[NMC EXP]

It's more than an academic question for many company owners. Stan Donnelly, who owns Donnelly Custom Manufacturing Co. in Minnesota, is studying Mandarin in case he has to move his machines to China. Already, he buys molds from China to make his custom-designed plastic parts. To date, Mr. Donnelly has been able to keep production of those parts in the U.S. But as his customers increasingly demand lower prices, he wonders if he will one day need to move production to Asia as well.

Many experts believe that the pattern of past years will continue -- that low-skilled jobs making lower-value, mass-produced items will keep migrating to countries where labor is plentiful and cheap, while manufacturing in industrial nations, such as the U.S., Japan and Western Europe, will center on complex, value-added products and systems

The author of this article knows nothing about the production of plastic parts. In this example, the complex value added product is the mold which was made in China. Mold making is a labor intensive complex, tightly toleranced machining job.

On the other hand, once the mold is installed in a plastics injection molding machine the actual plastic part production operation consists of one operator babysitting several automated injection molding machines while the machines spit out finished parts. Load the injection molder hopper with plastic pellets, hit the start button, and walk away.

THe labor content on plastic parts is low so by conventional wisdom such operations would be the last to be shipped to low wage countries. However, moldmaking is a detailed and complex task the likes of which the author said would stay here.

Manufacturing is dead.

Want fries with that?

Regards

J.R.

[ninenot]

It is also rather shocking that the Minnesota molder let that mold design get to China. In about 2 years or less, he will find "his" product being sold here for 25 cents on the dollar.

Most American mfgrs who have set up shop in China have discovered that the Chinese are ready, willing, and able to steal their product and fabricate/sell it on their own.