The largest and most significant tool I have in my shop from China is an Anyang power hammer for open die forging.
I bought it about 23 years ago, and its a solid, well made machine.
But one of the main reasons I ended up buying it is because the manufacturer (Anyang is the largest press and forging machine manufacturer in the world) was dedicated to a successful entry into the US market, and took the time to understand how the US market actually worked, at least then.
Rather than sell a container load of hammers to anyone who would pay, and put any brand name on them desired by the purchaser, they created a brand awareness of their products based on a longterm relationship with a single US distributor. (Over the 25 or so years they have been trying to sell in the US, they have had 3 different distributors, but only one at a time, and the current one, by everything I hear, is doing a very good job.)
This model is also the most successful for imported machine tools, regardless if they are from Germany, Taiwan, Korea, or even India.
I remember, in 2006, the president of Anyang came to the US blacksmiths convention, the ABANA conference, in Seattle. At that time, individual shop owners in the US were a tiny part of the world consumer base for these machines, no matter the manufacturer.
But to develop the market, the president came, and I met him, and congratulated him, through a translator, for making the effort.
As a result, they are now a well regarded brand name in the USA, and have parts availability, resale value, and no significant Chinese competition.
I got to know two of the US importers- one retired, the other died, but both praised the way the Chinese worked- If an individual blacksmith had a good idea for an improvement, they would tell the distributor- and, if the distributor agreed, he would email China. And, they told me, within a week, usually, China would air freight a sample improved part. So the constant dialog between the US dealer and the factory meant that the current machines are much improved over my 20 year old version.
Contrast that with my talks with a US dealer who is the exclusive distributor here for a line of German machinery- the Germans, if told about a possible improvement, just ignore the message. The Germans believe they are always right, and anyone who thinks the machine could be better is wrong.
Certainly I can not speak of other Chinese companies, but if a company wanted to succeed in the US, this would be a very good model to follow.
Dont try to compete just on price, or sell to anyone who offers to buy- instead, find a good, reputable national distributor who knows your industry, and then, listen to their advice as to what would sell here.
