ARE ALL PRODUCTS MADE IN CHINA, MADE WELL?

Gordon,

Thanks for the lesson.

Here's something interesting...

There is a mobile crane in Australia we call a Franna



As you can see, it is Articulated in the middle - like a front end loader or a construction site dump truck.

These cranes are an Awesome piece of gear. The one pictured can pick up 20T. That's 20,000kg or 44,000lbs. So not only do they have good capacity for a little crane, they can carry the load. So if you need that 6T thing taken from one part of your construction site to the other, this baby will do it for you, as ease.

They also come in 25T and 15T and are made in Australia by Terex http://esvc000092.wic028u.server-web.com/

Anyway. There is a Chinese made version. Made by Zoomlion - they also make Slew cranes.

A 20T Franna made by Terex is around $400k and there is a 2 year waiting list - a 25T costs up to $80k more and has a 3 year waiting list.

The Zoomlion is kinda available now. But they aren't making any sales. And for a few reasons...

Their quality is not there. Look at a Terex crane and its a Solid beast. Stable.

The Zoomlion Looks cheap and about to fall apart.

Features. The Terex crane is made a Operator Friendly as possible. Automated as much as possible. Such as the operator not needing to let any wire rope out as the boom telescopes out. The same cannot be said about the Zoomlion. One example of many. But any Extra work the operator needs to do just for a basic function, means another thing to distract them from the more vital parts of lifting the load correctly.

Unknown. People know and Trust Terex. Zoomlion is unproven. And as word spreads quick in the industry... they sold two and both have been returned for a refund... they are unlikely to dent the sales of Terex.

Now. What is additionally interesting is... Terex actually makes a Chinese Made Franna. It is made to Chinese standards in China for the Chinese market - not for export into Australia, nor will there be export into Australia any time soon. Because. the Chinese just don't have the same quality of workmanship as Australian tradesmen.

Even if Terex can somehow get the crane to Pass to Australian Standards, the quality of workmanship is not there. And when someone pays $400k+ for a crane, they want to feel they are getting quality.

Onward.

There Was a construction boot maker in Australia called Blundstone http://www.blundstone.com and they Used to make their boots in the state of Tasmania. But recently they decided to have their boots made in an Asian country. And while only 600 workers were suddenly on the prowl for another job, the reaction from within the Market was ferocious.

There were calls across the market to boycott the brand. A brand which uses the Australian Owned moniker to generate sales, while being made overseas. http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegrap...43-462,00.html

I will say that Blundstone probably did lose some sales over it. But how much I couldn't say, and I don't think they are too worried as their move to offshore manufacturing was so they could compete globally.

As for China's quality. I think back a decade or two to Japan. When Made In Japan was synonymous with Cheap 7 Nasty. But things change. And I am sure things will change with China too. As they improve - and - focus is moved away from the sloppy things they make.

Besides. The Made in USA and Made in Aust idea, has been a bit of a mine field in itself.

Aust Owned Co (but made completely overseas). Made in Aust (from imported materials). Aust Owned and Made (but still made from imported materials).

If what I am buying is the Same Quality, I don't care where it is made. Either way local jobs are still utilized to make the sale, transport the items, etc. After all, not all locally made items are the bees knees. They can be just as shoddy as any product made overseas.

First it was migrants taking the jobs. Then it was robots. Then it was computers. Then cheap imported labor. Now it's China. And yet through it all, the unemployment rate doesn't escalate out of the norms of economic factors within the country. Meaning, those so-called lost jobs are compensated by newly created jobs elsewhere, in the same and different industries.

After all this, the answer to your question is this... no, not all products made in China are made well. Not all products in the USA or Australia are made well. Not everything that comes out of Germany is made well. And some products from all those nations mentioned are of excellent quality. Horses for courses really.

Michael Ross

P.S. Like Pete, I too thought Harvey Brody sold pistol grips for spray cans.