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I think what you'll find is, Tica indeed was an OEM manufacturer for Shimano. From what I've been told over my internet life, many Shimanos that were sold on the Asian mainland were actually built by OEM manufacturers--including Tica---in China, Maylasia and other East Asian countries. Guys were saying for years that you could pick up "Asian Market" Calcuttas and Sustains in places like Hong Kong and Singapore for a fraction of their US retail. Shimano apparently made only their top-line reels for the domestic japanese and western markets in Japan. Labor costs in China and Maylasia aren't nearly as high as those in Japan.
The gears were mis-aligned in the first Taurus 6000 I got from SOL. Tim swapped the reel body for a new 5000 body he had (the reels are identical except for the larger spool on the 6000) and sent the original back to Tica-USA for a replacement. The new reel body has been fine
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