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Additional Information Regarding Paragon Kilns.
Pricing & General Information
Paragon Industries, based in Mesquite Texas, has grown from a small company formed in 1948 to become the one of the largest manufacturers of electric kilns. In 1996 Paragon Industries acquired the kiln line produced by Duncan Enterprises, their largest competitor in the hobby kiln market. Today Paragon is largest manufacturer of electric kilns in the world for the hobby and small business users.
The Paragon kiln prices published on Dogwood Ceramic Supply's website are valid until at least December 31, 2012 and are available for all customers without restriction. Dogwood Ceramic Supply's discounted prices on Paragon kilns will NOT be lowered or raised at any time during the year, however, freight charges are subject to change due to rising fuel costs without advance notice plus any changes to general pricing program of the freight companies. Complete freight information is either included on the individual kiln page or linked from the individual kiln page.
Dogwood Ceramic Supply maintains a variety of kilns in our showroom and for immediate shipment or for over-the-counter sales. The specific kiln models and optional features may vary and kilns not presently in stock may require advance order.
For best possible cost and service, Dogwood Ceramic Supply ships kilns from both our warehouse in Gulfport Mississippi and the Paragon Factory near Dallas Texas. In general terms, Large Kilns, such as the Paragon Dragon or Pearl 56, being shipped to East Coast locations will be shipped from the Dogwood warehouse while the same kilns shipped to West Coast locations will be shipped from the Paragon factory. Kilns being shipped to States adjoining the Mississippi River may be shipped from either the Paragon Factory or Dogwood's warehouse depending upon inventory levels at Dogwood Ceramic Supply plus the needs of the customer. Small kilns, such as the Paragon TnF 1613, may ship from either the Paragon Factory or Dogwood's warehouse depending upon the type of delivery (residential versus commercial) rather than the delivery location.
The published Paragon Freight Rates reflect the best case shipping scenario (customers East of Mississippi River being shipped from Dogwood's warehouse, customers West of the Mississippi River being shipped from the Paragon Factory, customers in States adjoining the Mississippi River being shipped from either shipping point), small kilns being shipped from either location depending upon the type of delivery.
Customers receiving other major equipment items with their kiln purchase (such as Shimpo pottery wheels or North Star Slab Rollers) can combine their equipment and kiln purchases into a single shipment. Depending upon the kiln and location, the equipment can travel along for little or no additional freight charges. When practical, or cost effective, Dogwood Ceramic Supply may even combine kilns and other equipment or supply items for shipment to the West Coast.
For kilns that require advance order, typically allow 1 to 2 weeks for manufacturing, though some large kilns produced from the square kiln line (such as the Super Dragon or GL 24 ADTSD) may require up to 6 weeks during the peak seasons such as the beginning and end of school semesters.
Does Dogwood Ceramic Supply sell every model of Paragon Kiln?
No, and there is little need for us to sell every model. There are many kilns are redundant or nearly identical to another kiln.
Take a look at the TnF 66-3. The TnF 66-3 is 6% less expensive and 30% smaller than the TnF 1613-3. The Fusion 6 is 3% less expensive and 40% smaller than the Fusion 7. In both instances the smaller kilns were specifically designed for export markets where the standard electrical service can not handle the slightly larger kiln. Most important for our customers, these export models are a poor value compared to the larger kilns sold by Dogwood Ceramic Supply.
Not everything is an issue of redundant kiln designs. There are certain specialty or niche markets, such as beads and jewelry, where the sales of kilns in these markets are best performed by suppliers that can offer the supporting materials (such as jewelry findings) along side the sale of the kiln.
Bottom line, we use our knowledge of the product line as well as our customers needs in deciding which models represent a good value for our customers and can be best supported by our business.
Does Dogwood Ceramic Supply sell the old style manually operated Paragon Kilns?
Not any more. The mass produced digital controller was introduced to the kiln world in 1991. Since that time the digital controller has undergone several generational improvements and has proven itself in terms of accuracy and reliability to become the preferred operating system for kilns. At the time the DTC 800 Digital Controller was introduced in the mid 90's, Dogwood's sales of the old style kilns with a mechanical shut off device (kiln sitter) was about 25% of our total sales. By the time the Orton Sentry 2.0 Digital Controller was introduced in February 2001, Dogwood (in a manner of speaking) couldn't give away a kiln with the old style mechanical kiln sitter if the kiln was free.
The Orton Sentry 2.0 Digital Controller has a standard 30 month warranty and was a huge upgrade in controller design versus the Bartlett controller that Paragon had been using for the DTC 800 and DTC 1000 Digital Controllers. In February 2001 Paragon announced that they would no longer develop new kiln designs using the old style mechanical shutoff. Dogwood Ceramic Supply followed Paragon's lead and took the idea one more step by announcing we would cease selling the old style kilns with a mechanical shut off device.
