Rotel's Chinese factories

[spiffnme]

OK...so we'd all but made the decision to purchase a RSX-1056 and Denon DVD-2200 for my brother, and then he saw the box that my RSP-1066 and RMB-1075 came in and read "Made in China". 8O

I've tried to tell him that it's not a Chinese sweat shop, that it is in fact a Rotel owned factory. (Though I'm not so sure I can even convince myself of that.)

What's the low down on Rotel's Chinese factories? Unless you can convince me (or better yet my brother) that Rotel isn't taking advantage of Chinese workers, and lack of labor laws, I think another Rotel purchase may be out of the question.

Please! I seriously don't want to scratch Rotel off my list of audio manufacturers. If you have any info on Denon's factories, I'd love to hear about them as well. It seems that some of Denon's products are made in Japan, while others (like the 2200) are made in China.

[skipm]

Rotel, like any other company in this day and age that wants to turn a profit, is just taking advantage of the global economy. Design in one place, engineering in another, and assembling in yet another country. I own a MINI Cooper which is a British automobile, but owned by BMW. Parts from 90 different countries go into the making of a MINI Cooper and I honestly don't care because it is one nicely made, real cool car. Ditto for the Rotel. The Denon, Sony, Yamaha, Pioneer, and Panasonic gear, guess what? It's assembled in China as well!

Just enjoy it and don't worry about the where the assembly line is. Because if you don't then you have to start drawing a line somewhere. What about clothes, furniture, food, etc., etc.

Sorry for the rant but I see this question come up all the time and I had to respond. I'll get off my soapbox now.

-Skip

[Bing Fung]

It's all a matter of perspective, what may seem like low wages to you, may feed a family of 10 in China...

I'm sure they would rather be unemployed? :roll:

[spiffnme]

Wages are the most minor point. Indeed what seems like nothing to us, is indeed considered a good paying job elsewhere. The issue is the 1,000's of sweatshops all over the world that huge, VERY profitable corporations have set up to take advantage of not only the low wages, but the complete lack of labor and safety laws.

[aud19]

Well if you plan to get him to buy equipment not made in China (or equivelant) I think you're brother will have to pay a lot more money to get it. Most of the major electronics companies manufacture this way. If they don't the gear costs more. Plain and simple. If that's what he wants to do that's fine, everyone should respect that, but he should be prepared to pay extra for it. Besides I wouldn't put Rotel in the same profit margin class as the major brands.

Jason

[gd]

Guilt-free is gonna cost you...

B&K AVR507, mfr'd in the USA (I think) -- $4000 msrp.

And I don't know if a US-made universal player even exists... maybe the Lexicon @ $3500.

European makes go for even more.

[spiffnme]

His big issue is mostly with China. Japan, Canada, Europe are all fine.

He's also aware he'll likely have to pony up the extra money.

[Andrew Pratt]

It sounds like you've already made up your mind and really what could we say that would convince you one way or the other? I do know that the Rotel factories are owned and opperated by Rotel (i.e. they aren't out sourced) so they likely have much tighter control over the work conditions and quality control etc and knowing what I do about Rotel and how they conduct themselves in every other part of the world I have absolutly no qualms in believing that they treat they're asian work force any different...I know the contact I have talks very highly of the engineering staff over there. You're free to choose your gear any which way you like but I for one don't have a problem with them using chinese labour in their factories...if they were being outsourced that might be different but that simply isn't the case here.

[DrJRapp]

It's all a matter of perspective, what may seem like low wages to you, may feed a family of 10 in China...

I'm sure they would rather be unemployed? :roll:

Well said Bing!

Actually I have seen some footage of Chinese manufacturing facilities, and they are, surprisingly, the antipathy of "sweat shops". Successful electronics manufacturing requires cleanliness and climate control weather it be done in China, Japan, Europe or the US. Wages, while low by our standards are in line with the local economy, and sometimes more. I think the oversight of the Communist Party has a lot to do with that. Technical manufacturing jobs are widely sought after and are certainly seen as superior to working the rice paddies.

[will1066]

Exactly. I used to cover plastics manufacturing for a living, and some factories in China put some factories in the U.S. to shame, in terms of equipment, ISO standards, and efficiency. We all need to shed the image of sweatshops off of some dirt road. There are still these, no doubt, but major technology manufacturing centers and hubs in China are state-of-the-art and are supported by modern infrastructure. (I was blown away by how modern their highways and buildings are.) The knowledge base from Japan and the West has been fully transferred there.

[spiffnme]

For my brother it's more of a political issue. He doesn't want to support the Chinese government. Sorry! I own and LOVE my Rotel stuff!

[Bing Fung]

For my brother it's more of a political issue. He doesn't want to support the Chinese government. Sorry! I own and LOVE my Rotel stuff!

Well, what was the point of this thread then? :scratchhead: It seems it was a foregone conclusion to begin with :roll:



Tell him to watch were his clothes come from. Most textiles come from China, as well as do a lot of petroleum products and chemicals :

His loss...

[Andrew Pratt]

I agree with Bing here given the global economy we now live in life's going to be pretty limiting for your brother

[aud19]

Hey don't forget India...big textiles producer But I agree, it's going to be pretty hard to buy anything if that's the way he feels. Life's too short anyways! :lol:

Jason

[Bing Fung]

And India :W

[Danbry39]

I read an article a couple of years ago about children in India who were being exploited, from our perspective, by companies trying to take advantage of cheap labor. When told that efforts were being made to stop the practice, a plea was made to please stop. In quite some detail, it was made clear how their lives would be changed in a negative way. Other legal forms of employment were simply not available. Their friends begged, stole, or turned to prostitution for money. They, on the other hand, made enough to keep their families fed and clothed.


The article was being used as a prompt at a local college as part of a writing assessment in a process called Subject-A exam. I had to read it as I was scoring the essay. I will say that, before reading the article, I was firmly against the exploitation of workers, children or otherwise, by corporate or non-corporate interests, but found the article to be an eye opener as far as seeing things from another perspective.

[Bing Fung]

I just find a stance like his bothers incredulious for if he were to look around his house he would probably see he already owns plenty of articles that were made in China. Own a bicycle? Childrens toys of any kind? Lamps? Other electrical appliances or devices?

There are so many things that are even partially made in China, then shipped to NA for assembly that isn't readily obvious.

Thats like saying I don't use PC's because the parts can't come from China or Taiwan.... Ain't going to happen :rofl:

[will1066]

LOL You are so right, Bing.

[happydad]

Excuse me for butting in (I like politics almost as much as my Rotel) but..

Shouldn't this brother think that the more Chinese people benefit from Western economics, sooner or later those people will feel more empowered to drive for change in the political system? It may take several generations, but it has to start sometime.