Made In China sticker on my new Bendpak lift

[jcs_in_ky]

Yesterday I went to the Yellow Freight terminal to pick my new BendPak XPR-10CX lift up. I got back late and didn't get to unload it until this morning. When I pulled the shrink wrap and cardboard off I found a "Made In China" sticker on the bottom of one of the post base plates. When I ordered this lift I was assured that it was made in the U.S., "just like all of the Bendpak products". I think everyone has pretty much known for a while now that at least some of their stuff is imported. It's too bad Bendpak can't be honest about it when asked, especially when they ship it out with a Made in China sticker on it.

 

[WolverineCoatings]

I'd send it back!

Years ago when I was Senior Chemist for Trimite Powders I formulated the chemical resistant coatings for Rotary Lift. They all seemed like good people... but... that was probably 15 years ago. For all know, they sold out to their greed and cheap Chineese goods too.

Is there an American made lift?

 

[jay50]

"Made in China"....ah...Bendpaks dirty little secret that they don't like for you to find out about until your lift is delivered. Others have posted about the same evasive double talk from them when they have inquired about the location of manufacture.
For the price they get for their lifts, it should have been made in the USA to support our manufacturing base.

Just another company that has sold out for cheap labor. Shame on Bendpak.

 

[BooUrns!]

What do you find more disturbing? That they have them made in China or that they charge as much as they did when they were made in the US?

 

[jcs_in_ky]

What I find most disturbing is that they won't be honest (even when directly asked if they are imported) about where they manufacture their products.

 

[ron in sc]

Maybe just the steel was made in China. The hydraulic pump and motor may have been made in the USA.

When concerned about Chinesse stuff. You need to ask in writing where the specific compenents you are concerned about are manufactured; like steel for lift, electric motor, hydraulic pump. Also ask where the parts are assembled. Now they might say the electric motor is made in the USA but were the parts for the motor made here or was the motor made here with imported parts.

My way of dealing with problem is buy from a large company and use one of their factory authorized installers who has a good reputation for taking care of their customers. In my case that meant a Rotary lift installed by the same company that has the contract for the BMW plant in Greer, SC. This same installer came highly recommended by a member of a car webforum on another boad I visit.

 

[SteveU]

Is there an American made lift?

Here's one:
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk54/SteveU_/FamilyPhotos0506558.jpg

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk54/SteveU_/FamilyPhotos0506561.jpg

 

[shocksystems]

It is a shame if Bendpak was not honest about where their product was manufactured. I hope they comment here on this issue.

In regards to manufacturing overseas versus domestic I think the topic is becoming increasingly less relevant. That is because many manufactured products are sourced from parts and have components made from multiple sources.

I think this Boeing graphics is a great example:

Having said that, there is clearly an issue with Chinese manufacturing quality. Of course the same was true of Japanese manufacturing quality before their quality improved. What I mean is, I believe that a good product can be made or sourced with Chinese components, and some are.

The sad truth is that domestic manufacturers that use 100% US components are a dying breed. We can cheer them on, but only a niche fraction will survive. Successful companies are trying to find ways to mix offshore manufacturing yet still maintain quality, while at the same time saving some jobs and profits here in the US.

I think a company that sticks to 100% US manufacturing components and labor and closes their doors because they could not beat the competition (no US jobs remaining) is not better than a company that faced the reality of our global economy and uses global sources as part of their supply chain and retains US employment and profits.

Cheers!

Jim

 

[SteveU]

What do you find more disturbing? That they have them made in China or that they charge as much as they did when they were made in the US?

What bothers me the most about any product (not just lifts) is the greed involved that they charge the same price as when it was made here. Meanwhile you have people here put out of a job, doesn't help the consumer, just makes 'investors' more money. I am not against anyone making money, just against the methods used to put the screws to 1. the people who USED TO make them. 2. the people who still have to pay regular price 3. the people in a 3d world nation (soon to be US) having to work with no protections/benefits for almost next to nothing so that a select few fat cats can be billionaires.

 

[FunfDreisig]

...In regards to manufacturing overseas versus domestic I think the topic is becoming increasingly less relevant. That is because many manufactured products are sourced from parts and have components made from multiple sources.

I think this Boeing graphics is a great example:

....

