US Invention

We have found the enemy and it is "us".
Thanks to the Chicago Trib.
Read this from today's business section in the Chicago Tribune.
Breakthrough MIT battery-maker: Battery-maker A123 bets U.S. manufacturing can rise again - chicagotribune.com

This is predictable. Those with capital find the whole risk associated with manufacturing in the US too high to stomach. Much easier to send the money abroad and let others worry about labor issues, environmental issues, worker safety, etc. As long as the investment has strong returns, that is all that counts. Large corporations lead the way - all motivated by the quarterly analyst critique of stock prices - Walmart, Nike, Dell, HP, Boeing, . . . the list is endless.

All you need is an outlook where you are the most important person on planet earth - this approach then appears completely logical and desirable.

I am glad to see that this company was finally able to site a location in the US - I wonder if they would ever disclose the relative economic / quality contrasts between US and Asian manufacturing sites?

I posted the same info in a link to Industry Week in the thread Why Pursue "Made in America".

What was lost!

Pertty sure U.S. taxpayers helped develop the technology, this idiot brought it to China, gave the technology to them for free, "oops"! Now he wants bailout money to get something going in the U.S. Why would you bring technology to a country that has no lawyers? He is trying to blame Wall street, we are all really getting "played" on this one! This guy belongs in "jail" for treason!
We need a policy, like everyone else in the world. A big chunk of Germany's domestic steel production goes into alternitive energy projects, we just buy the stuff from China, "lock stock & barrel"!
I was watching Karry talking the company up today on T.V. claiming they "won them back to Michigan", I do not think the Chinese need him any more.

Landm-1

Guru,

You are in mostly a "service industry", it is hard to offshore when you do your work here.

I applaud you for your work, but if you were strictly manufacturing, and a bit bigger (not necessarily even bigger), it would not be too surprising to see you having materiel made offshore to compete.

Maintenance, rebuild and upgrade has to be done on site.

I hope you never see the day that you have to go against your principles and go offshore. And that is not to say I hope you don't grow your company.

When I worked for the Circle W, our overseas plants had laws of the host company that said we could not RIF in those countries. When business was down, we had to lay off here.

When Germany built VW here, their laws were that when business was down they had to shut down offshore production to maintain employment at home.

Cheers,

George

"We need a policy, like everyone else in the world. "

Yes but.

The "but" is that doing this means sombody in the nation needs to *set*
a policy, and make it happen. And most of the folks say, 'don't tell us how
to run our company. Don't let the gummint tell us what to do.'

Which is why the US has no manufacturing or technology policy right now.

And why other countries do. See Singapore, PRC, Taiwan, India, etc.

Invention? What US company lead the pack in total number of patents
last year? And the year before that, and so on?

landm1 said:

Pertty sure U.S. taxpayers helped develop the technology, this idiot brought it to China, gave the technology to them for free, "oops"! Now he wants bailout money to get something going in the U.S. Why would you bring technology to a country that has no lawyers? He is trying to blame Wall street, we are all really getting "played" on this one! This guy belongs in "jail" for treason!
We need a policy, like everyone else in the world. A big chunk of Germany's domestic steel production goes into alternitive energy projects, we just buy the stuff from China, "lock stock & barrel"!
I was watching Karry talking the company up today on T.V. claiming they "won them back to Michigan", I do not think the Chinese need him any more.

Landm-1

Click to expand...

Did you read the part where he couldn't' get capital to start a manufacturing site in the us, and the additional bureaucratic red tape means a ground breaking for a new plant in the US takes about 3 times what it does in China. In a highly competitive market place an extra year before you can even start making your product means competitors could beat you to the chase, or you'll run out of capital before you make the first unit.

I'm not advocating outsourcing, but this guy wanted to open a plant in the US to keep the knowledge here, but it wasn't viable, it wasn't until he got some grants and tax breaks that he was able to get a plant here in the US.

Some would see this story and see success.

The plant got built.

The thing that tipped the deal, were the incentivies and subsidies provided
by the federal government.

Almost looks like a 'policy' if you squint your eyes a bit...!

MetaRinka said:

...the additional bureaucratic red tape means a ground breaking for a new plant in the US takes about 3 times what it does in China...

Click to expand...

In other words, the bureaucrats (or politicians, actually) just need to get out of the way - not ad another layer of subsidies, incentives, etc.