People Share The Companies That Have Super High Standards, Here Are The 30 Most Unexpected Ones
We all know that certain items are simply of better quality than their counterparts. Generally, the more you pay for something, the longer it will last, but there are cases where companies decided to do the right thing and make the product better than it has any right to be.
Someone asked “What companies have extremely high quality standards for products that people might not realize?” and netizens gave their best examples. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote the examples you agree with and if you have any similar ones of your own, feel free to share them in the comments.
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Bush's Baked Beans. I've never worked at another facility where quality was focused so much more than actual production. The line stops all the time over anything remotely impactful to quality to make sure that the product is safe, and the standards are met. I've seen them shut production down for 3 days while they diagnosed and solved an issue *that they could have ignored and just let the filters catch*. Oh and they continued paying their employees through the downtime. Absolute amazing company.
Nintendo's former president willingly took a 50% salary cut due to poor sales of the wii u so he wouldn't have to lay off staff, this keeping morale high and quality top notch.
Some people may know, but Lego. Lego has EXTREMELY tight manufacturing tolerances, aiming for around a precision of ±0.01mm in dimensions to ensure consistent and reliable interlocking of pieces across different sets. That's why pieces made years or decades apart snap together like they were all made yesterday. There really isn't a competitor that comes close.
There manufacturing quality process operate at what is known to be a 7-sigma rate, which boils down to 1 non-compliant piece in every million escaping in to the wild. No other manufacturer can claim that.
Fiskars. Scissors and branch loppers.
I broke a set of loppers and I was pretty sure it was my fault because I was cutting a branch that was WAY too big and I twisted the loppers. I did this many, many times over the years. Finally it broke the blade.
I sent them an email asking how much to get a new lopper blade and explained that it was my fault. They said "no worries" and sent me a new blade for free. And a whole new set of loppers for free.
I only buy Fiskars for scissors and loppers now.
I LOVE my Fiskars rotary fabric cutter. That thing is seriously sharp and maneuverable.
Most people probably realize this, but Toyota has insanely high quality control down to the individual parts. There's a reason they last forever.
IKEA toys for children currently have tougher safety standards than what all the global laws requires.
For any line of product, Ikea follows the thoughtest safety standards available worldwide (that usually is just the CE standards). Their real trick is that they do not take the supplier's word for the products being compliant, but they go through a ferocious supplier's qualification process, and periodically run a lot of test -even destructive ones- on production batches.
Mars.
I'm talking about the candy company. I used to work in their pet food division and we had a blank check from corporate to make sure there was never a recall.
Our marching orders were to do whatever it took to make sure "Mars Inc." and "Recall" were never in the same headline.
I know for a fact I cost the company tens of thousands of dollars in lost production and product waste during my time there, all to prevent any possible problems making it to market. When a customer would send us a complaint, those details would make it all the way to the facility floor for an investigation, even if they were clearly b******t.
I've since moved on to other industries, and it still blows my mind how the people making dog food and candy had stricter quality assurance than aerospace manufacturers.
KitchenAid. My food mixer is 25 years old, is used 2/3 times a week and looks and operates like new.
Well worth the investment if you like to cook and bake. I use the grinder attachment when I make sausage. I don't agree with the price spikes when a new color comes out, but who am I to argue about the law of supply and idiots.
Most people know that Zeiss makes really good glasses.
What some folks may not know is that they also make the ultraflat mirrors used in ASML's EUV lithography machines - the ones that make every high end computer chip in the world.
Why mirrors and not lenses? The light used passing through a lens of any material, regardless of how perfect, is too disruptive. How flat are the mirrors? To the atomic level. If the mirrors were scaled up to the size of Texas, the largest imperfection would be less than two millimeters tall.
Yamaha musical instruments. Their guitars often get overlooked but I have never played a bad anything by Yamaha.
I've never been disappointed by pens created by Pilot or Mitsubishi Pencil Co. (who created the Uni-ball pens).
