What is a true manufacturing company? Is it Feniex Industries?

John Smith

Member
Oct 19, 2010
304
CO, US
Let's hear from those in the know. This will help people looking for information on which companies are trustworthy and which products are reliable.

For this discussion, we'll focus on Feniex Industries.
 
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John Smith

Member
Oct 19, 2010
304
CO, US
I will never use Feniex products on my agency emergency vehicles, period.

However, that being said. I ride motorcycles and I always add a supplemental brake light to my bikes for more rear visibility. I originally chose the Apollo in red because it was cheap, small, and threw the majority of light to the back, but also provided light to the sides. I wired it straight in line with the OEM brake light. It stays dim steady when ignition on, and goes full bright and flash with brake application.

I really couldn't be happier with the light. It's mounted under the tail of a bike that's ridden year round, so it sees harsh conditions, and it runs 100% duty cycle. After 5 years and 28,000 miles I've had zero issues.

So much so, that despite having the budget to go with a different light on my new bike, I went out of my way to find a new Apollo (They've since been discontinued). Perfect size, perfect brightness, perfect function, perfect split between rear/side throw.
 

rettoded

Member
Aug 12, 2011
90
Berks County,PA
The only Feinex product that I use and have experience with is the non Direct Link 4200. I have had it for about 5 years and got if from a great deal Nic @ Fever had on Facebook. At the time, it was the only system that met the requirements for my switching needs at the time. Other controllers were less programmable or did not have enough switches.

Last year I changed rank and was able to start running red lights and siren. It was very easy to change around the 4200 to be able to add siren controls and additional lighting controls. The integrated headlight wig-wag has also worked very well.

That being said, seeing the curtain be pulled back, on what kind of company Feniex is unfortunate. I can recall some posts here on the board when Feniex came out that had shown a connection to STL. There were concerns then about what kind of quality or issues there could be, but there was also an air of optimism about this new company. Over the years though, I have seen more and more stories about how Feniex operates and what kind of "manufacturing" they do. It is amazing how deceitful and exploitative some of their actions have been. I am thankful for those who have shared their experiences, like Jman, and for those who have done research on Feniex.
 

Strobesnmore

Member
May 23, 2010
382
Westerly, RI
Feniex is not a manufacturer PERIOD! They assemble some products as a way to try and fool people into thinking they manufacturer (Made In the USA) however this is a complete lie and a fact.
Just this week Chinese company Sanmak that makes the Feniex Beacon and the AM900 Flood light cancelled our orders of the same products that we have been selling to you at a true retail while Feniex marks it up 400% just to its dealers.... Feniex entered into a 1 year agreement with them to be the only US buyer. I am sure they did this to give them time to find another Chinese company to make them then they will say goodbye to Sanmak. Their products left China with "made in China" labels however those labels disappeared when they hit the USA. Can you say Illegal??

Why does Feniex do this and lie about being Made in the USA simple. Because many Government and Municipal agencies have "made in the USA" requirements. We can't sell some Strobes N More branded products to these agencies as we abide by the rules.

The other reason they lie is because they know some consumers look for "Made in the USA" when shopping.

Lastly I think the owner thinks if he says it enough, plasters it all over his web site and packaging that us stupid Americans will believe it too. I think we are smarter than this.

Anyway to the question posted on the topic Feniex is NOT a manufactuer and therefore "it's a trick question!" Taken from My Cousin Vinnie!
 
Sep 16, 2018
119
Kentucky
Feniex is not a manufacturer PERIOD! They assemble some products as a way to try and fool people into thinking they manufacturer (Made In the USA) however this is a complete lie and a fact.
Just this week Chinese company Sanmak that makes the Feniex Beacon and the AM900 Flood light cancelled our orders of the same products that we have been selling to you at a true retail while Feniex marks it up 400% just to its dealers.... Feniex entered into a 1 year agreement with them to be the only US buyer. I am sure they did this to give them time to find another Chinese company to make them then they will say goodbye to Sanmak. Their products left China with "made in China" labels however those labels disappeared when they hit the USA. Can you say Illegal??