Why do "Internet" Companies sell every model of Paragon Kiln?
In spite of their claims that they "sell" every model of Paragon Kiln, in reality some of these kiln models have very limited USA sales. Some of these kilns had great sales in the past, but have declined in popularity with the introduction of newer models. In addition there are kiln models that have just one or two USA sales per year while export orders of the same kiln can run well into the hundreds of units per year.
So why list all those kilns?
All too often the Internet Companies lack a working knowledge of the products so they just list everything. The Catalog Companies do the same thing. It is impressive to the casual customer and they might land those few odd ball sales that happen each year. Dogwood Ceramic Supply actually owns and uses several Paragon kilns each business day. We have owned (and retired) other brands of kilns as well as several more Paragon kilns. Bottom line, we might have a clue of what makes a good kiln for our needs and we take our working knowledge of the product line and put it to good use.
Does Dogwood Ceramic Supply sell other brands of Kilns?
We did in the past. For many years we sold Duncan Kilns along side Paragon Kilns. And the two brands seemed to compliment each other and did not cannibalize the sales of each other. Then in the summer of 1996 Paragon purchased the Duncan kiln line. The best selling Duncan models were integrated into the Paragon kiln line. Since that time Dogwood Ceramic Supply has tried to sell other brands of kilns. Not trying to knock the other products, but the Paragon kilns just sold better for us with fewer problems and more happy customers. So we gave up trying to sell any other brand of kiln as it was not a good working situation for our business.
Why do "Internet" Company sell so many brands of Kilns?
Catalog Companies do the same thing. Sometimes lots of brands. A few years ago, one of the Catalog Companies listed 11 brands and 400+ different models of kilns. Why? It is a variation on selling every model of Paragon kiln. Because it is easier to list all brands and models than taking the time to learn the strengths and weaknesses of a product line and selecting just a few specific models to sell. It is even much harder to be dedicated to a single brand, but Dogwood Ceramic Supply has clearly made it work. Maybe it is our working knowledge of the product or maybe Paragon is just a much better kiln. Whatever is the deciding factor, Dogwood Ceramic Supply is happy to sell only ONE brand of kiln.
By the way, notice that we said "list" in the previous paragraph. That is a very important word. Many times the vendor will just "list" every brand in an attempt to attract customers while actually selling just a single brand or two. This baiting and switching has always been a problem in this industry, exacerbated by manufacturer's policies that keep small, poorly performing vendors listed as active vendors for the product line for years without fear of being deleted.
How can you tell a vendor has a working knowledge of the Paragon kiln line?
Start with the basics. Look at the content of Paragon's website versus the vendor's website. For many "Internet" and "Catalog" companies the content of their websites may be an exact match of the Paragon website. Legally Paragon vendors are entitled to use of any published content from the Paragon website or catalog. And it is real easy to copy the work of others. Real Easy.
Now take a look at Dogwood Ceramic Supply's Paragon Kiln Catalog. Little of our content will match anything on the Paragon website. This is far more than a marketing effort. Most of the content of our Paragon Kiln Catalog was written by Dogwood Ceramic Supply based upon our working experience with various Paragon Kilns as well as customer feedback. The Paragon Information page was written by Dogwood Ceramic Supply for our website back in 2003. The basis of the Paragon Information page actually was a shorter version we had written for use in our showroom in 1996. By 1999 Paragon was adopting our showroom material for use in their product catalog to assist all customers.
Obviously customer feedback is important. We listen to our customers and in turn Paragon listens to us.
From customer feedback Dogwood Ceramic Supply is well aware that small kilns with a relatively low price are attractive to many customers. Some vendors are aware of that fact as well and are very eager to sell small kilns. Unfortunately, many of these small kilns really do not meet the needs of the customers, especially customers working with ceramics and pottery. Based upon customer feedback, we developed a small kiln comparison that discusses the key benefits and limitations of many small kilns in hopes of creating happy and informed consumers.
Now return to the competition's webpage. Manufacturer boiler plate descriptions. Listing every kiln rather than selecting the kilns appropriate to their customers. Lack of additional product information. Hmmm, sounds like the knowledge level is a little weak
What models of Paragon Kilns does Dogwood Ceramic Supply keep in stock?
All of them.
Ok, seriously, we keep the kilns that are most popular with our established local and regional customers that purchase kilns from our showroom. The front page of the Paragon Kiln Catalog has a photograph taken in the Dogwood Ceramic Supply Showroom. The next photograph is the stacks of crated kilns in our warehouse, including multiple copies of the kilns on display in our showroom.
