Dale Neese on thu 22 sep 11
Would that be the cost of ceramic materials or the cost of labor, pollution
regulations here or all of the above?
I don't know of any particular controls Mexico has put on pollution from
factories. Here in South Texas we do have a bothersome problem with air
pollution that is caused by factories on the other side of the border in
Mexico. I am fairly sure that the labor cost are still low for the lack of
organized labor in areas but those factors are beginning to creep into the
manufacturing costs.
I saw on the news one evening that China maybe at the near end of cheap
labor as workers are getting a taste of the more affluent life. Wanting
better wages and benefits they normally didn't get working for a few Yuan a
week. Certainly younger laborers in China now desire better wages found in
the larger cities in China and not factory towns. Factories in China are
losing their more "skilled workers". So the quality of the product is
suffering. One American owner is shifting some of the finishing, assembly
process back to the United States because his metal office furniture was no=
t
meeting his demand for high quality finish in his product.
Also China recognizes the errors of factory pollution occurring over the
last 20 years. The government has been cracking down on pollution violation=
s
with air and water. I mean they are serious and the penalties are very
severe for those unscrupulous managers cutting corners on safety. Gone are
the huge coal fired ceramic kilns in Jingdezhen replaced with more energy
efficient, less polluting natural gas fired kilns. Rivers and air have
become cleaner but they still have a way to go yet.
The United States is leading the way in Ceramic research and development,
new products that can be directly connected to the efforts in our space
program... oops, once was. Things like bonding ceramic to metal for extreme
applications that were never possible before. Turning recycled glass into
building bricks that are lighter more durable than clay bricks. The cost of
producing glass bricks for the building trade made less energy consuming. S=
o
not all of the ceramic related manufacturing and RD has not left the
building.
Dale Tex
"across the alley from the Alamo"
Helotes, Texas USA
www.daleneese.com
| |
|
