Niemoller Rig Production Update 2: Cutting, Sewing, & Shipping
It's been a little while since we've last updated you on the Niemoller Webbing project, and we have some solid progress to report.
Since we last shared with you with the size and design changes from Mr. Niemoller himself, the actual manufacturing process for the rigs began.
All fabrics, trims, and hardware were rubber stamped, and Johann's factory has been bustling.
The best news we have today, as you can see by the photos, is that sewing & assembly of the rigs is well underway in South Africa.
In terms of total progress, it's already about halfway done and moving along quickly, which we're sure you're glad to hear after some of the earlier delays in this project.
But, if you've ever ordered South African products from us in the past, the actual manufacturing is only part of the battle.
We did update the original batch timing on our site to be more conservative back in March. The following turbulence caused by the United States' tariff policies then took aim at South African imports and made this even more of a challenge.
On top of the typical "TIA - This Is Africa" we experience when working with African logistics companies, the difficulty and time sensitivity of importing these rigs from South Africa to the USA skyrocketed as soon as the tariffs took hold.
The main takeaway for you: ALL the rigs may be shipped to the USA all at once.
This could mean if you ordered the "early" batch you may get it "late" and if you ordered the "late" batch you may get it "early" according to the delivery estimates on our site.
We will post another update as soon as the shipment is arranged and we have a concrete delivery date.
But we can say as of the sending of this email & with that plan in mind, rigs would likely arrive all in one large batch in mid-June.
Once again, we want to apologize for these delays as we continue to navigate the global trade turbulence that the tariffs have caused.
Working in South Africa to keep the rig as authentic as possible presented its own set of challenges, but we're tirelessly keeping track of this project in order to make it all worth it.
Thank you all once again for helping us make this incredible project with a literal living legend possible, and we're excited to see Johann's rig out there in the wild decades after its inception.
