swages onto rod

[Robbie.g]

Went to check over a boat today, usual wire swages/fittings but all had rod inplace of wire, never seen it before today ... Rigging was 8-10 yrs old from the USA. Have i missed something?? [wire swages on rod]. Maybe my sphere of experience is smaller than i thought.
Just looking for your thoughts/2 cents worth... or please educate me. I've only ever seen the navtec style fittings (or very similar).