Hmmm... Do you suppose all those parts fit together real snug?

Maybe what we need is color coded parts based on the country of origin. It may not be pretty but at least we'd know where each bit was made

Funf Dreisig

 

[SteveU]

Hmmm... Do you suppose all those parts fit together real snug?

Maybe what we need is color coded parts based on the country of origin. It may not be pretty but at least we'd know where each bit was made

Funf Dreisig

Welcome to rainbow airways

 

[Flatmotor]

What I find most disturbing is that they won't be honest (even when directly asked if they are imported) about where they manufacture their products.

I agree 100%. I guess it will come down to the actual quality of your lift. I have narrowed my choices down to the HD-9 or the Pro-park-9 which Gregg Smith openly says that it is made in china. Maybe one good thing will come of the high fuel prices, is that it might bring some manufacturing back to the US. Bill

 

[jay50]

jcs, if I were you,I would call Bendpak and tell them they sent you the wrong lift; you ordered one made in USA and the one they sent is from China. Let them know you are going to contest the purchase with your CC company based on fraud; Bendpak sales represented the lift as being made in USA when they clearly knew it was not. Have Bendpak pick up the lift at their expense.

 

[Matti]

I'm curious to see what the price would be on an entirely made in USA lift would really be. We might well say China made is fine. When I was in the pump business a client wanted the made in USA price and not the made in Korea price. These were engineered custom built pumps. It was 3 times the price.

 

[chevelless1]

shim as required

 

[jimvannoy]

It's probably made out of 60's muscle cars that got crushed and sent to China......

 

[Lloydthumper]

Just to through another fact in it was shown that a toyota tundra pickup has more domestic US parts in it than a Ford F150 by a couple percent go figuare.

 

[jay50]

It's probably made out of 60's muscle cars that got crushed and sent to China......

Not exactly. China is the biggest buyer of old ships from around the world. I bet your lift was made from salvage steel from an old WW2 vessle.

Well, you got to give those Chinese credit for recycling; they're "greenies" in a big way.....

 

[jcs_in_ky]

Last year we took several old cast iron bath tubs to the scrap yard, you never know I may have just gotten them back in another form!

The pump on the Bendpak lifts is the only thing that is marked made in the USA. It will be interesting because once they finally do get around to getting these ALI/ETL approved they have to list the country of origin on the dataplate.

I'm sure the steel from most lifts that are made in the US as well as just about any other product made here comes from Asia, or possibly Canada. It's not marked the way this was though, and wouldn't have a made in China sticker on top of the paint. It makes sense that their lifts are manufactured in China. I think that's the reason they ship these lifts out to people with ladders that have studs that aren't long enough or the alignment issues some people have had with some of their HD09s. They most likely pack these things up in China, send them over here and ship them to customers without ever inspecting them in Santa Paula. If that's the case they don't know what lifts have the wrong parts until the consumer contacts them after receiving it.

It will be interesting to see what JSK has to say about all of this. I hope he will respond when he returns from vacation. Hopefully Bendpak can start being more honest with it's customers as to where their products are made. I know lots of things are made in China, some much better quality than others but the majority of the companies do not try to hide or at the very least be very vague about the country their product was manufactured in.
John

 

[jimval]

This further validates that the Bend Pak Certified Lifts are not made off shore...

Hmmm, where is "Junkman" now. Here we have a bendpak lift shipped to the customer with a "Made in China" Sticker affixed. Damn that must have burst his bubble.....

I'm sure he'll come up with some conniving half baked answer........

 

[jcs_in_ky]

Bendpak says that on this particular model that the ATL/ELI certification is "pending". They say testing has been done but the report hasn't been finished. If that is true then they most definitely are producing their certified lifts in China.
Do any of you have a recently purchased Bendpak lift that has the certification sticker on it? If so does it say what country it was produced in on the data plate? Anyone that has purchased an HD-9 series recently should be able to answer this question for us.

 

[jay50]

Last year we took several old cast iron bath tubs to the scrap yard, you never know I may have just gotten them back in another form!

The pump on the Bendpak lifts is the only thing that is marked made in the USA. It will be interesting because once they finally do get around to getting these ALI/ETL approved they have to list the country of origin on the dataplate.

