Harbor Freight, Made In Taiwan?

[Renegade1LI]

I was finally able to get a blue us general side cabinet and much to my surprise it says made in Taiwan. I asked the manager about it he thinks they are moving all us general manufacturing to Taiwan, but he wasn’t sure. Either way the locker definitely seems to be built better than the last series.

 

[Mr_B]

That's interesting, if you got time could you do photo's and notes on differences you see, be interesting get a thread on manufacture changes if all start coming out of taiwan .
Let's hope Xi doesn't do a Putin or HF warehouses be low to no stock !
Have to start making tool boxes in Canada again lol ...

 

[1982fxr]

Hmm I'm skeptical. People claim a lot of made in China is actually labeled Taiwan. Could the bait and switch.

With everything going on, are companies really moving production of something like this from China to Taiwan?

 

[Mr_B]

^
Not so much a case of companies moving more a case of moving/adding a contract and emailing product design cad files to box manufacturers in Taiwan which they have quite a few of and lot of parts used already sourced from taiwan ...
Very likely Xi's crazy zero covid policy forcing them find alternative means get stock numbers they need, seems they already used 2 factories within china it seems just as likely use taiwan manufacturing sources if required/better option .
Best thing they could do is return more manufacture to the west, when china taiwan kicks off HF going be out of products lol & western investment in china & taiwan going be down the plug hole making the Russia pull out look like a lost dime .

 

[nadogail]

I prefer made in Taiwan over made in China. Products made on the island and sold in the US seem to be a higher quality than those made on the mainland.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

Hope they will have the orange out soon I really need it for my box. I was there today still didn’t have any colors besides red. Glad to see it is made in Taiwan. Manager at mine said they won’t make an orange one because they can’t match the orange paint anymore but I’m not sure if that’s true or not.

 

[Renegade1LI]

Blake, i really think the hf managers are clueless, Everyone you talk to makes up a different story, lol.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

Blake, i really think the hf managers are clueless, Everyone you talk to makes up a different story, lol.

Yeah and I still see the orange box and accessories being sold. They said those were grandfathered in. And I’m like well obviously they could make an orange locker then. I think most managers are clueless or just strictly go by hear say instead of actually looking into it.

 

[dstblj52]

It could be a policy it could just be this vendor won the contract after the last vendor rejected it or went bust

 

[spanimal]

Made in Taiwan tools need to be stamped Made in Taiwan on the tools so we know it's a quality product. Simple as that.

Edit. I say this because 30 years ago I bought dollar tools. Bottom of the barrel tools. They were all made in Taiwan. They included a 15 inch multigrip pliers, 1/2 inch breaker bar and 3/8 inch hex sockets. I used them as a teenager fiddling with my own car.

A few years later I entered the trade as an apprentice, and figured these tools will do for now until they break, then I will buy the good stuff.

20 years late...they did not break...used every single freaking day. So I never did replace them.

Today that same retailer (Supercheap Auto) the bottom of the barrel is now made in China...even their premium stuff is made in China. So much China tools.

I want to see tools stamped Made in Taiwan so I know I am getting the best possible value for my dollar. Not just on the packaging. Stamped on the tool itself please. Clued in people know that Taiwan has earned that stamp.

 

[Bucko]

So for that cabinet they only list two item numbers in the specifications and they are sequential so it would seem they were issued at the same time. One of the associates told me the different numbers were for each particular supplier (I don't know if that's true or not). If suppliers had been changed I would suspect a higher digit number for the Taiwan made box.

I do know that items will be built a little different depending on who built it for them. For example, the 20 ton shop press. It comes in either 2 boxes or 3 depending on the item number. I got the 2 box model and the frame was welded together as one piece with no anchor holes drilled in the legs. The 3 box model the frame is in pieces and must be bolted together but has anchor holes drilled from the YouTube videos I watched on it.

 

[Bubba Fett]

Hmm I'm skeptical. People claim a lot of made in China is actually labeled Taiwan. Could the bait and switch.

With everything going on, are companies really moving production of something like this from China to Taiwan?

Some of this is simply confusion. The actual name of Taiwan is the "Republic of China" but they are an independent nation, and not part of the "Peoples Republic of China" which is...China proper.

Sometimes "made-in" stickers/labels/stamps say "Taiwan, Republic of China" which is correct, but folks tend to see "China" and nothing else.

 

[Houdini5150]

I am not sure but I just look at the tag and go by where it is made... So far so good. If I want certain stuff, I look where I need to. But made in Taiwan has been good for me so far.

