Thread: Good Kiwi buggers making stuff.

Originally Posted by res

You can get a Chinese company to stick to a standard, but it takes having someone checking on them constantly (this makes up about 1/3 of my work) and most western companies don't do this as they don't understand china. The other issue is that you contract with company A who shows you samples that meet std but when it comes time to actually make the production run they subcontract the work out to companies who can't/won't meet that std. This is often when I get called in, when the western company should have sent someone to check the factory before doing the big order as often it obvious they are just prototype fabricators when you visit them.

China is a cunt of a place to do business, well worth paying a little more to get something made on Taiwan if practical

Yes, regular 'check ups' are required to maintain quality. The outfit I have been working with over there produces high quality items and have a good workforce who are well looked after, but I still have a language barrier and Chinese way of thinking to overcome. On my visits I have been able to see items in production and have been able to make changes on the spot, with the result that the final product is very good in both materials and workmanship. If you relied on an internet order with no ability to actually check the production then you are doomed to accept what they give you.