Thoughts on Made in America/Canada vs. Overseas

[venodanz33]

Hey guys,

 

I just wanted to know what you guys think about made in America/Canada vs overseas. I know that it's more likely to be better quality when made domestically, but I would think companies such as Milwaukee would still have good quality products even if made overseas since they have a 5 year warranty. 

 

In the case similar to Milwaukee (where companies have good warranties), I would rather have the products made overseas since it would be a lot cheaper for us (the consumer). 

 

But looking at it from the economy viewpoint, I obviously would rather have them make it domestically since there'd be more jobs which equals a better economy. 

 

What are your thoughts on this topic?

 

-venodanz33

[Nordraw]

They should all be made in the USA. Should be a heavy fee for imports. That would make the prices even out, and make US companies think twice about going overseas. This ship has already sailed though I'm afraid and you can't as they say, put that toothpaste back in the tube. It is American companies that are making these greedy choices. Sorry as that is to say.

[Conductor562]

American/Canadian made is always preferred and is damn near a requirement for hand tools.

 

Many european brands are very close to high end American brands in terms of quality. I have no objections to them.

 

As for Asian tools, Taiwan has gotten pretty good at making them. In most cases they produce nice quality tools, in state of the art facilities, with employees who are paid a decent wage.

 

China…well, China still sucks. They're getting better, but the quality control is still nowhere near the others. The key word there is "control". Is China capable of producing decent stuff? yes, but you're way more likely to get a dud that you have to fool with returning and shit. They're also made by practical slaves who are paid pennies on the hour, couldn't give 2 shits or a fuck less about quality, and are housed in compounds with suicide prevention measures, and a real need for them.

 

Unfortunately there aren't a lot of alternatives as it pertains to power tools. Dewalt is assembling some of their power tools in the USA again. I'd love to see them being made here, but it's better than nothing.

[ChrisK]

What Conductor says!

If possible, I always buy American. If I spend a couple of more bucks that's okay with me. I know there is Q&C with American / Canadian / European producers. And certainly China is getting better in the production arena. Milwaukee produces many power tools in China with "strict guidelines" but if be happier knowing they were made here. No poisonous paints or plastics Laborers that are paid properly etc. Those are important to me. I, like ALL Americans, have Chinese made things in my home. I'm blasting away right now on my iPhone 6+ which was made in China. Sometimes it doesn't matter what you want, you just have to settle with the fact that you can't buy it all here like you could many years ago. But...I just spent a bone and a half on an American made plane and probably could've gotten a Chinese made plane for a tenth of the price. I am happy to know that tool will last me my whole life and a dude in Maine, using American materials, made it!

[comp56]

not sure what the laws are now but years ago while working I have come across a few different times where I would see orders come for XXX parts and YYY parts ....so long story short we would make these said parts and ship em off........then later find out they were put together as a new piece of machinery with a STAMP "Made in Germany" WTF we made these things they only added a servo or power button but got to put Made in stamp.......

 

Note: Germany was just an example they were many different countries over the years......

[khariV]

I prefer made in USA to be stamped on my hand tools whenever possible.  I don't mind the German brands - Knipex and NWS make some fine quality tools.

 

Now, as to the bigger picture - protectionist trade tariffs don't work; they never have.  There are always ways around the rules, i.e. importing mostly assembled components and screwing them together locally.  Not only that, but if we raise import taxes, others will raise import taxes on OUR goods and US jobs will be lost and big business will make sure their congressman hears about that.

 

The other problem is that, as Americans, we're pretty much universally addicted to things that are super cheap, thinking that getting something that's crap for next to nothing is better than paying more and having it last.  This is how Wal-Mart took over and drove all of the mom and pop stores out of business across America.  At the same time everyone was bitching about US jobs being lost and stores closing, they were all going to Sam's club to buy 3 gallons of pickles and 75 rolls of toilet paper, and cheap, plastic crap that was made in China.