 

[1982fxr]

Made in Taiwan tools need to be stamped Made in Taiwan on the tools so we know it's a quality product. Simple as that.

Edit. I say this because 30 years ago I bought dollar tools. Bottom of the barrel tools. They were all made in Taiwan. They included a 15 inch multigrip pliers, 1/2 inch breaker bar and 3/8 inch hex sockets. I used them as a teenager fiddling with my own car.

A few years later I entered the trade as an apprentice, and figured these tools will do for now until they break, then I will buy the good stuff.

20 years late...they did not break...used every single freaking day. So I never did replace them.

Today that same retailer (Supercheap Auto) the bottom of the barrel is now made in China...even their premium stuff is made in China. So much China tools.

I want to see tools stamped Made in Taiwan so I know I am getting the best possible value for my dollar. Not just on the packaging. Stamped on the tool itself please. Clued in people know that Taiwan has earned that stamp.

US law says imported products must have coo on them. If they are skirting the law by putting it on the package then that is on them.

What tiawan tools have you seen in recent years that weren't stamped Taiwan? Everything I see is. No such thing as earning it, it's the law.

 

[ike]

I can't think of a single tool I have ever had from Taiwan that has it stamped on the tool. I just checked all of my older Taiwan made Gearwrench stuff, my newer Tekton set, and the Bremen locking pliers I recently bought. All said Taiwan on the package, none say it on the tools.

 

[Badgerstate]

I was finally able to get a blue us general side cabinet and much to my surprise it says made in Taiwan. I asked the manager about it he thinks they are moving all us general manufacturing to Taiwan, but he wasn’t sure. Either way the locker definitely seems to be built better than the last series.

Thats certainly not a bad thing. Some of the best tools are made in Taiwan, so Im sure Taiwanese tool boxes would be just as good.

 

[Professional Tool User]

So for that cabinet they only list two item numbers in the specifications and they are sequential so it would seem they were issued at the same time. One of the associates told me the different numbers were for each particular supplier (I don't know if that's true or not). If suppliers had been changed I would suspect a higher digit number for the Taiwan made box.

I do know that items will be built a little different depending on who built it for them. For example, the 20 ton shop press. It comes in either 2 boxes or 3 depending on the item number. I got the 2 box model and the frame was welded together as one piece with no anchor holes drilled in the legs. The 3 box model the frame is in pieces and must be bolted together but has anchor holes drilled from the YouTube videos I watched on it.

You're right. This could be a case like the Pittsburgh impact sockets where it can either be made in China or Taiwan due to different suppliers.

 

[Professional Tool User]

US law says imported products must have coo on them. If they are skirting the law by putting it on the package then that is on them.

What tiawan tools have you seen in recent years that weren't stamped Taiwan? Everything I see is. No such thing as earning it, it's the law.

There's a difference between COO on the packaging and COO markings on the tool itself. I highly doubt the law requires COO markings on the item. A lot of manufactured goods at a big box store only have COO marked on the packaging.

 

[Professional Tool User]

Hmm I'm skeptical. People claim a lot of made in China is actually labeled Taiwan. Could the bait and switch.

With everything going on, are companies really moving production of something like this from China to Taiwan?

I prefer made in Taiwan over made in China. Products made on the island and sold in the US seem to be a higher quality than those made on the mainland.

Made in Taiwan could mean a lot or it could mean nothing when it comes to where the manufacturing takes place. I haven't been able to find a minimum content requirement for a product to qualify as made in Taiwan. At a minimum, I'm betting that the assembly takes place in Taiwan with some assurance of quality control, similar to the minimum requirements for the made in Germany label. To make things even more confusing, many Taiwanese companies have manufacturing operations in China. So it could be that some or all of the parts in say a Gearwrench ratchet are made in China and assembled in Taiwan.

 

[Mallen]

I prefer made in Taiwan over made in China. Products made on the island and sold in the US seem to be a higher quality than those made on the mainland.

Taiwan makes some really good stuff. RongFu milling machines are top notch, even if people dont like their column mill designs. They are good enough for PRC companies to make cheap clones of. Additionally, Taiwan is a free democratic nation. They are in a tough spot because, honestly, the rest of the "free world" as we used to say back during the cold war, values cheap chinese goods more than their democratic values and only stopped a few feet short of throwing them directly under the bus. Id much rather send them my hard earned money, so they can maintain a strong vibrant economy and support both a good standard of living and maintain their military, rather than send it to china and have them use my money to build weapons to threaten them.

 

[Ton ton]

I got some Cornwell ratchet wrenches marked Taiwan.