From Guitar World · · 1m 10s
Fender CEO admits quality control issues, vows to fix them
After complaints about slipping standards, Fender's new leader acknowledges the problem and outlines a factory-wide quality program.
In brief
After complaints about slipping standards, Fender's new leader acknowledges the problem and outlines a factory-wide quality program. Fender's CEO has publicly acknowledged quality control complaints and launched a company-wide quality initiative called Fender 360 across all manufacturing facilities. Originally…
Fender faces quality complaints
Players have noticed quality control standards slipping at Fender, especially after production ramped up during the COVID-19 pandemic.
CEO Bud Cole acknowledges the problem
In a new interview, Fender's CEO admits he has heard complaints about quality and says he needs to listen when the company's reputation for quality is called out.
“Fender has always been relied on to be quality instruments for players at every level. And when that gets called out, I need to listen.”
Fender 360 program launches
Cole reveals the company has started Fender 360, a quality control program that monitors every step of production from raw materials through final inspection, not just at the end.
“We have instituted a program, Fender 360, which is not simply about when a guitar arrives at the end and final inspection. [But] from the moment we bring the raw materials in, every single step of the way.”
Cole brings Japanese manufacturing expertise
The CEO spent 22 years working in Japan and brings those manufacturing standards to Fender, prioritizing quality over production yield.
“For me, it's about quality, and yield doesn't matter if quality isn't first and at the front of everything we do.”
Changes rolling out across all factories
Cole says quality improvements are already happening at Fender's Corona, California factory and its Ensenada, Mexico facility, with changes coming everywhere the company manufactures.
“I can already assure you it's happening in our Corona factory, in Ensenada, and everywhere that we work.”
What it means
Fender's CEO has publicly acknowledged quality control complaints and launched a company-wide quality initiative called Fender 360 across all manufacturing facilities.
