More AM OEM Parts From China

More AM OEM Parts From China

Author
Discussion

Manwhoneverwas

Original Poster:

598 posts

130 months

Monday 4th May 2015
quotequote all
I happened to stumble upon a UK manufacturers website and noted this



I did not think it was fair to identify the UK manufacturer, but they also supply quite a few other Internal / External trim OEM parts (not made in China).


divetheworld

2,565 posts

134 months

Monday 4th May 2015
quotequote all
They are round the corner from my factory. Do they know its not an engine mount?

Sump

5,484 posts

166 months

Tuesday 5th May 2015
quotequote all
Who this ?

http://www.alumascprecision.co.uk/Portfolio.php?p=...

Whats the issue with die casting in China?

Edited by Sump on Tuesday 5th May 00:25

66MK

374 posts

106 months

Tuesday 19th May 2015
quotequote all
Well for me, the issue is that if it is made in China, then it is not made in England. 'Hand Built in England' is a major factor that determined why I bought an Aston Martin and not a Hong Qi, a Chang’an or a Jiangling! (yes, I did have to look those up). Further dilution of this admirable mantra is not desirable.

petop

2,135 posts

165 months

Tuesday 19th May 2015
quotequote all
The term "Hand Built...." is correct. Im not really bothered where the parts are made, as long as they are fit for purpose (which in the case of certain bits wasnt) and they are bolted together properly. Certainly didnt sway me to buy an Aston. The car is made in England but i would say in todays world of free trade and England being left behind, most of the parts to make up the car are shipped in.

Neil1300r

5,487 posts

177 months

Tuesday 19th May 2015
quotequote all
66MK said:
Well for me, the issue is that if it is made in China, then it is not made in England. 'Hand Built in England' is a major factor that determined why I bought an Aston Martin and not a Hong Qi, a Chang’an or a Jiangling! (yes, I did have to look those up). Further dilution of this admirable mantra is not desirable.
Err,
Engine - Germany
Gearbox - Italy
Electrics / electonics - Italy
Leather - Scotland!

I could go on.

Cyder

7,045 posts

219 months

Tuesday 19th May 2015
quotequote all
Did anyone really think all the parts come from the UK in the first place?!

BravoV8V

1,858 posts

173 months

Tuesday 19th May 2015
quotequote all
Neil1300r said:
Err,
Engine - Germany
Gearbox - Italy
Electrics / electonics - Italy
Leather - Scotland!

I could go on.
Please do:

Brakes - Italy
Tyres - Japan
Sat Nav - Sweden/Japan
etc etc


It would probably be easier to just list those components that are manufactured in England:

Wheels - West Bromwich
Er, is that it??? wink


Cyder said:
Did anyone really think all the parts come from the UK in the first place?!
66MK, apparently.

Neil1300r

5,487 posts

177 months

Tuesday 19th May 2015
quotequote all
[quote=BravoV8V]

Please do:

Brakes - Italy
Tyres - Japan
Sat Nav - Sweden/Japan
etc etc


It would probably be easier to just list those components that are manufactured in England:

Wheels - West Bromwich
Er, is that it??? wink


Chassis - is actually made in England. Although as its aluminium you could argue its comes from China wink

mikey k

13,011 posts

215 months

Tuesday 19th May 2015
quotequote all
66MK said:
Well for me, the issue is that if it is made in China, then it is not made in England. 'Hand Built in England' is a major factor that determined why I bought an Aston Martin and not a Hong Qi, a Chang’an or a Jiangling! (yes, I did have to look those up). Further dilution of this admirable mantra is not desirable.
We deal with a LOT of car builders and their suppliers
You will NOT find a car manufacturer that is 100% built in the UK
Those that claim it (MG, Morgan, Caterham, Aston & Lotus included) are assembling foreign parts in the UK to one degree or another.
Subtle difference the marketing muppets over state all the time frown

Jon39

12,782 posts

142 months

Tuesday 19th May 2015
quotequote all

petop said:
... but i would say in todays world of free trade and England being left behind ...


Steady on Sir.

There are probably people who regret the demise of the wooden wagon wheel industry in England, but business constantly moves on. Take a look at ARM for example. Did not exist some time ago, and now a world force in chip design. Their chips are probably in your phone.

Considering our population size, I am proud that we have the fifth largest economy in the world.

Positivity should be encouraged in schools.


Cyder

7,045 posts

219 months

Tuesday 19th May 2015
quotequote all
petop said:
The term "Hand Built...." is correct. Im not really bothered where the parts are made, as long as they are fit for purpose (which in the case of certain bits wasnt) and they are bolted together properly. Certainly didnt sway me to buy an Aston. The car is made in England but i would say in todays world of free trade and England being left behind, most of the parts to make up the car are shipped in.
I work for another OEM and we are actually sourcing more and more within the UK, the raw part is generally cheaper in India or China, but add in logistics costs and it often works out chepaer to produce in UK. Also the quality is invariably higher.

