Is Chinese Manufacturing Good For Aussie Business?

“Manufactured in China” seems to be a dirty phrase here in Australia, and it’s easy to see why. Past experiences have shown, when it’s made in China, the product isn’t up to Aussie standards—corners are cut, the product is cheapened and its longevity is questionable.

But James Fishburn, from Roo Attachments, wants Aussies to know Chinese-manufactured equipment is just as strong and long-lasting as equipment made in Aus. Especially when the material is sourced from one of Australia’s leading steel plate suppliers, Bisalloy.

“We’ve designed a lot of our attachments, taken on the feedback from clientele over the years, and are always looking at how we can add value to a product… Our biggest advantage is we’re in partnership with ‘Bisalloy’ good, true Australian steel.” James told Machines4U.

Advantages of Chinese Manufacturing

And the fact Roo Attachments oversee all their overseas manufacturing means stringent quality control is in place. James told Machines4U the advantages of Chinese manufacturing and how they are passed onto hard-working Aussie customers.

“Given that we are manufactured in China, we can look at the labour content. And because it’s cheaper, it means we can use a bit more material, and make things a bit heavier and stronger without raising our market price,” said James.

Advantages include:

• Cheaper to buy
• Cost savings are invested into making the product better
• Because the product is better, it lasts longer
• Allows Roo Attachments to sell direct to customers

Always Keeping Customers In Mind

James has built his business to always deal direct with his customers.

“We’re totally vertically integrated, we said no more middle man—let’s just go direct to the end user. So we manufacture direct to the end user and that’s our plan to market. That means we have to carry a lot of stock in Australia which is fine, and if anything has to be custom built, generally 4-8 week lead time.

We’ve found customers are willing to wait if they can have a significant saving. Once they have our product, they know our quality is good and they know our brand, so they are happy to wait.”

We asked James where he believes the future of attachment manufacturing is going.

“I think the future of innovation is making things lighter and stronger. So changing the materials, going from more of a sub-standard cheaper material that’s heavier that they make thicker so it can last, to lightening the product right back but then using a better-grade material, so that you get the same life but a lot lighter attachment, so that it saves you money on fuel, swing time and wear and tear on the machine.”

What do you think about Chinese-manufactured earthmoving equipment? Let us know below!

Check out excavator attachments here, or wheel loader attachments here.