Miller 211 now made in China?

[gsea]

I went with the Miller 211 over the Lincoln 210 MP for the sole reason that it was made in USA and the Lincoln was not. The other Millers I looked at my LWS said "Made in USA" very clearly.

Well, when my 211 arrived, it says "Assembled in USA" and a bunch of Chinese characters printed next to it. This essentially means the machine is made in China and they put the stickers on in WI.

Needless to say, I'm quite irritated. I may as well have gone with the Mexican made Lincoln after all.

 

[drivesitfar]

GSEA: i'm seriously thinking of buying a Miller 211 too. Dang it.

 

[Loscaldazar]

They can't assemble the unit in China, slap a sticker on it over here, and then call it assembled in USA. Otherwise Everlast and every other chinese welder would be assembled in USA. It still has to have the majority of it's parts/assembly cost done in the USA to be labeled assembled in USA.

To qualify as Made in USA, it needs to have all or nearly all (usually referred to as 99%) USA materials and labor. Anything below that that still has the majority of USA made parts and labor is Assembled in USA.

The consumables and a lot of the plastic parts are made in China. That much I know for sure. My guess is the main transformer/inverter (depending on which one you got) is made in the USA.

 

[Boost Creep]

is this one of the new smaller sized 211's? i'm pretty sure mine that i bought last year says made in USA on it. where was that sticker at? i'll check mine

 

[jpinca]

It might be a USA product that is also sold in China...

My company sells into nearly every country in the world and you won't believe the all the crazy gibberish we have to put on the labels so we don't have to customize the product for every market.

 

[scw1991]

it's like buying a GM, Ford, or Chrysler. Various models assembled in USA with components of foreign content.

 

[Skin]

Considering the amount of electronics that are in welders today im surprised anyone can label them "made in USA". Also OP, other countries may or may not be regulated, I very much doubt Mexico is. What that means is something labeled "made in mexico" could be comprised of all Chinese parts and merely shipped to and assembled in mexico. FTC doesn't regulate out of country manufacture, its basically their word.

It still has to have the majority of it's parts/assembly cost done in the USA to be labeled assembled in USA.

But the point is it can be entirely foreign and merely screwed together here. No part of any product has to be made here for "assembled in USA".

 

[rsanter]

I went with the Miller 211 over the Lincoln 210 MP for the sole reason that it was made in USA and the Lincoln was not. The other Millers I looked at my LWS said "Made in USA" very clearly.

Well, when my 211 arrived, it says "Assembled in USA" and a bunch of Chinese characters printed next to it. This essentially means the machine is made in China and they put the stickers on in WI.

Needless to say, I'm quite irritated. I may as well have gone with the Mexican made Lincoln after all.

I am willing to bet that is not what it means.
Odds are that some of the parts and even some of the sub assemblies are made in China. Final assembly is done in the USA.
You think the lincolin is all made in Mexico? Did they make all the cut units boards and switches in Mexico?doubt it.
Is parts made globally and then assembled in Mexico mbetter than parts made globally and assembled I usa?

The miller 211 is still the best thing going in welders of their size and class. I have nothing against lincolin and some of the others, but miller is on top right now.
I would trust a miller with a made in China label before I would trust some off brand made in China unit

Bob

 

[Trey T]

Take some photos of the internals

 

[bob15]

FYI....my Lincoln is made in Norway. Now think about it, where do you suppose those circuit boards are made? Even my Quasar TV (if you're old enough to remember them) has foreign parts in them.

To understand "made" vs "Assembled", read here:

http://nationalstandardparts.com/documents/AssembledvsMadeinUSA.pdf

http://www.themadeinamericamovement.com/american-made/know-the-difference-between-made-in-usa-and-assembled-in-usa/

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/complying-made-usa-standard

 

[Strouty]

is this one of the new smaller sized 211's? i'm pretty sure mine that i bought last year says made in USA on it. where was that sticker at? i'll check mine

Not according to the part number.

