De som äger och bestämmer på LH Thomson är mycket konservativa av sig, så de gör inte halften av projekt som killarna i engineering och marketing kommer fram med. I stora drag kan man säga att de använder sig av följande resonemang när det gäller utvärdering av nya produkt:
1) Is there a problem that we can provide a solution for using our expertise in cutting and shaping metal? (Seatposts that aren't strong enough.)
2) Will the solution that we develop be objectively better that what is currently available? (Stronger posts, clamps and hardware, lower failure rate.)
3) Will the solution that we develop require a level of expertise and investment that is likely to make it uninteresting for other companies (especially in Taiwan and China) to copy?
Look at the seatpost blanks on the left side of the picture below. See how they are not round tubes, but rather extruded elongated oval tubes? The inner hole is a sideways oval instead of round, which creates greater wall thickness front and rear. The outer bulges front and rear are the seating location for the screw adjusters at the base of the saddle clamp. The entire wing below the clamp gets machined away to leave a round post. Going to that much trouble is not impossible for another company, but it is neither quick nor inexpensive, and Thomson has patented the technique.
4) Can we sell it at a profit?
5) Do we understand the market?
Om ingenjörerna och marknadsföringsfolk hade hand om det hela så skulle vi ha en hel del andra produkter. Vad tycker ni om skateboard trucks?