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Re: Neon suppliers
Posted By: SVP Neon Equipment In Response To: Re: Neon suppliers (Gavin)
Date: Wednesday, 11 April 2007, at 1:47 p.m.
...snip...
> Go down the route that some
> have here in reply of cheap crap glass from
> China with Chinese electrodes and we dig a
> bigger hole....snip...
I agree with most of your comments, except this one. Chinese products are no different than products from any other country - including the U.S. and Australia. There are good products and "crap" coming out of China. We used to hear all the same things about Mexico. But now China has the spotlight for the time being.
A few examples regarding products made in various countries:
1) Toyota is leading the automotive industry in quality vs. cost of product. They continue to take market share away from U.S. auto makers. Chrysler is for sale (again) and Ford and GM and struggling to stay afloat while Toyota prospers. Problem is, a lot of Toyota's are made in the U.S. now. So what's the problem? Management and attitude IMO.
2) When Honda started making motor cycles in the U.S. they would not hire anyone with prior experience in the job that person was applying for. Why? Because the applicant had previously worked for another (U.S.) manufacturer and did not meet Honda's manufacturing quality standards. Honda wanted to train workers from scratch so the work would be done how Honda wanted it done, not how the person previously did it. And the workers that were hired and trained were paid as much if not more than their counterparts at other vehicle manufacturing plants in the U.S., so it had nothing to do with low wages.
3) Out of curiosity I purchased some Chinese made Swagelok-type stainless steel fittings at a fraction of the cost of the genuine Swagelok pieces. I examined them closely and compared them to the Swagelok equivalent - even using a magnifying glass and micrometer at times - and found them to be every bit as good as the over-priced Swagelok pieces. If the Chinese pieces would have had "Swagelok" stamped on them, I would not have known the difference.
4) The much touted "Light Years Ahead" Eurocom/Neon Products electrodes are made in Brazil. I have been told by an importer that Brazilian wages and working conditions are sometimes worse than the often criticized Chinese wages and working conditions. So why is it no one ever trashes the South Americans? I dare to bet that if there were a lot of South American products coming into the U.S. we would be trashing them too.
(Side note regarding Eurocom: How much do you think they pay for those Brazilian made electrodes? Certainly no more than what the Chinese equivalents cost. So why are they charging all their loyal customers so much more for them?)
As many know, we are now selling electrodes made in China. There are 3 or 4 electrode manufacturers in China - perhaps more. Some do not make what I would consider a good quality electrode. But there are others who do make a good quality electrode. In fact, in some respects they are better quality than what U.S. and Brazilian (by way of Germany) manufacturers produce. This is not just my opinion: It can easily be proven.
(Side note regarding Chinese electrodes: The new Transco Novaglo electrodes are also made in China. But it is my understanding that most Transco distributors charge more for them than what the Masonlite electrodes used to sell for. Go figure...)
Every industrialized country produces good quality products as well as "crap". A lot, if not most of it, has to do with economics. I'm not talking about wages - that's a relative thing. I'm talking about what a buyer is willing to pay for. Want a better quality product? They will make it for you if you are willing to pay a little more to get it. Usually Americans are not. We want the lowest price we can get, but are the first ones to bitch when our low dollar product failed because it was cheaply made. We have been Wal-Mart-ized. Wal-Mart dictates what they are willing to pay manufactures for products. Consequently, they usually get the cheapest made products from *any* country, not just China. In this situation, if Wal-Mart was willing to pay a little more money for a given product they would be able to offer a better quality product to the consumer and the situation would improve. But that is not the case.
Where SVP is concerned, we could buy Chinese electrodes at a cheaper price from a different manufacture. But they would not be as good a quality as what we are offering.
Mark
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