Why does Feniex do this and lie about being Made in the USA simple. Because many Government and Municipal agencies have "made in the USA" requirements. We can't sell some Strobes N More branded products to these agencies as we abide by the rules.

The other reason they lie is because they know some consumers look for "Made in the USA" when shopping.

Lastly I think the owner thinks if he says it enough, plasters it all over his web site and packaging that us stupid Americans will believe it too. I think we are smarter than this.

Anyway to the question posted on the topic Feniex is NOT a manufactuer and therefore "it's a trick question!" Taken from My Cousin Vinnie!
I agree 100% with this post. Refer to my post under the same question regarding Star Warning Systems products!
 
Sep 16, 2018
119
Kentucky
Feniex is not a manufacturer PERIOD! They assemble some products as a way to try and fool people into thinking they manufacturer (Made In the USA) however this is a complete lie and a fact.
Just this week Chinese company Sanmak that makes the Feniex Beacon and the AM900 Flood light cancelled our orders of the same products that we have been selling to you at a true retail while Feniex marks it up 400% just to its dealers.... Feniex entered into a 1 year agreement with them to be the only US buyer. I am sure they did this to give them time to find another Chinese company to make them then they will say goodbye to Sanmak. Their products left China with "made in China" labels however those labels disappeared when they hit the USA. Can you say Illegal??

Why does Feniex do this and lie about being Made in the USA simple. Because many Government and Municipal agencies have "made in the USA" requirements. We can't sell some Strobes N More branded products to these agencies as we abide by the rules.

The other reason they lie is because they know some consumers look for "Made in the USA" when shopping.

Lastly I think the owner thinks if he says it enough, plasters it all over his web site and packaging that us stupid Americans will believe it too. I think we are smarter than this.

Anyway to the question posted on the topic Feniex is NOT a manufactuer and therefore "it's a trick question!" Taken from My Cousin Vinnie!
In addition to my previous post on this topic, 5 Star Warning Lights out of China (which is where STL gets a lot of their stuff from) is also supplying so called "Made in the USA" items also to companies here in the USA who claim as such. Unfortunately shoppers only buy off of two motives: MADE IN THE USA (as you stated above) or by there budget, which is what keeps the foreign companies in business. Outside of government buying regulations (buy American), the rest of the buyers market keeps this crap coming in. In most cases, the foreign stuff performs just as well and comes with the same warranty at half the price. Thank Amazon and Alibaba!
 

John Hearne

Member
May 27, 2010
346
Pontotoc County, MS
The shop that is doing our installs these days used to sell Feniex. I introduced them to Sound Off and once they saw the relative price to quality, the dropped the Feniex stuff. They were constantly doing repairs on the Feniex stuff. SOS, not so much.
 
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bluestinger90

Member
Jun 5, 2010
657
BC / California
I am legit surprised to see the opinion on elightbars do a complete 180.

It sounds like the folks who were saying feniex was nothing more than a speedtechlight rebrand advertising experiment were on the right track.

I like their products, but it always seemed like they were an assembly/import company first and foremost.

"We change lives by manufacturing innovative American-made products for the world's toughest jobs."

Up next from feniex, the soundoff signal intersector feniex UMP!
 

EMT-BLS

New Member
Oct 28, 2011
2,640
Waterbury, CT
Putting all eggs in one basket is classic Feniex. "Fusion is the best of both world!" "Quad is the ultimate light!" "The ONE is the end-all for controllers!" Just focus on having good quality and low prices, that's 97% of what customers want. I feel like they're only listening to the 3%, the people who always reply to Facebook polls and questions, but never actually buy anything.
 
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EMT-BLS

New Member
Oct 28, 2011
2,640
Waterbury, CT
Get outta my head, man!

For the most part, I agree with nearly everything. I do disagree, a little, to the Quad concept. It is true that it makes life a LOT easier for Feniex - only stock one module, instead of dozens of color options and optics. HOWEVER - that doesn't take away from the idea actually being a good one - with duo and trio products becoming more widely used, having that 4th color is something people didn't realize they were walking away from.