Looking for something different? No problem, other kilns are readily available
for showroom pickup, shipment from the Dogwood warehouse or shipment from the
Paragon factory to the customer's location.
How many copies of each Paragon Kiln does Dogwood Ceramic Supply keep in stock?
Lots of them. Big kilns in a hurry is a common need for production studios so we
always try to have the key large kilns in stock in our warehouse in quantities
sufficient for just about any situation.
But, there are changes occurring.
In November 2006, Paragon added a plasma cutter to increase their production
capabilities. A second plasma cutter was added in 2007. Paragon added a third
Plasma Cutter at the end of 2009. High-capacity plasma cutters use electrically
charged, high temperature gas to cut through steel at a faster rate than the old
fashioned punch presses traditionally used by Paragon's competitors.
Those plasma cutters have significantly decreased the lead time getting
replacement kilns to Dogwood's warehouse. Most importantly the faster turn
around time is allowing Dogwood to stock a wider variety of kilns rather than a
deeper quantity of a single kiln. Take the hugely popular
Paragon TnF 27-3 as
example. There are 4 different 240v configurations of the TnF 27-3 that we
routinely sell through the showroom to local customers. In the past we would guess which single
variant would sell and keep 10-12 copies on hand to meet the needs of our
customers. Today we can stock all 4 different kiln configurations,
just 2-3 copies deep. Same total inventory quantity, but a broader selection
that results in better customer service for a wider range of customers. All
because the replacement inventory arrives faster. And the needs of our
production customers is easily met by the faster turn around on kiln orders.
The Internet Company says they got every kiln in stock.
Yea. And so do the Catalog Companies.
It is easy to claim "in stock". We have all heard it before. For some things "in
stock" really is true, except it is not always the complete truth. For example,
Paragon produces a number of small 120v kilns that have few if any options. The
Paragon newsletter to their distributors some time back announced that Paragon
had built up their inventory levels of those specific kilns and could now offer same
day or next day shipping on those kilns. Over the next few weeks after that
announcement we saw several dedicated internet kiln vendors update their websites and
claim "kiln in stock with same day shipping". Sounds good, except it is pretty
obvious that the stocking party is most likely the Paragon factory.
Some vendors really do stock kilns. Dogwood Ceramic Supply has kilns in
stock. Some of our competitors, including the Internet and Catalog Companies, actually
do stock some kilns. The reason that we, as a group, stock kilns is because
there is a customer expectation for products "in stock" and some customers truly
can not wait a few days to replace their dying kiln. However, the
Paragon kiln distributors that actually have kilns in warehouse stock provide a
very limited selection of the possible kiln models.
A limited selection? Yes. Look at a typical pottery kiln. USA customers can
purchase that kiln in either 208v and 240v configurations. Then add 1-phase or
3-phase to the mix. The kiln can predrilled for KilnVent or left plain, with AOP
or without. Of course there are thermocouple options. And that is
before we add the 480v and export models into the mix. The published Paragon
price list has roughly 100 "standard" kilns with another 30 or so kilns
that are not listed on the price list but are are listed on the main pages of
the Paragon website. Do the math. With the basic list of options and the various USA
electrical specifications there are roughly 2000 possible USA kiln
configurations. Factor in the export configurations, 480v option, AMP elements,
left-side mount control panels and the number of different kiln designs grows to
well over 10,000 configurations.
Surely nobody actually buys all those different configurations? Maybe not, but
what we do know is that the various
Paragon Dragons sold by Dogwood Ceramic
Supply between 2006 and 2007 had 6 different electrical specifications (208
1-phase, 208 3-phase, 240 1-phase, 240v 3-phase, 480v 3-phase and 220v export). Add in the various kiln options and some months not a single Dragon was
configured like another Dragon sold that month.
Beyond the catalog standard kilns, is the realm of
Custom Kilns. Often designed
by Dogwood Ceramic Supply, always based upon the needs of our customers, the
Custom Kilns utilize a basic Paragon design and enhance the kiln in a way that
few can imagine.
By the way, Paragon only stocks a few kilns, can anybody figure out why?
..
12590 Dedeaux Road
Gulfport Mississippi, 39503
Telephone (228) 831-4848 Fax (228) 831-3111
Showroom Business Hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday 10AM to 5PM
Thursday 1PM to 6PM
Closed Wednesday and Sunday
The Paragon kiln prices published on Dogwood Ceramic Supply's website are valid until at least December 31, 2011 and are available for all customers without restriction. Dogwood Ceramic Supply's discounted prices on Paragon kilns will NOT be lowered or raised at any time during the year