China catching up in the quality stakes
The quality of equipment manufactured in China will start to rival the best in the world, making China an increasingly attractive base for manufacturing new products, according to Ross Grassick, General Manager of Lencrow Group – one of Australia’s largest suppliers of materials handling equipment.

“China is not far off the world standard when it comes to the quality of equipment that is being produced – the increase in quality is moving at a much faster rate compared to other countries that have emerged as manufacturing giants in the past, such as Japan.

“The days of seeing China as a place to produce large volumes of goods cheaply, whilst sacrificing quality, will become a thing of the past.

“Unlike other markets, manufacturers in China are good at taking advice from their Australian counterparts, which means they take on board the specific needs of off-shore markets rather than producing non-tailored generic equipment for use all over the world,” said Grassick.

Lencrow Group distributes a range of materials handling products that are manufactured in China, and Ross Grassick’s comments follow his recent visit to the country and its manufacturing plants.

“Their approach means that equipment can be specifically built to suit the Australian environment without Australian suppliers having to inject additional capital to make local modifications to products, which can be a significant cost burden on local business.

“Australia stands to benefit greatly from the future potential in China because it means we can manufacture products for Australian conditions, while still benefiting from the cost savings of manufacturing in Asia.

“There are obviously some long term risks with China also, namely the ‘joint-venture’ connection between business and government in the region. It’s something to be wary of, but it is a manageable risk,” said Grassick.

Lencrow Group is one of Australia’s largest materials handling companies specialising in the supply of pedestrian and ride-on pallet jacks, forklifts and tailgates, as well as providing a wide range of support services including training and maintenance.

***
Released for Lencrow Group by Dennis Rutzou Public Relations.
For further information please call David Lizzio
or Dennis Rutzou on (02) 9413 4244.