 

I'll get off of my soapbox now, but that's basically how I see things going down.

[Hugh Jass]

I pay absolutely no mind to where things are manufactured, as mentioned above it's way too late for that. There's so much smoke and mirrors even half of the crap out there "made in america"  (aka M.I.A, as in missing in action) was made somewhere else and assembled here anyhow. 

 

Take my Harley for instance. What's more american than a HD? Well...most things, probably. Even my motor was developed by Porsche...almost all the bolts I've ever touched on it are metric. 

 

However that said, I'm brand loyal. When I have good experiences with a brand they get my money, what do I care if it goes from one billion dollar company to another. My 3K a year tool expenditure is hardly going to make a difference while this country slowly turns to crap over horrible policy pumped out by decades of junk elected officials. 

 

As for quality, I've had plenty of crap American tools too, not really interested in wasting my money here, there, or anywhere for that matter. 

[Poisonfangs85]

I enjoy good quality, made in 'MERICA, small business, and I try to support it when I can. It's sad these days how far you have to go out of your way to try and support our country.

[DR99]

I think that some of the premium tool lines could be make here with very little increase in cost to the customers China isn't the cheap labor source anymore like it used to be. Also like conductor mentioned unless you run your own plants with your own people doing quality control things can get really really bad fast. It is nice to see Dewalt make tools here though. Milwaukee has expanded their manufacturing in the USA also the past few years. The only thing is they are only making high margin consumables that can be made with a bunch of automation.

[DamianD]

I personally like to stay away from "made in china" but we all know thats not as easy as it sounds.  Sometimes I buy things I think are made in the US, only to find out they got bought out or are now manufactured in china.  

 

I mean, I dont have a real issue with it...  As long as the quality is there, it doesnt really matter where its made.  But thats the problem, stuff made in china doesnt always have the best quality control.

[NERemodeling]

I really just prefer good quality tools.. when I purchase a tool that I know I will use often I want it to work well, be a joy for me to use and I new want to be proud of it.. usually those things don't mix well with made in china. I do like supporting America or any quality company for that matter but like many have said already it's nearly impossible to avoid china..

on the contrary, i think that just because something is made in China doesn't mean it's poor quality. When a manufacturer owns their own factory in China and has complete control over the process and the quality control then I think high quality items can be made there.. it's when parts are made by subcontracted companies for the lowest price and they have very poor quality control measures in place That you get the junk

[Conductor562]

DR is right. The cost of living in China is increasing rapidly and we'll soon see an increase in Chinese made goods as a result. There are certain items we can compete with on production costs and certain items we cannot, largely due to environmental policy.

India will be the new China. India is rapidly developing and will soon have the infrastructure to become a global player. Taiwan will get a pretty deserved reputation for quality, China will be the new Taiwan, and India will be the new China. Trust me, it's coming

[BK13]

My feelings: given the choice, I will buy American first, German or Austrian a VERY close second, Canadian third, then the rest of Europe. I have no problem with Taiwan if my first choices aren't available. I will buy China if no other choices are available.

 

Example: I recently needed some pliers/cutters NOW (so no ordering NWS or Knipex). I was going by HD, so I could have bought Milwaukee (PRC) or the Channellocks (USA) I ended up buying. I suppose I could have wandered over to the Electrician's section and bought Klein, but since I was just cutting the ends off zip-ties, I didn't think I needed that level of quality.

[WigWagWorkshop]

I think we will start seeing a lot more "assembly" coming back to the USA. China, is not the cheap source of labor it use to be from what I been reading. However, I do believe they will be a supplier of the parts, has they been building some amazing state-of-art part factories. Even tech companies like Apple, are bringing back assembly plants back to the USA.

-Steven

[Raidersfan438]

American all the way. It's getting harder and harder to find companies that are %100 us made. But with that said there's are some companies doing it the right way. I'm a big fan of SK tools and I'm very happy that the came out with the new x frame ratcheting wrench. It's completely awesome!