is there any information on who sells or manufactures the F-702 Camo series available?

F-702 model fins are advertised for sale at Alloy Star Co. Ltd. (above), but not in a camo version. Dixie Divers were the original sellers of the camo fins, but they don't appear to stock all-rubber freediving fins any more. OEMs in Taiwan making such fins include Aropec.