China vs Taiwan?

[KGMtech]

Approximately 67% of the worlds threaded fasteners originate from Taiwan. Taiwan is the worlds leader in high volume fastener production.

Many suppliers source their fasteners from Taiwan, then do sorting / plating operations locally and then call the end product theirs.

The quality is there. Mainland China is not in the same league compared to Taiwan for many aspects of fasteners.

 

[HerrStig]

Taiwan makes good quality electronics.

 

[y_p_w]

It really depends on what you're buying. It's still possible to get junk made in Taiwan, but over the years whatever is manufactured there tends to be in the higher end of manufacturing. There was a time when "made in Korea" and "made in Taiwan" typically meant inexpensive items with great value, but may not be of the highest quality. Right now Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) is the largest semiconductor "foundry" in the world and you're probably using electronics right now that contain parts that they manufactured.

And the Taiwanese companies doing their manufacturing in China do a great job at it. These are companies like ASUS, Foxconn, and Quanta. The issue is that they run an extremely tight ship - almost dictatorial in how they run their business. I remember a few years ago Family Guy had bit where they were talking about getting someone to run a business, and the gag was of a female Taiwanese factory manager coming there holding a stick to enforce the rules.

 

[Alfred_B]

In China they consider Taiwanese products of superior quality to Chinese products. The prices reflect that.

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: Al
Same true of japan 50 years ago..what's your point?


My point is that I'm very skeptical of quality when something is either made in China or Taiwan. If it's an electronic item, it's probably OK. If it's hardware or tools, I take my time looking it over before I buy it. If there's a high quality U.S. made version available, I'll most likely go that route.

 

[oldmaninsc]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: rubberchicken
Back in the 1980's ? you mean 30 years ago ? Nothing can change in 30 years.


That wasn't 30 years ago was it ?

30 years ago wasn't in the 80's? What math are you using? According to my really old math, 30 years ago was 1987.

I agree with rubberchicken. Things change over the years. Look how often things like favorite filters and oils have changed here on this forum. One day Purolator filters are the best for the price, next you know they are next to junk.

When I was much younger in the 50's and 60's, Taiwan tools were pretty much junk. You bought them at places like K-Mart, and other cheap department or discount stores.

I don't buy that many tools these days, but when I do I usually try to buy American made ones also. But if I had to choose between the two (Taiwan or China) I would examine both first but I would have no problem buying a tool from Taiwan.

 

[PandaBear]

The golden rule #1: you get what you pay for.
The golden rule #2: you cannot afford to make [censored] if you are paid more than the lowest.

The standard of living in Taiwan is now on par with Korea and Japan (well, some area of Japan), so they cannot afford to make junk. They get to their payscale by making higher end stuff than junk. Your semiconductors chips are most likely made there, the guys that run the Chinese factories most likely started their careers in Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, or Japan before they jump the fence for a pay raise to teach the Chinese how to build stuff. The same for Japan and S Korea, they all start making junks before they become good at it and earned the trust to build better stuff.

I was in Taiwan a few months ago for a factory visit, and the OEM told me that their factories in China are getting expensive that they started moving them back to Taiwan. This is likely because they are starting to make better stuff that pays more, also because a lot of Taiwanese went to China for their new high tech boom. The Chinese want to build better stuff and will pay big bucks to recruit with high pay. The same as US willing to recruit all over the world for ridiculously high salary.

In the last few years I'm starting to see the junks production leaving China and entering Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and India. Chinese labor is getting expensive for those $3 toddler clothes.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: Or


Yeah, it was.

And he's right. But the argument is off-base.

In the 70 years since the end of the Chinese civil war, Taiwan has become a modern, integrated part of the Asian posperity sphere WWII created - Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan, and the inner rim of protected Tiger countries that could skate on the fact those other countries and the US were providing containment of the totalitarian bugbear.

If you are old and fusty, Taiwan may seem a quaint thing. But it's still a real place for the front lines of the still running ideological wars. And real they are.


The "war" is now more of a political influence and economical one than a live ammo one.

My side and my wife's side of families lived on the opposite side of the strait, the front line. Dad told me he had an aunt that lost her home to an air raid in the 50s, bombing near a barrack went off to the homes nearby. My father in law told me he was patrolling an island on the front line and got bombed on every other day in the trench, and found dead soldiers on the beach with an ear missing.

These days the "front lines" are tourist attractions selling souvenir knives made from Soviet mortar shells, the best steel civilians can get their hands on.

 

[rubberchicken]

Originally Posted By: Vuflanovsky
Originally Posted By: StevieC
I don't think it matters today, I think it's how well the company controls the quality. I order a lot of stuff off Ali-Express and it comes from all over that area and I have had good and bad from everywhere. Plus most of the worlds products are manufactured there with a wide range of quality from precision to terrible.


+1

If the world is made in China ( and it is ) you can bet that there are varying degrees of quality along with manufacturing and managerial oversight.

In automotive terms, I don't think much of Nankang tires (Taiwan) but I own a set of Hankooks that were PRC-made and probably the best wearing, problem-free tires I've had in the last 30 years. Is that Hankook, Chinese management, or supplied production equipment and processes making them that way?? My old, top-of-the-line Pearl drum kit is made in Taiwan and it's as good or better than the Japanese production while many similar products out of Taiwan tend to be budget versions.

Personally, I wouldn't use Harbor Freight products as a petrie dish for how good "Chinese manufacturing" is if the equivalent Chinese-made product that's better made and costs more is sold nationally in other chains. HF products are usually ( not always ) made to a price point and are much of the time not a reflection of bang for the buck quality vs. cheapened functionality. Having said that, I've bought some great things at HF that lasted just fine.


I have no idea what country your Hankook tires were actually made, but Hankook itself is a S Korean company. So the factory was probably built with Korean mgmt, and it probably still has Korean mgmt on site. I personally would trust a Korean companies quality more than a pure Chinese company.