 

[BTMSUP]

I just bought one of the new smaller ones and a diversion 180 tig unit. I will go check the labels on mine as well.


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[ADSR]

wow! I really hate the games they play. Companies need to stop sugar coating the truth.

 

[BTMSUP]

I just looked. My diversion said same as above. "Assembled in USA". I did not see a label like that on my 211 however. Just a label stating that they are made in WI. I do live in WI and got one of the first new 211's. So... Who knows.


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[Shootingblanks]

I just looked at my 211 and also didn't see a label like that on my unit.

 

[ADSR]

I just looked at my 211 and also didn't see a label like that on my unit.

is yours verter or trans?

 

[Boost Creep]

forgot about this thread. i found that sticker the other day and it does say assembled in USA on it. i'm fairly certain i saw made in USA in the paperwork or somewhere for it. not sure why it would say 2 different things

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Am I the only one that really doesn't give a $h1t where its made? Good tools & Equipment are good tools & Equipment...REGARDLESS of COO. Yes I wish we had a manufacturing base left in the USA, and I will support it when I can.

As someone else mentioned...with the amount of electronics in modern welders, its just common sense. Very little if anything electrical is made in the USA...Cordless Drills, Electronics of any use, etc.. find me some American made electrical devices.

Just be happy they put the stickers on here in the USA....I'm sure the EPA hasn't cracked down on sticker application fumes YET...

 

[Spn1025]

Like Dewalt, "Made in the USA from global materials"

 

[Bullitt427]

is this one of the new smaller sized 211's? i'm pretty sure mine that i bought last year says made in USA on it. where was that sticker at? i'll check mine

907422 is the old school version. 907614 is the new smaller one.

Josh

 

[engineer2]

If you can get a good picture of the Chinese characters, there are online programs than can translate it.

 

[Trey T]

^lol... that's gotta be a joke, man.

 

[toddoky]

Am I the only one that really doesn't give a $h1t where its made? Good tools & Equipment are good tools & Equipment...REGARDLESS of COO. Yes I wish we had a manufacturing base left in the USA, and I will support it when I can.

As someone else mentioned...with the amount of electronics in modern welders, its just common sense. Very little if anything electrical is made in the USA...Cordless Drills, Electronics of any use, etc.. find me some American made electrical devices.

Just be happy they put the stickers on here in the USA....I'm sure the EPA hasn't cracked down on sticker application fumes YET...

You're not alone, half of the guys on this forum share your non-preferential opinion of COO...the other half of us do "give a $h1t" about it as you put it.

 

[bobcatdan]

My brand new 211 has the same stick, lays just as good of a bead as any Miller weld I have ever used.

 

[flht1997]

Just got off the phone with a good friend that has been working at Miller for the past 10 years or so. The 211 is "made" in Appleton. The windings are done here the circuit boards and housing are made here and it is definitely assembled here. But of course when you get down to the electronic component level there are parts that are made in china, i.e switches, resistors and such.
Miller does have plants in China and they do make stuff there, but it is for the China only market and shouldn't end up on our shores.

 

[Skin]

That's not really true, welding helmets are all made in China for everyone. Im surprised they say the windings and PCBs are domestic honestly.

 

[engineer2]

^lol... that's gotta be a joke, man.

No joke.
http://www.zdnet.com/article/google...te-text-in-images-through-your-phones-camera/
I used it for a Chinese drain trap I got. The only joke was the hilarious quality of the translation.

 

[flht1997]

That's not really true, welding helmets are all made in China for everyone. Im surprised they say the windings and PCBs are domestic honestly.

i was talking about the welders not the welding accessories.
They claim the windings and circuit boards are domestic, because they are manufactured in Appleton, Wisconsin, been there and seen it, rolls of steel and copper coming in welders going out.

sent an email to a Chinese lady I know asking to translate the sticker, and it is "assembled in USA"