I used Uni-ball Deluxe Roller Pens exclusively when I used to write sheet music by hand. Sometimes I miss it just because of how good the pen was, but I can’t beat the efficiency of using notation software now.
This thread made me think of zippo. More for their free repairs and replacement on authentic lighters. all you have to do is mail them the lighter. in this day n age thats incredible. they dont even care where you got the lighter just as long as its a real zippo.
Good thing you added this day and age. Been using a Zippo since I joined the service back in the late 70's, and while they still beat most of what's out there, they ain't anywhere near as good as they were. I used to be able to light a butt with the window down while driving. Not anymore. Same thing when fishing now. Wind is stronger right off the harbor, but used to be no problem. Now it takes a few shots to get them fired up. And the lids get so loose now much more quickly. Still happy enough to continue using them, but the older models were much better.
Victorinox Swiss Army knives. It was founded back in 1884 and when you think of a Swiss Army knife, you’re basically thinking about Victorinox. The level of quality of these knives is top notch. There are knives from WWII that still function properly.
Otterbox phone cases. I’m an idiot with my phone, and this case has kept my crusty a*s iPhone 7 damage-free lol.
King Arthur flour. They've rejected multiple train cars full of unprocessed wheat, because the protein content was off by a few hundredths of a percent, contravening the requirements set forth in their Commodities contract.
It put them behind in production, and pissed off their suppliers. Most other flour producers would have accepted it with a variance sign-off, and moved on.
King Arthur is the only flour I will use. I first thought all flour would be the same but after baking hundreds of loafs there really is a difference.
Obvious Bic reference. Aeronautic tolerances under a cheap af pen.
Kong Dog Toys - the red rubber stuffable toys. The rubber is a precision made compound with such high quality control to always be the same whether it is being made for a small size kong or the red kong frisbee. Because it is a ubiquitous item available at many pet stores worldwide, shelf stable and always smells the same to the dog, it is used in detection dog programs for security, police and military around the world. They cut up pieces of kong into incredibly small shavings to train the dogs to find before moving onto other target odors, as well as using the kongs themselves as a reward toy.
The one exception to the “red kong material” is the red kong keychain. For whatever reason Kong changed the formula for that one, so it can’t be chopped into pieces and used in place of other kong rubber.
Tabasco. Their factory on Avery Island is the most immaculate industrial facility I've ever seen. The grounds are beautiful and the people are great. The "Disney" of hot sauces.
Ball the jar company. They make satellites.
Quite a jump there. A bit like Lockheed Martin also making beer coasters
OXO brand cleaning supplies. I buy the scrubbers and scrub brushes for home use and they hold up way beyond anything else I've ever tried.
Honestly, their kitchen stuff is really good too. They actually listen to customer feedback to improve their products, and their stuff LASTS. We have a peeler that's... uh... 25 years old? Still works, though the old design wasn't the best. But they improved it, and the new one is maybe 15 years old, and still looks and works like new.
YKK zippers. The best.
LOOK AT YOUR ZIPPER RIGHT NOW! Like 90% of zippers in the whole damn world are YKK. If you are wearing a pair of pants with a zipper or a jacket with a zipper, I can guarantee it is stamped YKK. It's crazy how big they are and all they do is zippers.
Stanley thermos flasks.
Yeah I know they became a big Tiktok craze. I don't know how that model holds up. I do know that my regular Stanley's have been solid as a rock. I have one that I got from my grandmother's house which is (I am pretty sure) older than I am. It still keeps my drinks hot for 10+ hours at a time. Despite now looking like it was dug out of a fallout shelter.
Edit:
Honestly I don't even care if they're everywhere. Stanley trucked along turning out sensible quality products for 100 or so years. If they invested in some fresh R+D, found a smart marketing guy and in response genX 10x their sales - well good on them. At least the fad chasers end up with a decent thermos. Likely better than whatever influencer branded tat Tiktok will latch on to next.
Thermos flasks are a con. They're supposed to keep cold things cold and hot things hot, but I put a cup of tea and some ice cream in there, and neither survived...
Most Kirkland products from Costco.
