Getting Better
WHEN I WAS A KID in the late 1950s, if a toy was stamped ���Made in Japan,��� it meant it was cheap and poorly made. A decade or so later, that label began to mean something entirely different: If you wanted a top-notch TV, you were considering a Sony. If you were shopping for the most reliable car, Toyota, Datsun (later renamed Nissan) and Honda were on your list.
There���s a parallel today with China, and it became obvious to me via two hobbies: collecting pocketknives and collecting flashlights. As recently as a few years ago, pocketknives made in China were usually cheap and of inferior quality. But that began to change. Now, there are Chinese manufacturers producing first-class knives���with first-class price tags to match.
Ditto for flashlights. Almost two decades ago, flashlights using an LED emitter���instead of an incandescent bulb���appeared on the scene. From the beginning, Chinese manufacturers led the market in LED flashlights. Several companies, such as Fenix, Nitecore and Olight, quickly emerged, producing innovative and high-quality lights at very reasonable prices.
Today, while there are still a few U.S.-based flashlight manufacturers, the LED flashlight market is completely dominated by Chinese companies, with literally dozens putting out high-quality and cutting-edge products. They offer incredible bang for the buck: I have numerous excellent Chinese-made lights that cost me under $30 and a few even under $20. Several of those I���ve ordered directly from the manufacturer in China, or else from Ali Express���the Amazon of China���with no-hassle China-to-Texas delivery in about three weeks.
The current ascendancy���and even domination���of manufacturing by China is no surprise to anyone who isn���t living under a rock. But my two little hobbies have brought home to me in a microcosmic and very personal way this simple truth: China will be the manufacturing force-to-contend-with for decades to come���one increasingly respected for producing top-quality goods.
There���s a parallel today with China, and it became obvious to me via two hobbies: collecting pocketknives and collecting flashlights. As recently as a few years ago, pocketknives made in China were usually cheap and of inferior quality. But that began to change. Now, there are Chinese manufacturers producing first-class knives���with first-class price tags to match.
Ditto for flashlights. Almost two decades ago, flashlights using an LED emitter���instead of an incandescent bulb���appeared on the scene. From the beginning, Chinese manufacturers led the market in LED flashlights. Several companies, such as Fenix, Nitecore and Olight, quickly emerged, producing innovative and high-quality lights at very reasonable prices.
Today, while there are still a few U.S.-based flashlight manufacturers, the LED flashlight market is completely dominated by Chinese companies, with literally dozens putting out high-quality and cutting-edge products. They offer incredible bang for the buck: I have numerous excellent Chinese-made lights that cost me under $30 and a few even under $20. Several of those I���ve ordered directly from the manufacturer in China, or else from Ali Express���the Amazon of China���with no-hassle China-to-Texas delivery in about three weeks.
The current ascendancy���and even domination���of manufacturing by China is no surprise to anyone who isn���t living under a rock. But my two little hobbies have brought home to me in a microcosmic and very personal way this simple truth: China will be the manufacturing force-to-contend-with for decades to come���one increasingly respected for producing top-quality goods.
The post Getting Better appeared first on HumbleDollar.
No comments have been added yet.
