yeah.. you're right, i'm not sure either. under "contact" on their website they have both a US and Taiwan office. i may have assumed incorrectly. my personal belief that is if your company name contains "american," it should be an american product and anything different is unpatriotic. i'll skip the novatec's, but thanks for the mention. i might get the american classic's just because they're exactly what i need. else i'd get a phil wood.