This is Joe Mainiero the Owner of UPR Products and I wanted to address some of the things I’ve seen and heard about regarding this issue. Quality and finish issues are one of our highest priorities so I want to make sure this is resolved the right way not the way it has been handled thus far. The way it has been handled is entirely unacceptable and a few employees’ jobs will be affected by what has transpired.
My father, Mark Mainiero, was just was alerted of a thread on the Corral about a defective A-arm that was purchased from one of our dealers. Bob Kurgan was the one who alerted us as he knows the high quality products we built and that we always stand behind everything we build and sell. To say it upset my father and me is a gross understatement. We have worked too long and hard to build the reputation and quality of our products to have to hurt it by ignoring customers.
I have contacted our mill and supplier about this issue with people not knowing about the specifics of 4130 Chrome Moly. The mill we buy everything from is Webco in Tulsa, Oklahoma and they said to be accurate on what the tubing is called is a common mistake with 99% of the people as they call it DOM. The correct name is “Cold Drawn Seamless” domestic material and we do not use (ERW) Electrical Resistance Welded seamed material. Both the supplier and mill said this is pretty common to have another company and many internet experts bash one another and I am not here for that. I am only here to educate anyone that is reading this and getting misinformed.
Below is the response directly from the supplier...
"I have attached a test report from our chrome moly tube mill on the 1-1/2 x .083 from our last order to UPR (Jan 2009).
As you can see, it meets AMS-T-6736, which is the main specification for 4130 chrome moly tube. This spec has replaced MIL-T-6736, although occasionally both may appear on test reports. You will also note that the material is SEAMLESS.
I can assure you NONE of the 4130 chrome moly tube we supply you (or to anyone else) is welded, nor is it produced by the ERW process. All of our chrome moly tube is cold drawn seamless. Additionally, we do not supply any Chinese chrome moly at all. That is our standard policy.
There are three primary producing mills for 4130 tube. Webco and Plymouth, both of which are based in the USA, and Benteler, which is based in Germany.
Historically, all three of these mills use “hollows” from Benteler. “Hollows” are what all seamless steel tubes start out as.
Most of the material we supply UPR is from the Webco mill."
Lou as far as that control arm I will guarantee you that there is no issue with it other than cosmetic and would be happy to have someone in your area grind the powder coating off completely and inspect it then post the results. Either way I want to make this right and fix the problem for you and if I had known this sooner I would have told you to send them back and just sent you a new set without the blemished powder coating. I have seen exactly the same problem before with the cosmetic finish and they get rejected.
We do stand behind the lifetime warranty on all our products without question and will never deviate from that as it is the most important part of a reputable quality brand. Any quality control issue or product issue can be addressed directly with me at
[email protected] and I will correct them or show what the problem may or may not be in each case just to be fair to all parties.
I’m very upset at the comments between Jeremy, my manager, and Dave, Team Z, they both need to get a handle on this crap going between each other on other boards and cut it out. They have their personal battles back and forth on Yellow Bullet and it carried over on to this site when it shouldn’t have. It’s personal and has nothing to do with either company and to have UPR’s name drug into this really upsets me. Pat does not know Dave at all and I apologize for any comments and that were made that had a company signature with them. No one has the right to represent UPR this way and be so unprofessional.
There have always been people that have had a problem with UPR because we became so big and well recognized and dwarfed many companies over the years. UPR does not build any of its products in China at all. Everything we make and sell is Machined, Welded and Fabricated in Florida to control the quality and consistency without delay.
The China thing has always been a myth because competitors could never compete with us in price or overall quality without costing twice as much. UPR has always built very large quantities of everything it makes just to be the most competitive and largest brand available to Mustang Enthusiasts and Racers everywhere.
Sincerely,
Joe Mainiero
UPR Products - Owner