I'm sure the steel from most lifts that are made in the US as well as just about any other product made here comes from Asia, or possibly Canada. It's not marked the way this was though, and wouldn't have a made in China sticker on top of the paint.

It makes sense that their lifts are manufactured in China. I think that's the reason they ship these lifts out to people with ladders that have studs that aren't long enough or the alignment issues some people have had with some of their HD09s. They most likely pack these things up in China, send them over here and ship them to customers without ever inspecting them in Santa Paula. If that's the case they don't know what lifts have the wrong parts until the consumer contacts them after

receiving it.

It will be interesting to see what JSK has to say about all of this. I hope he will respond when he returns from vacation. Hopefully Bendpak can start being more honest with it's customers as to where their products are made. I know lots of things are made in China, some much better quality than others but the majority of the companies do not try to hide or at the very least be very vague about the country their product was manufactured in.
John

Your specific lift is listed on their website as: ETL approved (pending). If you read further details from their website about the ETL/ALI certification requirements; one of the items states (my summary) that a certified lift has to be made in a production facility meeting specified requirements as verified by frequent surveillance and plant inspections.

The questions I have about this:
1. Is this lift made in a production facilitiy were ALI certified lifts are also manufactured?
2) How does Bendpak monitor the build process in China? Contract representative or Bendpak personnel stationed at the plant?
3) Is a noncertifed lift built under the same quality controls and inspections as a ALI certified lift?

Since this is not a ALI certified lift; it appears that they do not have to meet the requirements of the entire certification process, ie; production and monitoring requirements.

Maybe they have two production areas in China; one for ALI certified lifts and the other one for non certified lifts. Heck, they might be using the same plant that makes all those fabulous Torin jacks and engine hoists....

 

[e-tek]

Oh for Chr1st's sake you guys - what a bunch of whining wieners! Look at EVERYTHING around you. Is there ANYTHING you've pruchased in the past couple years NOT made in China - or some other Third World country?? Check your kids toys, your clothes, your car parts, your TV and Electronics...lots of your foods even...
BUT - do you go on (and on and on and on...) about that stuff? Do you whine and complain and call others out on whether someone said it was "Made in China" or not?
This is all based on the American Way - the American Dream - the American right to PROFIT and chasing the Almighty buck. Free Enterprise! Free Trade! Did you vote for it? Probably.
You're all making people like the Walton's (WalMart) BILLIONAIRE's because they can import CHEAPLY made Chinese goods and sell it to YOU! And WHY is it cheaply made? Because American's DEMAND it be cheaper!! The manufacturers DEMAND they (the Chinese) make it as CHEAP as possible!
The thing I CAN understand is how a manufacturer's representative (or anyone charged with selling all this stuff to you) would be embarrased to be doing this to you. Embarrased by what they are doing to American workers. Embarrased by the profits they are making. Embarrassed at how they are ripping off the people who make this stuff in the other countries, paying them pennies on the dollar with few (or no) benefits...SO MUCH profit in fact, they can ship it across the globe and STILL make a killing.
Look at your shoes - where where they made? You jacket, your underwear - likely all made somewhere else. Yet do you go on about it? Probably not - except to tell people how LITTLE you paid for it. Everytime you walk through WalMart's doors you are feeding the BILLIONIARES and RIPPING OFF the Amercian worker. Everytime you buy something made in China you are giving MOST of your money to the conglomerate that owns it and a few pennies to the Chinese worker. But that's OK - right? You don't care right? So WHY do you care if your lift - or parts of it - are made in China?

Oh wait - some of you are bitchin' because they don't want to clearly say it's made in China...well this is why! Because of your bitching! (And maybe the seller is embarrased...)

But maybe it's all in how you look at it.... YOUR lift WAS made in America! Yes, the steel came from China. The Welding...China...the pump...maybe China...the bolts and stuff...China...But where did it get "put together"? Where was it "made"? In YOUR shop. Made in America. Get used to it...cause that's as "Made in America" is about as close as it gets today.

