Originally Posted by
MichaelW
To make good quality stuff in factories, you need a culture of quality, an understanding and appreciation of good stuff. It took the Japanese a while to re-learn but it was always part of their culture. This culture is the key to German manufacturing. We used to have it in the UK but it is all but lost. It means being taught by a guy who was taught by a guy who was a master-craftsman.
Chinese have had a poor tradition in recent decades and it will take them a while to re-learn but they will.
Giant has moved manufacturing back and forth between Taiwan and China and come across this issue.
The Chinese have all the culture of quality they need to produce what is needed for the markets they serve. You might consider that the Chinese are dominant in flat panel displays and highly competitive in things like integrated circuits and solar panels. These goods are far harder to produce than bicycles.
If bike companies go to China for bikes, they will get the level of quality they're willing to pay for. If they specify that they want product for the lowest possible cost, the factories will produce junk bikes for them. If the company specifies a level of quality typical of $1,000 bikes, they will get that from Chinese factories.
That isn't to say that all bike companies are equally good at identifying and working with Chinese partners to get the level of quality they desire at the price they want. Some companies will be better at playing that game than others. There may also be the equivalent of a bidding process that results in a company moving production back and forth between different factories in different countries.