To list just some parts off the top of my head that are made in the UK for us:-
Rear Lamps
Wash systems
Mirrors
Plastic parts (bumpers etc)
Dash systems
Sealing structures
Body panels

Big Ry

1,678 posts

118 months

Tuesday 19th May 2015
quotequote all
Neil1300r said:
Err,
Engine - Germany
Gearbox - Italy
Electrics / electonics - Italy
Leather - Scotland!

I could go on.
Why did you have to ruin my day and tell me the electrics were Italian......now I know why they're so difficult to make any sense of (come on we've all been there trying to change the song and the sat-nav starts buggering about instead biggrin) !

66MK

374 posts

106 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
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Nice one Cyder,

Glad to see some are looking to promote our own manufacturing industries rather than encourage outsourcing.

Where ever possible buy British, even if it is a few quid more.

Incidentally, I was quite amused by the popularity of that post with most completely missing the sentiment behind it.

Chip in my phone - ARM, so at least it was designed here and I'm sure it would be made here too if we were allowed to pay people 3p a month...

I await the inevitable.

mikey k

13,011 posts

215 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
quotequote all
Interesting point about the ARM chip that shows the problem and solution well!
The overheads of businesses in the UK are just too high for us to compete on the simpler manufactured items.
Unfortunately simpler products are getting more and more complex as places like India offer high level drugs manufacturing and China's quality improves.
The UK has along history of innovation, unfortunately it also has along history of the giving that innovation away and not extract the value ( jet engines is a great example we simple handed it over to the Russians and Americans frown )
We need to follow Finlands example, they are only 4M people but focus on where they can extract the most value.
Nokia is Finnish and so are some of the largest paper manufacturers.
All easily said but it takes commitment and funds.

Mike Oxlong

65 posts

158 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
quotequote all
I own a aluminium foundry located very close to Alumasc. We have invested much in CAD CAM CNC machines and even design our own gravity and low pressure casting machine. I can state that we manufacture lots of aluminium castings directly for or supplied to indirectly to the likes of Aston Martin Lotus Morgan Caterham and Maclaren. If the whole purchasing process is evaluated we can make components that are as cost effective as those sourced I off shore. Our quality generally exceeds that of our foreign competitors too

Jon39

12,782 posts

142 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
quotequote all

mikey k said:
We need to follow Finlands example, they are only 4M people but focus on where they can extract the most value.
Nokia is Finnish and so are some of the largest paper manufacturers.
All easily said but it takes commitment and funds.

The particular example that you give Mike, I find a little odd.
The 'computer/electronics' sector has been very difficult to remain dominant. Many companies try, but even IBM is not finding things easy anymore.
Nokia was going so well, until their customers left and went to rivals. Large losses occurred and they then became part of Microsoft.

I think you are a business owner. Now't as difficult as business.



Jon39

12,782 posts

142 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
quotequote all

Mike Oxlong said:
I own a aluminium foundry located very close to Alumasc. We have invested much in CAD CAM CNC machines and even design our own gravity and low pressure casting machine. I can state that we manufacture lots of aluminium castings directly for or supplied to indirectly to the likes of Aston Martin Lotus Morgan Caterham and Maclaren. If the whole purchasing process is evaluated we can make components that are as cost effective as those sourced I off shore. Our quality generally exceeds that of our foreign competitors too

Well said Sir.
Lord Digby Jones could not have expressed it better.


Mike Oxlong

65 posts

158 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
quotequote all
Thanks Jon. I do however remember Digby Jones stating a few years ago that the UK should no longer manufacture parts but should do the design work only and ship manufacture to low cost areas. This shows the lack of understanding Of manufacturing and just short termist policy

Wozy68

5,387 posts

169 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
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Interesting topic this.

A while back I had a look around the Rolls Royce 'factory' down at Goodwood.

If you want to see a hand built British car classed as the highest quality (or maybe not) in the World then you should take a visit.

I was amazed. Its not a factory at all, just an assembly plant and to assemble parts of mainly foreign sourced parts. I would assume at least an Aston body shell is made in the UK, RR don't even build that there, they arrive unpainted from Germany. Nor like Aston, their engines. I have no idea where AM engines are designed, but RR engines are not only built in Germany but are even designed in Germany by supposedly 'RR engineers'.

As a woodworker I was desperate to see their woodworking machine, assembly and final finishing shops for all that wood you can spec in a RR. It was locked up, so I had to peer through the window. I've never seen a woodworking shop like it, in fact you couldn't (from what I could see) make timber parts there, so it seems they don't even make or even finish them either.

The only thing I could see that they actually made onsite was the leather interiors. Everything else seemed to be built in Germany or elsewhere and only assembled in the UK.

In fact I came away from RR totally disillusioned with what the brand and how its built has become. Fair enough not all things can be sourced here, but I feel there's more 'UK' in my TV than a modern RR.