Where is my Fluke 289 made? USA or China

[matteuk360]

Hi everyone I registered here because you have some really knowledgeable people on Fluke multimeters how how they are made.

My question is, I have a fluke 289 from eBay it is working very well, it is the newest firmware version and has the newer super capacitor with the revised board.

The thing is, on the back on the battery pack it says, "Fluke corporation Everett USA" not made in the USA or assembled in the USA with global materials like others I have seen on eBay. My question is is my fluke 289 made in China and are all the newer fluke 289s now made in china? I have emailed fluke to ask where mine is manufactured but no reply yet. I just want to know where it's made it does not say everywhere on the product. ive always wanted a fluke and a nice fluke that is US made, it would be really disappointing if ive found out mine is made in china and I paid over £250 for it used the most I have ever paid for a Chinese product.

here is a picture of the back of my Fluke I really hope someone can shed some light on this or has gone down the same rabbit hole. https://ibb.co/SrdK5yp

side note if it turns out to be China made, I have a Fluke 289 for sale.

Thank you,

Matteuk

[tooki]

As others have already told you on Reddit, the 289C is made in China. The ones without the C are USA. Multiple distributors currently list USA as the country of origin, so there’s no reason to assume there’s been a change in factory location.

[bdunham7]

Older versions would be labelled "Made in the USA".  This label requires virtually all of the components to be USA made or sourced.  Current production meters direct from Fluke in the US are labelled "Assembled in the USA", on the box and on the battery cover in the same area you have pictured.  I'm assuming that at least some of the components are now of non-USA manufacture or source and the fact that there is a Chinese version tells me that it is pretty likely that the Chinese manufactured content is substantial.  For example, I suspect the case might be molded there and maybe the circuit board.  In any case, it is still apparently screwed together and packaged in the US, and it it's designated country of origin is the US.

Since yours has no such labelling and we don't know where it was originally sold, I would not be surprised if it were manufactured in China.  Does the UK require this sort of disclosure via on-product labelling?

[matteuk360]

I don’t know if it’s required in the UK but I haven’t had a electronic item that does not say where it is made. I even opened it up and there is nothing on the PCB however the PCB and soldering is very neat extremely excellent and the fuses are made in Mexico. There is a Picture online that compares the 289c PCB to the 289 and there are differences mine looks more like the 289 but that could just mean I have a newer version. On my battery case it says USA Everett bla bla the address of the company and the 289C actually says made in china in Chinese. It’s very vague I would love a reply from someone at fluke to clear things up.

Also the TL 175 leads, I got a pair from RS components the website lists them as USA country of origin and when they arrive the rs stock label says made in the USA but when you look on the back it says product of Taiwan! It’s very confusing.

[Jay_Diddy_B]

Hi,
I have two Fluke 289. One I bought secondhand, it had the super capacitor problem and was able to buy at a very good price. I replaced the capacitor and bought new plastic parts from Fluke.

The second one I bought new in 2013. There is very little indication on the meter. The box has the following labels:



The same information is on the battery door.



Depending the your location, country of origin, can mean the location where the profit is made, not the product.

The meter is an outstanding meter wherever it was made.

I also bought a Fluke 107, pocket sized meter. It is made in China and it is a joy to use.

Regards,

Jay_Diddy_B

[matteuk360]

Thank you man that’s really an eye opener. When you say little indication on the meter what does is say, is it the same as mine and just says the company address on the battery back?

Matt

[Black Phoenix]

As others have already told you on Reddit, the 289C is made in China. The ones without the C are USA. Multiple distributors currently list USA as the country of origin, so there’s no reason to assume there’s been a change in factory location.

That would be me Tooki. I'm that user on reddit who replied to him on the r/Fluke subreddit,  that I was not able to get by 2 days for administration after Fluke closed shop on reddit. Now is being managed by someone who only put videos from Fluke's YouTube...

When I realised it was available I tried but the current mods were faster than me. The users are all the same user, but only one is active as a karma farmer...

[unknownparticle]

Mine is the same as yours, just Fluke and the address molded into the plastic.  Bought is as new, unused in 2018, I think it was 2 or 3 years old then.
My understanding was, that the high end Flukes are made in the USA, I hope that is correct!  It is a superb DMM but if I discovered it was made in China I would be disappointed.

[Forester]

Perhaps I did not read where it was discussed that I am interested. The forum is large, but the search did not give me the right one.
Fluke is made in the USA and in China. Is there a big difference between them in quality? Doesn't Fluke company control the quality of assembled devices in China? Or does she not have much to do with it?

[Black Phoenix]

As I replied in the reddit thread, Fluke manufacturing is in the US and China. Most "Made in the USA" products now are "Made in the US with US and non US components" indication -



Basically a fancy way of saying the product was Assembled in the US.

The C versions of Fluke, as 289C, 87VC, 117C and others as they exclusive models (13B, 15B, 17B, 18B that now are in their MAX denomination, after the B+ one) are Made in China and in the US. Those models don't have warranty outside of Mainland China and can be sold or given support outside of Mainland China.

The difference between the C suffix equipment and the non C equipment in terms of functions, construction or components used are exactly none.

They are Fluke, with Fluke quality, just assembled in different countries. So as lots of other products, manufactured by international brands in China, that we use every single day and have quality I don't understand the pickle of not being USA made.

Probably you don't want to support China and their practices and I understand that, but in a global world as this one, I'm sure every product have stuff from China even if it is the plastic (pellets were made in a factory in China) or the rare earths (mined in China).

[Andrew LB]

Perhaps I did not read where it was discussed that I am interested. The forum is large, but the search did not give me the right one.
Fluke is made in the USA and in China. Is there a big difference between them in quality? Doesn't Fluke company control the quality of assembled devices in China? Or does she not have much to do with it?

The single biggest issue with Chinese manufacturing is widely known as "quality fade". If a company does not maintain strict quality control, manufacturers will constantly cut corners in order to increase their profits, and to the detriment of product quality. Some companies like Apple have maintained a high level of quality and i'd imagine Fluke would be the same since they too would want to retain their sterling reputation. That said, if the same product is made both in China and the US, i'd definitely get the US made one./