Here's our problem: There's so many things that go into a buying decision on a big ticket item - right? Price is right up there. Perception of quality. Bells and Whistles. Power. Fitment. Even color...If I could get a lift made on shore I might buy it. But I want the best price for the best options.
IS there one made? I'm not sure. I know a few say they are. One's WAY more money. In the end there's too many decisions - so we go back to the basics -What we need. What we can afford. The best we can get. I feel I got what I wanted. I hope - somehow - you did to. After that, it's all talk.

 

[nissan_crawler]

blah blah blah

Yeah, I'm sure all of us have bought stuff made in China. Guess what though? We KNEW it was made in China. My skivvies say made in India.

He was told the lift was MADE IN THE U.S. It's not, they lied to him.

I bought a product from one place that was listed as "made in the U.S." It wasn't. I filed a credit card dispute and had it sent back.

Was the product bad? No, I liked it. In fact, I found a place that listed the real place it was made, and I bought the same product from them. Why? Simple, because they didn't f'n LIE to me.

 

[jcs_in_ky]

What Nissan Crawler says are my feelings exactly. I'm disappointed that Bendpak has gone to overseas production but that doesn't make me nearly as disappointed as the fact does that they told an outright light when asked where their product was produced. My lift does have the "Made In China" sticker on it but it seems that most of them don't and there's only one on the entire thing. You have to wonder if Bendpak might actually go so far as to remove the stickers and this one was missed???? The first time I asked them where their lifts were made is when I was told by another company that I don't want a Bendpak because they advertise as being made in the U.S. but they actually are made in China. I called Bendpak and told them exactly what that company told me and asked if what I was told was true. They said that wasn't true that they produced everything in Santa Paula Calif. A trucker recently delivered a replacement runway to me for my four post lift and he told me that when he got his truck loaded at Bendpak their facility was full of shipping containers bringing products in. He didn't specify if they were complete lifts or just parts or steel though so I still didn't know for sure. I'm sure people would be much happier knowing the truth about where their product was made instead of thinking they are getting a U.S. made product only to find out after they've spent several thousand dollars and the product arrives. Most would probably still buy anyway if they knew in advance and had a way of knowing the quality is good. You have to wonder how many people would never know though. In my case where that one sticker is on the bottom of the base plate it would have been easy to miss, especially if I'd paid someone to install my lift. I may never have seen it when they were installing it and always thought it was made here in the U.S. just as Bendpak told me. I guess if that's how it worked out then Bendpak is happy because you never would know the information they gave you was an outright lie.

 

[BooUrns!]

Are you all that naive? There are rules that govern the naming of products as Made In USA. Look up the rules before you go off accusing this company of deceit. They can call it made in usa if the prduct is assembled within the states. The components can be made anywhere else as long as they are assembled or repackaged in your country.

If you want to be able to buy actual Made In USA products, write to your elected representatives and get them to change the rules over product advertising so that the goods sold as american are actually fully made in america.

 

[Kevin54]

It's probably made out of 60's muscle cars that got crushed and sent to China...

Not exactly. China is the biggest buyer of old ships from around the world. I bet your lift was made from salvage steel from an old WW2 vessle.

China is one of the largest purchaser of ANY scrap metal. From ships to old farm machinery, to old metal junk made in China and broken in the USA. And that lift is probably covered with lead paint

 

[blizazer]

Yesterday I went to the Yellow Freight terminal to pick my new BendPak XPR-10CX lift up. I got back late and didn't get to unload it until this morning. When I pulled the shrink wrap and cardboard off I found a "Made In China" sticker on the bottom of one of the post base plates. When I ordered this lift I was assured that it was made in the U.S., "just like all of the Bendpak products". I think everyone has pretty much known for a while now that at least some of their stuff is imported. It's too bad Bendpak can't be honest about it when asked, especially when they ship it out with a Made in China sticker on it.

Mine (XPR-10CX) came in friday last week, and I too was suprised to find the same stickers on the bottom of the posts when the northern tool page that I ordered from had a big "MADE IN USA" logo at the bottom of the product page. So I dont think yours was a fluke.

I did call bendpak before buying to understand the difference between the XP and XPR series of lifts. The salesman I talked to told me that the XPR was the new series and improved over the XP, but now I suspect that the R is for "reduced cost" rather than "improved".

 

[jimval]

Yeah, I'm sure all of us have bought stuff made in China. Guess what though? We KNEW it was made in China. My skivvies say made in India.