Before everyone loses their mind screaming at me that they barely need 2 colors - More and more, customers are buying lightsticks that are red/blue, with amber override, but still want a flood mode for on-scene work (crime scenes, MVAs, searches, etc) - and Quad gives them that. Now, should they have canceled dual color Fusions? Of course not - but let's not pretend that Feniex is sitting on millions of dollars, like they say they do. They have limited funds, and it's easier to only stock 5 SKUs, instead of 30.

Everything regarding leadership does ring true - even to me, as an outsider. The leadership used to be front and center, and now they're ghosts. Product videos fell to the wayside. Hamza promised a weekly 'touch-base' video, that lasted 3 weeks. I change dealer reps more often than my pants (possibly not a good analogy).

Overall - lots of promise, but currently not doing as well as they could be with some strong leadership and recommitment to what got them here.
 
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Jason@JCO/FEVER

New Member
Jul 1, 2021
6
Apopka,Fl
It's been a wild ride for sure. Between playing musical sales reps, pricing being all over the place depending on what CSR processes the order, shipping errors, and whatever else you can think of. There is very little sales support or brand recognition here in the Southeast if any at all, making any government sales very difficult. They do have a loyal retail following and I will continue to sell to them, but even they are questioning what is happening at Feniex.

One thing is for sure I've never seen a company with so few employees have so many "executives".
 

Jarred J.

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 21, 2010
11,580
Shelbyville, TN
i still want a mini am600 lol
 

Jarred J.

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 21, 2010
11,580
Shelbyville, TN
its the fact it was going to be a "new mini beacon" 4 years ago and was going to be after the regular one.. and they never uhhh "rebranded it" to us. i have several beacons but the mini was "cute":confused:
 
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Jarred J.

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 21, 2010
11,580
Shelbyville, TN
yup lol
 

kadetklapp

Member
May 21, 2010
1,568
Indiana
Answers some questions I had. I’m very interested in the One system for my new patrol vehicle and Feneix is one of two mfgers I know of with a spoiler and d-pillar mounting system for the Tahoe.
 

2004p71

Member
Aug 27, 2010
367
canada
We have been going back and forth with their technical support in the last week and we had to CC in our email other people of a higher rank to get things moving . We would get vague and incomplete answers to basic question . Sales rep are not any better. A local custommer last fall requested a price for a 20 inche AI lightbar and we have been told it reach the end of life and they were no longer produced.
We got out new Master dealer pricing list and oh wait the AI bar is still listed so we gave them a call inquiring about that said bar and it was on back order. Few days later someone replied of we have plenty in stock ....
They dont look like thay are talking to esch other in this shop !
 

EMT-BLS

New Member
Oct 28, 2011
2,640
Waterbury, CT
They need a real 'Come to Jesus' meeting, and some new blood. The Big 3 ain't that big anymore...Code3 is barely more than a joke, Fed Sig also buys imports, and Whelen still thinks it's normal to charge $250+ for a damn SlimLighter.
 
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kadetklapp

Member
May 21, 2010
1,568
Indiana
They need a real 'Come to Jesus' meeting, and some new blood. The Big 3 ain't that big anymore...Code3 is barely more than a joke, Fed Sig also buys imports, and Whelen still thinks it's normal to charge $250+ for a damn SlimLighter.
All true. I was talking to an upfitter and he hadn’t heard of Code 3 other than Amber division…
 

CD3

Member
May 25, 2010
411
USA, CA
Reading these posts, I'll again chime in here. If been around the lighting and siren industry going on 49 years now. In the 1990's and into the early 2000's Code 3 was the company to beat when I owned my installation shop which was the largest in CA at the time, we sold Code 3 3 to 1 over Whelen and 5 to 1 over Fed. Sig. Snd off was just getting started and knocking off copies of the Code 3 LED's. Now of course lets be realistic it all depends when other got into or became interested in emergency equipment. I will say this, Code 3 after say 2005ish fell asleep in R&D that's for darn sure then scrambled to quickly and unprepared to catch up, but CD3 was the #1 company to catch back then. Code 3 has taken some hits that's true I can say this since I've rep'ed them for 10 years. Code 3 being sold several times and the last 2 times pretty darn quick I was still reeling from ECCO's purchase, No one outside of upper management new of the last sale. But to get back on track, everyone one here has there pro's and cons about brands of equipment right? I also was our departments fleet manager for 15 years and thus got to use the BIG 3 Code 3, Fed.Sig. and Whelen. But even back then they all had their fair share of problems, but what we started to look at was most of our cars were not 100% brand specific. We ran C3 light bars with Unitrol TM-4 (Damn still miss that work horse and sound of a siren), later we added Whelen corner strobe systems. Today out here in CA I am seeing more Sound Off, Tomar and there was a time Feniex. If some of the old guys remember, the amber divisions for the big 3 were Code 3 = Public Safety Equipment PSE amber for short, Federal Signal = Target Tech and Whelen = Austin electronics.
PS: Our Matrix System is coming along, slowly but it is getting there with some new features to be out soon too.
 

