JSK, why not build it in America as I believe you are aware the group you are targeting here feel strongly about this aspect of your product.
Not sure I’ll convince you otherwise, but I do hope you take time to read this.
I am a Patriot just like you and of course a huge fan of America Made, but car lifts unfortunately are now a global commodity, just like brake rotors and cell phones. Just type in “car lifts” on your computer and you’ll find dozens of resellers and importers. Visit AliBaba and you’ll find cheaply made car lifts for $900.00. There is no law against the importation of car lift junk and of course our government does nothing to prevent it. Import duties on car lifts is less than 2%. Yea, if you have the capital and import experience, you could be in the car lift business in no time but be prepared to roll up your sleeves because it’s gonna be a dirty fight.
In the early nineties, when doing business with China became a reality for the entire world, it changed everything. Did companies like BendPak, and (other leading brands) shout, “Great, we’ll be able to make our stuff a lot cheaper and make a ton of money”, no, we realized that the days of selling a two-post lift for $4500.00 were over. An armada of cargo ships would soon be landing in Long Beach harbor, many of them stuffed floor to ceiling with cheaply, un-engineered and uncertified car lifts from Chinese companies’ eager to capitalize on high American prices. Within two years, our prediction came true and car lift prices plunged. We had to act, and quick.
If BendPak, and other leading brands did not beat China at their own game, lift brands now being sold in the U.S. market would have untraditional names like MuDong, Qingdao Dragon, Hippo, Quibao, Shengda, etc. Why are China companies having such a hard time selling their own crappy brands in the U.S.? Because U.S. companies went abroad, built factories and lowered their manufacturing costs in order to reduce the consumer selling price making the Alibaba sellers less attractive. As hard as the China car lift companies try, and as hard as they want to be represented in the U.S. market, the low margins don’t make it easy; plus they would be competing against half-century brands like BendPak and the others with sleeves rolled up, froze in the Miyagi Crane stance, welcoming all with a stiff beckoning finger. Although there are a few off-the-shelf China lifts being sold in the U.S. branded with varying logos, the total market numbers are minimal.
What if we and others didn’t go to China 15 years ago? Sure, there would be no China made BendPak’s and other leading brands. Unfortunately, there
would be no BendPak and other leading brands. Car lift accidents and failures would be an everyday occurrence and there would be 1000 - 1500 U.S. workers out of work. Of course there was slight hope that patriotic consumers would pay a lot more for a car lift that was “Made in the U.S.A.”, but sadly, when push came to shove, the majority of buyers favored the better price. A small minority of loyalists would not have been enough to keep the doors open.
Our considerable investment in offshore production capability was a means to provide our customers with a better-made product of equal or better value—not to make our products cheaper. In today’s global marketplace, BendPak was forced to search for best possible manufacturing options and locations. If BendPak was to survive, we had to acknowledge and respect global pricing for similar products. We give our customers what they want – quality and value. We focus on doing everything we can to deliver a product that exceeds every quality expectation at a price they expect. Other U.S. manufacturers hoping to retain their “Made in U.S.A.” heritage quickly find they must either pass the incredible manufacturing costs onto the consumer or attempt to reduce production costs to stay competitive in the industry. Lowering manufacturing costs can only be accomplished a finite number of ways before it begins to negatively impact the final product and the end-user.
At BendPak, we ensure that our offshore manufacturing is no different in approach, standards, quality, inspection and packaging from our domestic manufacturing. BendPak factory engineers visit our overseas factories year-round verifying that our quality conformity and high standards are being met. BendPak engineers at our headquarters in Santa Paula, California retain all responsibility for product engineering and design and for performing strength and structural reviews to ensure structural integrity of our entire line of products. As a longstanding member of the Automotive Lift Institute we are required to be audited by independent, third-party global testing laboratories to determine that our overseas production facilities continually and systematically produce products that comply with specific standards. Our offshore factories undergo periodic evaluations and are required to maintain all quality and standards. These programs are audited quarterly to ensure continued compliance with all applicable standards.
BendPak is a global manufacturer and a global supplier competing for the world’s business. BendPak is not the only company utilizing offshore component production. Almost every other major domestic and European lift supplier has moved component production offshore – mostly to China. Of course there are unscrupulous companies claiming U.S.A. made even though they are not. In addition, many world-class leaders outside our industry are doing the same, including aerospace giants like Boeing and General Electric.
In the last decade, there has been a significant turnaround in the global steel industry specifically in relation to China. Steel now supplied from Asian steel mills will, in many ways, exceed domestic quality when comparing similar grades. At BendPak, we have over 40-years of experience dealing with applied force, bending moment, concentrated load, deformation, ductility, strain and stress, and so on. We know steel very well and are experts at structural design.
I urge you to take a few minutes and visit
www.astudyinliftdesign.com to take a tour of our offshore manufacturing facility to get a broader perspective of what truly makes our products such a great value. With a little bit of homework, it won't take long for you to see that all automotive equipment is definitely not created equal. If you do decide to buy a BendPak, you'll know better than anyone else what a value it truly is.
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