He was told the lift was MADE IN THE U.S. It's not, they lied to him.

I bought a product from one place that was listed as "made in the U.S." It wasn't. I filed a credit card dispute and had it sent back.

Was the product bad? No, I liked it. In fact, I found a place that listed the real place it was made, and I bought the same product from them. Why? Simple, because they didn't f'n LIE to me.

EXACTLY! I also don't like the fact that so much stuff comes from China but I live in the real world. If it's made in China, I have the right to know that upfront. If someone advertises "Made in the USA" it better not be delivered with a sticker "Made in China" on it. That's FRAUD.

e-tek, junkman, and ovilla , can't comprehend that simple concept.

 

[SUPERFORD]

it was shown that a toyota tundra pickup has more domestic US parts in it than a Ford F150 by a couple percent go figuare.

B.S.

the f150 actually has the highest domestic parts content at about 80%. it is rated #1 while the tundra is #4.

http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=top&subject=ami&story=amMade1207&aff=chitrib

http://www.autoblog.com/tag/cars.com/

not that it's related to the bend pak scam

 

[e-tek]

EXACTLY!
e-tek, junkman, and ovilla , can't comprehend that simple concept.

You know what they say: 'When everyone else is wrong...and only you are right'...that's not a good sign...except of paranoia!

Anyways...just kidding...I was commenting (long windedly!) on the bigger issue that is giving rise to the 'deceit' you so righly despise. No one likes to be lied to.

In Canada, it can be said to be "Made in Canada" if it has 51% Canadian contents...so they mix in cheap stuff from elsewhere and say "Product of Canada". It's all in the name of profit - which is bad - and that was my point.

My second point was: It comes down to what's important to you. I knew it was Chinese metal, welded in China. To me, the company backing, service, steel weight, weld quality...and of course, price, where my concerns. I'm happy with my BendPak - and all the 'lift guys' I've had around are impressed as well - it's a good product.

 

[Stew4706]

Guys, Here is the deal with Bend Pak. All of their lifts are made in China in a factory that is 51% owned by them. They have not had a lift made in the U.S. for 5 or more years. I actually spoke with a VP from Bend Pak last week as a result of something that I read on one of these forums. He actually called me while he was on vacation with his family and he gave me a rundown of how they are built and the fact that they have quality people that pull 2 week shifts in China every 6 weeks.

If you call Bend Pak directly they will tell you that all of their lifts are made overseas and I experianced the same "Made in the USA" with a catalog company and when I asked them they said wow - don't know how that got on the page.

 

[jcs_in_ky]

When I called Bendpak directly they told me their lifts were "Made in the USA".

 

[OldCarGuy]

Did anyone else see Dave Koppel's report on CNN?

The Dave Koppel’s report on CNN about Briggs & Stratton really hit home for me! The management originally claimed that they built a plant in China to produce small gasoline engines for the sole purpose of marketing them in China. Evidently their marketing team misjudged China’s needs. And to save corporate funds (A$$es) they decided to shut down their plant in Missouri and transfer the manufacturing to China.

I don’t believe for one minute that Corporate management misjudged China’s need for small engines. Rather it was pure greed that they wanted to displace $11.00 and hour workers in Missouri and employ Chinese workers for as little as 5% of that. The program went on to show Chinese mothers with toddlers tagging along breaking up huge hunks of concrete just to save the rebar for a living. Do you believe that her family could afford to purchase a lawn mower, power washer, leaf shredder, or a lawn vacuum?

Briggs and Stratton closing that single plant in Missouri made far more ripples than just displacing a few hundred $11.00 and hour workers. Many other businesses relied on them, along with all the Local, State, and Federal Tax dollars lost. I say we outsource Government workers and Politicians to China. They make far more money in wages and benefits. And I’m sure they are not as efficient as those displaced workers at Briggs and Stratton. Heck they were the ones that decided it would be best for the United States and enacted NAFTA and Global trading regulations in the first place!
.

 

[Junkman]

We can take this one step further, but looking at all the foreign car companies that manufacture / assembly automobiles in the US. They are not paying union wages and benefits like GM, Chrysler, & Ford are. This is the main reason that they can be so competitive selling US manufactured / assemblied automobiles in the US. There cost are less, so they can sell for less.