kadetklapp

Member
May 21, 2010
1,568
Indiana
It sure has changed, huh? All the above is true. Now in the day if “full builds” it’s all or nothing. In my area, moving used equipment from a decommissioning car to a new car is sacrilege and blasphemous.
 

EMT-BLS

New Member
Oct 28, 2011
2,640
Waterbury, CT
It sure has changed, huh? All the above is true. Now in the day if “full builds” it’s all or nothing. In my area, moving used equipment from a decommissioning car to a new car is sacrilege and blasphemous.
The sales guys are to thank for that. The mfgs are also doing their best to make the equipment not universal, so if you want option X, you better pony up and stick to their brand.
 
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CD3

Member
May 25, 2010
411
USA, CA

Boy, I remember the days of strip-out and reinstall the same equipment over and over again. My days we had prisoner partitions from Adamson that were like puzzles they were adjustable for midsize to full size cars, we didn't use consoles, but radio racks again by Adamson where we stacked the siren, radio and installed the shotgun onto that rack. The equipment was robust alright, we left almost everything intact on the rack unplugged it threw it into the new cars and plugged it back in and go. There were times though the embarrassing stuff would happen like the darn chain in the Federal Twin Sonic would stretch and fall off one or both sides rolling code down the HWY with the rotators pointing steady in different directions. But all the manufactures realized hey were not making the money because the equipment is lasting too long. Federal Signal bought back hundreds of the Twin Sonic's and Areo-Twins and actually crushed them back at the factory. They bought our back for $75.00 ea and gave us $100 off the purchase of the Jetsonics, This was the best looking bar ever, until you turned it on then prayed that the motoring public could see it.

 

K9Vic

Member
May 23, 2010
1,225
Fort Worth, TX
I remember the days when STL and Fenix were in that Buda location and some members here went there and the employee's yelled at them to get out of there. It is interesting that STL is in the old Fenix building, but that info is long lost in any search (Web and old ELB forums page). Last time I did a LLC lookup for STL and Fenix, the CEO both had the same last name, Deyaf. It is for sure interesting story as I remember STL being in Richardson Texas selling really cheap China lights. Seems they have a lot better products, but still nothing like Whelen my favorite.
 
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MPD 818

Member
May 25, 2010
1,317
Murfreesboro TN
I have been selling and installing Feniex for several years (get dealer pricing through strobesnmore.com). I was impressed at first. This last year has completely changed my opinion.

I have had more Feniex products fail over the last year than the last 4 years combined. Water in the lights, lights losing memory and changing patterns randomly, lights dead new in box, lightbars that I have to rewire internally due to incorrect wiring at the factory. Then when you try to call and get tech support or anything else you talk to some drone in front of a computer with a few preprogrammed responses.

I was blown away at how terrible some of the Quad products turned out to be. The Quad lightbars are not bad, but the surface mount lights are horrible. The optics look like some cheesy Chinease knockoff (but I repeat myself). No where near as good as the regular Fusions.

Product quality has gone downhill, customer support and relations have dropped off a cliff. I am going to be moving away from Feniex probably to Whelen. It may cost a little more but it is worth it. I have lost so much time and money having to chase around Feniex problems.

The most frustrating part is trying to talk to someone who knows anything. You send emails and they go unanswered. You call and if you are able to get a hold of someone their standard response to any issues is "fill out an RMA".

I had high hopes for them.....so much for that.
 

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