Submitted by: Gavin Bloom

Not too long ago it appeared that virtually all manufacturing here in the United States was dead. It seemed for a long while that all manufacturing had fled to cheaper climes, primarily China. As an example we will use the manufacturing of threaded inserts.

And, indeed, a large portion of American manufacturing has been lost to countries with lower labor costs, such as Mexico, India, and, most notably, China. But not all manufacturing.

It turns out that despite higher labor and materials costs, some types of specialized manufacturing are still best done right here in the U.S. for a variety of reasons.

One reason is quality control. Countries such as China have experienced a wide range of quality control issues in recent months. And if quality control issues are not detected until after a product has been shipped, then the consequences can be far-reaching and often costly. It is far easier to ensure quality over time at a plant in the U.S. than it is in a remote production facility.

Ease of communication is another factor. Some U.S. manufacturers who have moved operations overseas have discovered that they have lost valuable production time because instructions which seemed clear enough in English have not translated well. Even with a U.S. overseer onsite there can still be problems with communications which can mushroom over time. Communication is easier when workers speak the language to begin with or when the lines of communications are shorter.

And then there is the problem of copyright and trademark theft. No one likes to talk about this aspect of overseas manufacturing, but it is a fact of life. In some places theft is looked upon differently than it is here in the U.S. and often workers and even upper management in an off-shore production house dont understand what you are getting so hot under the collar about when a few shipments of product are redirected. Something as simple as a threaded insert can be patented and trademarked. Just as easily it can be infringed upon.

And even if there is no outright theft there is still the problem that when your patent or trademark expires, you have paid for and set up your competition. Production facilities are already in place to begin competition with you the day after your patents expire. This situation may not exist if you were to keep control of all production right here in the U.S.

Keep in mind, too, that when you commit all of your production resources overseas you are placing yourself and your company at the mercy of strikes or work slowdowns all along the pipeline. Even if your workers are prevented by government policy from striking in the country where your manufacturing takes place, there is no guarantee than port strikes or shipping strikes or weather problems will not delay the shipment of your products and cause you to miss delivery dates.

Naturally all of these concerns must be weighed against potential cost savings by setting up production overseas vs. paying U.S. labor costs. However, as fuel costs continue to rise, overseas labor costs will creep up and shipping costs may eventually cause many products to be cheaper to manufacture right here at home.

The point is, there are several factors which must be weighed carefully before making the commitment to ship production overseas. Many manufacturers are beginning to rethink their earlier decisions and are already starting to return all or a portion of their manufacturing plants to the U.S.

About the Author: Here is an example of a company that I recommend for manufacturing in the U.S.

Threaded Inserts

Source:

isnare.com

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