One of our clients has placed some plastics business with us for a new product, so I was able to accompany him over to Shanghai, China along with my supplier, John Fedorjaka at Fedcor Global. John has been to China many times, as has my customer, David. Along with our Chinese colleagues I had plenty of help and support on my maiden voyage to China.

Dinner at Paulaner in Shanghai, China

Being a history buff I had many questions for our Chinese hosts. Our Chinese colleagues Barry, Apple, Tian, and Yuen are professionals who are well versed not only in manufacturing but also in Chinese history and language. They were very patient with me and contributed much to my understanding of China. They are very gracious hosts and lovely people.

Our travels took us to the greater Shanghai area including the cities of Yiwu and Wuxian. We visited our plastics tooling factory, one of our injection molding facilities, our plastic blow molding facility, and a couple of specialty factories serving a different industry.

In addition to all types of plastics manufacturing through Fedcor, we also offer in China:

• Electronics (PCBA), sub-assembly, and box-build through ManuTech LTD in southern China.
• Front panels and related services through CBT Technologies in two different China locations.
• Keypads and membrane switches through Fedcor Global.

Our complete line card can be found here.

Mark Casey in Downtown Shanghai, China

It is my hope that my clients’  needs will take me back to China many times in the future, including trips to southern China and Beijing. Thanks again to John, David, and our gracious Chinese colleagues for a trip that I will never forget.

I interviewed James Babineau, an IP attorney at Fish & Richardson P.C. in Austin, TX, to provide some practical help regarding patents and the protection they provide.

You can find that interview at my Artful Sourcing blog here.

The great XTech and Triple E brands are all in the CBT family, along with the Purcell products. Customers will want to update their purchasing systems with the new CBT name, but the tax ID number will not change. If you are a current customer, you will be receiving all of the relevant information from Baselodge Group and CBT about these changes.

Here is a message from CBT Technology Inc. President Reinhold Hess about the new name:

The new CBT website can be found here.

Please let us know if you have any questions.  info@baselodge.com

This helpful resource not only provides a good introduction to the basics of die casting, it also provides a lot of technical information for those actively considering die casting or designing parts for die casting.

At Baselodge we are proud to represent Chicago White Metal in Bensenville, IL. CWM is a member of the NADCA. CWM’s Die Cast Design Center is a wealth of information in its own right. We encourage you to register for the design center and access a wide variety of data and documents about die casting.

As we prepare to welcome a new year, we reflect on the customers and suppliers that have made 2010 our best year yet. Thanks to all of you for your support. From our entire staff we wish you and yours a wonderful and prosperous 2011.

Apple’s wildly successful iPhone line is a bright shining testimony to American design and engineering. Can it really be that such a great American product is actually adding to the United States’ trade deficit with China? Given the current way trade deficits and surpluses are calculated, the answer is Yes.

Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) like Apple construct supply chains that provide them with what they determine provide the best combination of quality and cost effectiveness. Management is trying to execute their fiduciary responsibility to “maximize shareholder value” by creating great products that are affordable. This is the reason that iPhones are not assembled in California. They could be assembled in California or other US locations, but the assembly cost would drive the final retail price up to a point that Apple has determined would limit sales and not maximize shareholder value.

When Apple and other US OEMs choose China for the final assembly, how does it affect the US trade deficit with China? This excellent article from the Wall Street Journal explains exactly how this works. The article makes a strong case that the simple way trade deficits are calculated no longer reflects the complex way in which products are brought to market.

I predict that after much debate and wrangling, a new method of calculating the trade deficit will eventually emerge. This will not happen quickly or painlessly, but should reflect more accurately the way products are actually manufactured.

The article includes some informative videos on the various methods of casting.

In association with T-Tec Sales, we proudly represent Chicago White Metal for zinc, aluminum, and magnesium die casting.

XTech's New Online Store

• IEEE 1101.10 Filler Panels and components for CompactPCI, VME64x, and VXS.  PMC Bezel with O-Ring, AMC Filler Panels with FR4 panels to provide cost effective, lightweight, robust filler panels for AMC carrier slots or MicroTCA Chassis.
• FMC front panel bezel with a 10mm leg length
• Much more.

I’m sitting at the Boston airport preparing to return to Baselodge Country. I just spent a couple of days with the XTech and Triple E team for the Extrusion Technology Global Sales Meeting in Taunton, MA.

There is no substitute for meeting face-to-face with the people who actually manufacture the products and run the company. In an earlier article I wrote about The Joy of the Factory. While I have been in many different types of factories, this was my first opportunity to tour a factory doing aluminum extrusions and metal manufacturing. To say I was impressed would be an understatement.

XTech has been in business for over fifty years offering high quality aluminum extruded and sheet metal front panels and enclosures for their customers. The engineering support at XTech is second to none, the factory is ISO certified, ITAR registered, and is an active practitioner of lean manufacturing techniques to wring waste out of the processes and deliver more value to the customers.

With the recent acquisition of Triple E Corporation, XTech now has two strong brands to offer to their customers. Triple E offers ruggedized chassis, enclosures, card guides, front panels, and latches. These solutions include VME, cPCI, and other systems.

One of the exciting things about representing XTech and Triple E is that they not only offer serious support to existing customers and technologies, but they also belong to several important industry groups dedicated to the continued development of standards, such as PICMG.

While many people know XTech for aluminum extruded products, the company has extensive sheet metal capability and is now The Front Panel Source regardless of whether you need aluminum or sheet metal.

Baselodge Group is excited about serving our customers in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana on behalf of both XTech and Triple E. Please let us know if you have needs for enclosures, front panels (ATCA, cPCI, AMC, FMC, MicroTCA, VPX, etc.), filler panels, ejectors, latches, chassis, card carriers or anything related to ruggedized systems.

XTech will be expanding their online store soon and make many of their XTech Xpress products as well as their enclosures, filler panels, latches, and hardware available for purchase on the website. We will let you know when that new online store launches. In the meantime it is already up and running for many items you may need.

Thanks again to the entire XTech team for hosting such a well planned and helpful event. Now, back to Texas….

X-Tech recently achieved ITAR certification, which demonstrates their strong commitment to the needs of their defense and security customers. The X-Tech press release with details of their compliance can be found here.

For more on ITAR and related topics, check out my article on Artful Sourcing.