Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Milwaukee Tool Raises the Bar with New USA Factory

toolguyd.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

251–260 of 312 posts

Re: Milwaukee Tool Raises the Bar with New USA Factory

#251

Post by baybal2 »

gurumeditations wrote: post #106
kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That manufacturing process is the result of bean counters determining it's a waste to ship boxed products that are 50% air overseas in a container. Ship the broken down components instead with denser packing and have a minimum wage worker bolt it together stateside. It isn't an enlightened return to domestic production.

American manufacturing looks like low-wage workers making $12 an hour (a few years ago) making windshields. A real American manufacturing renaissance would be German, with high skilled trained professionals designing, building, and operating advanced machines to create complex products. Basically what the Chinese are continually getting better at. There is no hope. America can’t even agree on giving community college…

No post body was provided.

Re: Milwaukee Tool Raises the Bar with New USA Factory

#252

Post by alkonaut »

happyopossum wrote: post #103
chongli wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don’t have to choose one. With automation you can have a small, highly paid, highly skilled workforce do the work of a much larger, low skill, low paid workforce and actually produce higher quality products at a lower price.

So you’re picking low prices and an UNpaid workforce - cutting a workforce by 90% but doubling pay for the remaining 10% doesn’t improve a local or domestic economy.

So long as you are producing consumer goods for the masses and not say hand-built sports cars, I don't think the alternative of a large well paid workforce to do what a large less well paid workforce can do is an alternative.

Having 10 skilled people and 100 robots do what 1000 people would otherwise do isn't some defeat, it's fantastic. Productivity is what makes people rich in the long term.

Re: Milwaukee Tool Raises the Bar with New USA Factory

#253

Post by perfectstorm »

hankman86 wrote: post #246

Non-American here: Made in USA isn’t a marker for quality. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. These days, I make an effort to not buy products that are made in the US.

which products/category of products do you (chose not to) buy that are made in the US?

Re: Milwaukee Tool Raises the Bar with New USA Factory

#254

Post by opiopi »

DubiousPusher wrote: post #243
padiyar83 wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Which non-Western countries are competing on creativity? As I see it, Asian economies like India, China, Japan, South Korea offer a reasonable competition to Western economies today. 1. Samsung is a very viable competitor to Apple in hand held + wearables creative space. 2. Indian fin-tech solutions IMO today are some of the best in the world. All I need is a phone to shop for things (from buying a car to paying fo…

Um, TSMC sources many parts which are made exclusively in America. The machines TSMC uses for all of its highest end semiconductor work come from a company called ASML which whilst being a Dutch company sources many of its most sophisticated parts from the U.S. and Europe. But before we bother to argue about what is and is not a knowledge economy, humor me this one possibility. Perhaps there is no such thing as a "kn…

Gosh, thats sounding a little bit like marxism!

Re: Milwaukee Tool Raises the Bar with New USA Factory

#255

Post by hankman86 »

perfectstorm wrote: post #253
hankman86 wrote: post #246

Non-American here: Made in USA isn’t a marker for quality. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. These days, I make an effort to not buy products that are made in the US.

which products/category of products do you (chose not to) buy that are made in the US?

US-made Teslas for one. Panels that don’t align. Doors that won’t close. Sloppy paint job. Doesn’t apply to the ones from Shanghai. Go figure.

Re: Milwaukee Tool Raises the Bar with New USA Factory

#256

Post by zppln »

hankman86 wrote: post #247

Non-American here: Made in USA isn’t a marker for quality any longer. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. These days, I make an effort to not buy American products. I wish that was different, but rarely have I seen this mix of carelessness and poor quality control without any attention to detail.

Kind of agree. I can't say I ever associated "Made in USA" with quality, and especially not with the combination of quality and elegance I associate with other countries. That being said, I would assume most people are biased towards their own country with regards to this, or perhaps the country stamped on long-lasting stuff they grew up with.

Re: Milwaukee Tool Raises the Bar with New USA Factory

#257

Post by hankman86 »

perfectstorm wrote: post #253
hankman86 wrote: post #246

Non-American here: Made in USA isn’t a marker for quality. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. These days, I make an effort to not buy products that are made in the US.

which products/category of products do you (chose not to) buy that are made in the US?

I do still buy services, software, entertainment, raw materials, agricultural products. Machines (including cars) or generally anything complex that requires manual assembling? Rather not. And it’s not for the lack of trying. Like that expensive KitchenAid mixer. Motor burned out after 6 months.

Re: Milwaukee Tool Raises the Bar with New USA Factory

#258

Post by dsq »

petestream wrote: post #149
stacktrust wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Western countries don't really have the infrastructure, housing or education necessary Why do non-Western elites send their kids to Western countries for university educations? > increasingly not alternative ways of competing either like creativity, influence or equality. Which non-Western countries are competing on creativity?

> Which non-Western countries are competing on creativity? They aren't, that's the point. Countries like China, Japan and South Korea are very good at pulling everyone in the same direction by following rules, having hierarchies, exchanging favors, working long hours, handing out punishments and whatnot. Far better than any western country could because we aren't at that point in time (and maybe Japan isn't now eithe…

Creativity isn’t something that just spontaneously appears or flourishes. It requires an appropriate environment. Most of the great achievements of the ancient Greeks happened in a fifty to hundred year span of time. Much of today’s population’s drive is dissipated into online entertainment.

Re: Milwaukee Tool Raises the Bar with New USA Factory

#259

Post by stacktrust »

ddingus wrote: post #244
petestream wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's more like the endgame. 1. Western companies moves production of components to China. 2. Chinese companies becomes good enough to produce their own products. 3. Western companies starts rebranding Chinese products. 4. Chinese companies buy western companies. 5. Chinese companies open factories in western countries. Manufacturing isn't industry in itself and the growth of industry is orders of magnitude more in Ch…

Some companies understood the value of maintaining their own education. Every so often I like to link this: Tektronix: "The Spirit of Tek" https://vintagetek.org/opb-oregon-experience-the-spirit-of-t... The video can be found when one looks around some. Tek, under the leadership of Howard Vollum, literally built the whole region around it up. People could walk in off the streets and end up designing products, in sale…

Thanks for the historical reference!

Streaming version: https://watch.opb.org/video/oregon-experience-the-spirit-of-...

Re: Milwaukee Tool Raises the Bar with New USA Factory

#260

Post by gkanai »

wheresmycraisin wrote: post #236

Makita makes power tools in Japan... for domestic Japanese customers. Makita power tools in the US (and I suspect elsewhere?) are made in China. Either Japanese customers are more patriotic, or Makita can't compete pricewise with Chinese made power tools in US market.

> Japanese customers are more patriotic

There's a ton of cheap Chinese tools for sale in Japan. Makita is a nationally-recognized Japanese brand. If you want a quality tool for long-term use, one would often select a made-in-Japan Makita. The higher price is justified by the longer warranty, etc.

Post reply on HN