 

[W-Cummins]

Re: Did anyone else see Dave Koppel's report on CNN?

The Dave Koppel’s report on CNN about Briggs & Stratton really hit home for me!

No But I did see Ted Koppel's report on the discovery network, People's Republic (Parts 1 and 2 of the 4 part series, and his interview on Charley Rose the other night too)

The program went on to show Chinese mothers with toddlers tagging along breaking up huge hunks of concrete just to save the rebar for a living.

I thought it was the men that were breaking up the concrete walls and floors to get the re-bar. The women were chipping the mortar off the bricks...

I thought the best part was the look on the face of the former B&S employee , when they asked her if she thought that her habit of shopping for all the cheap imported goods at wall mart could have had any thing to do with her layoff, it was as the ad's say "Priceless"

William....

 

[Defender Chassis]

If you dont buy stuff made in China then they wont import stuff made in China. The average American is as responsible for sending jobs overseas as is the average politician. We will continue to loose our manufacturing base in this country (USA) until we take responsibility for our own actions.

My $0.02

 

[SUPERFORD]

the foreign car companies that manufacture / assembly automobiles in the US. They are not paying union wages and benefits like GM, Chrysler, & Ford are. This is the main reason that they can be so competitive selling US manufactured / assemblied automobiles in the US. There cost are less, so they can sell for less.

this is a very true statement...

the question is, why exactly do we (ford, gm, chrysler) choose to work with the unions again??? why renew the friggin' contracts?

it's pretty sad that in alot of cases "buying american" means you are forced to buy a product that was made in canada or mexico or elsewhere overseas so that the american auto manufacturers can offer a product to compete pricewise with the IMPORTS who now sell things that actually are MADE IN AMERICA! it's a bunch of ****. it's like the friggin' Twilight Zone...

explain to me the benefit of the UAW in this day and age, and if it's so important, why does anybody go to work at the "IMPORT" plants here in the US that aren't union?

 

[OldCarGuy]

Re: Did anyone else see Dave Koppel's report on CNN?

No But I did see Ted Koppel's report on the discovery network, People's Republic (Parts 1 and 2 of the 4 part series, and his interview on Charley Rose the other night too)

I thought it was the men that were breaking up the concrete walls and floors to get the re-bar. The women were chipping the mortar off the bricks...

William....

Senior moment for me. It was Ted Koppel,, just thinking Dave… And the mothers were chipping the mortar off the bricks along side the men retrieving the rebar. The conditions at the Guatemala City garbage dump are even worse. Where thousands of Men, Women, and Children of all ages salvage through the cities trash to eke out a living

One can only wonder if jobs will become that scarce and labor so cheap in the United States that we will see similar working conditions?


.

 

[ovilla]

jcs in ky - Sorry to hear that you did not get what you expected. If you trully feel like you were lied to and would have never bought the lift if it wasn't entirely made in the USA then I'd call BendPak and discuss it with them. I can understand if this was your sole requirement for a lift and it was not met. On the other hand, you are now in possesion of a (pending) CERTIFIED lift and that says a lot. I'm not sure if Backyard buddy lifts are all USA made or not but think about this. Would you buy (at almost double the price) a backyard buddy or a certified BendPak lift? Like all products, it's the design and additional certification testing that make one product better than the other.

jimval - I had not even posted in this thread and you were already anticipating on how I would respond (reminds me of my wife). Anyway, for once I AM in agreement with you in that one should get what they ordered. If that's trully what jcs in ky was focused on (getting an all USA built lift) he should address it with BendPak. Having said that I still think that for the money he is getting a great certified lift, that has been designed to surpass any (domestic or foreign built) non-certified lift. The certification is not a sales gimmick. That's why it takes time to get it and why not all manufacturers have it.


To me, safety is what matters the most when buying a lift, not the country of origin. When I'm under my 1-2 ton vehicles the last thing I want to worry about is a car falling on me due to a lift collapsing. I want the safest lift I can afford. Buying a certified lift at least tells me that a company has made a product worthy of passing the stringent additional testing done by a facility that all those in the lift businees value and trust. I'm using my trusted certified BendPak lift almost weekly now and just wish I would have bought it years ago.