It's because Costco partners with brand name labels to sell under the Kirkland brand. For example, their Kirkland vodka is made by Grey Goose. So, the quality is the same as the name brand, but for a fraction of the price and under the Kirkland label.
They’re super expensive, but Herman Miller chairs.
I sit in mine for several hours every day and it is by far the most comfortable, least back pain chair I’ve ever had.
In terms of temporary adhesives, anything 3M. Especially post-it notes and command strips. Somehow their materials science is so far above every other sticky note company that it’s barely comparable, and I don’t know if there’s any alternative to 3M command strips.
Last year, 3M was ordered to pay $10.3 billion to settle claims of PFAS contamination in soil and water around the US. Good sticky stuff, though.
Totes umbrellas have a lifetime warranty. You can return them back to the manufacturer and they'll send you a brand new one.
Uniqlo.
A friend of my wife manages material supply chains for Uniqlo across Asia. While almost every single economy company chooses the lowest bidder, Uniqlo will always choose density, familiarity and quality over cost every time. The standards they post are extremely strict.
Through this, most Uniqlo products maintain consistency across the world and generally the same reliability.
Sure, it would be a push to claim that Uniqlo is a "buy it for life" brand with colours that don't eventually fade, but as a mid-tier basics brand it's generally a really reliable, high quality choice.
Electronic products from IKEA. They use good quality components and have good electrical separation of the high voltage side and the low voltage side.
Search the bigclivedotcom channel on YouTube for teardown videos of IKEA products. For example, the [IKEA SMÅHAGEL](https://youtu.be/lOJbxhA0E3E) USB charger.
(He also does teardowns of dodgy electronics products that will straight up kill you. Those are always exciting!).
In the tool world/construction it’s hard to beat Hilti but they are expensive.
The old saying, "you get what you pay for" definitely applies to Hilti.
Note: this post originally had 41 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Boars head meats. Their attention to detail and quality is insane. A truck falls a few degrees under what's safe even for a few minutes and it's disposed of. Quick to pull distributor licenses if they don't follow safety and presentation rules. They do surprise inspections. Even their trucks have actual gold leaf on the side.
Love their cheeses as well. The white american is not plastic and melts beautifully.
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It's sorta sad not to see Sears here. Back in the days before K-Mart, Sears' niche was finding the absolute best-built products and sticking their Sears, Craftsman or Kenmore label on them. A shopping mall wasn't a shopping mall without a Sears. And ironically, they OWNED the world of shipping to your home: before ordering from a computer existed, you could use a phone to talk into (gasp!) and order whatever you could find from their GIANT catalogs. Somehow, they gave up on home shipping right as the internet was taking off, and lost out to a used-book reseller named Amazon.
Sears also was discriminatory towards women. For decades they wouldn't allow women to have their store credit card unless a man was on the account. Women were the main shoppers of Sears, except for the tools/automotive. This backfired spectacularly. Do not p**s off the women.
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Boars head meats. Their attention to detail and quality is insane. A truck falls a few degrees under what's safe even for a few minutes and it's disposed of. Quick to pull distributor licenses if they don't follow safety and presentation rules. They do surprise inspections. Even their trucks have actual gold leaf on the side.
Love their cheeses as well. The white american is not plastic and melts beautifully.
Load More Replies... It's sorta sad not to see Sears here. Back in the days before K-Mart, Sears' niche was finding the absolute best-built products and sticking their Sears, Craftsman or Kenmore label on them. A shopping mall wasn't a shopping mall without a Sears. And ironically, they OWNED the world of shipping to your home: before ordering from a computer existed, you could use a phone to talk into (gasp!) and order whatever you could find from their GIANT catalogs. Somehow, they gave up on home shipping right as the internet was taking off, and lost out to a used-book reseller named Amazon.
Sears also was discriminatory towards women. For decades they wouldn't allow women to have their store credit card unless a man was on the account. Women were the main shoppers of Sears, except for the tools/automotive. This backfired spectacularly. Do not p**s off the women.
Load More Replies...