Grizzly machines now made in China

[Greg Woloshyn]

I'm looking into purchasing a new jointer and planer for my shop and would like to go with the Grizzly machines, but now both machines I'm looking at are made in China, where they used to be made in Taiwan. Also, on the specifications sheet they are not produced in an ISO factory. Should I still consider Grizzly? I want to buy once and own nice machines to last a long time and not have the need to upgrade. Considering the G0490XW jointer and the G0453ZW, 8" jointer and 15" planer both with spiral cutterheads. Why is Grizzly now manufacturing in China? Are they starting to take more advantage of profits over quality? The customer service person I talked to says they are trying to meet the high demands for these machines.

[Jared Sankovich]

They have been manufactured in china long before recently...

But so are just about every other wood working brand
http://www.geetech.com.tw/index.php/...-partenrship-e

[Rich Riddle]

Well if China bothers you, there are many machines made in European countries like Austria, Germany, and Italy. They tend to be a bit more expensive.

[Matt Day]

I think the answer is no, you shouldn't be concerned. If the machines weren't as good they'd get more returns and QC issues which would cost grizzly money.

Hasn't China caught up in terms of manufacturing quality a number of years ago?

Maybe Shiraz will chime in.

[Greg Woloshyn]

They have been manufactured in china long before recently...

The previous G0490X was made in Taiwan until they discontinued it, now they are back to producing them only switching factories to one in mainland China.

[Brad Shipton]

Many companies have learned the hard way they cannot protect their intellectual property unless they setup their own shop with their own employees in China. I have no idea if Grizzly did so, but once a company has taken that step they will use whatever QC policies they have developed from home base. If they are on the cheapest bid gets the job, QC can become a problem. Based on the number of times I have seen Grizzly recommended I suspect they pay attention to QC. I myself prefer machines from EU. Something about DIN numbers or other standards makes me happy.

[Van Huskey]

Well if China bothers you, there are many machines made in European countries like Austria, Germany, and Italy. They tend to be a bit more expensive.

Don't forget 'Merica! Though in general the ones still made in America are not priced in a way to lean someone that is looking at Grizzly.

No one can possibly know the short term or long term reliability/durability of the machines that have switched to new factories the only thing one can do is buy based on their confidence in a particular company.

[Frederick Skelly]

Grizzly protecting their intellectual property. Now that's funny.

Maybe Im just dense, but I dont follow you?

[Cary Falk]

I wouldn't worry about the ISO900X certification. I work at a place that has the latest ISO certification. It basically says you have a documented procedure that you follow if your products are out of spec and you follow that product. Two companies can have the same ISO certification but vastly different tolerances. The one that has the tighter tolerances will usually have the better product.

[Jeff Duncan]

Maybe Im just dense, but I dont follow you?

Grizzly machines are knock-offs, (copies), of machines originally designed in other countries.....so they can't have "intellectual property" on something they "borrowed" and was not theirs to begin with

As for the switch from Taiwan to China.....no real difference, Taiwan is part of China, (though they certainly don't like it). The key point is Grizzly is a company that makes machines as inexpensively as possible to capture a share of the market. They're goal has never been on making the best quality tool, it's been making affordable tools. So they're not as the OP says "starting to take more advantage of profits over quality", that's the foundation the company was built upon! This is not to bash or disparage them either, just my honest assessment of what they are and what they do. There's obviously a place for them in the market and many people are happy with what they provide.

If I had to hazard a guess, (freely admit I have no real knowledge on this part), I'd guess Taiwan labor has risen enough to warrant bringing production back to the mainland.

good luck,
JeffD

[Andrew Hughes]

Didn't Taiwan get nailed by a Typhoon not too long ago.

Maybe the factories are kaput?

Aj

[Wayne Lomman]

Much bitter experience with Chinese quality control with cast steel products. The global client our company manufactured for changed to getting all castings from China as they were cheap. Then the failures started. We raised the standards and the quality dropped further. It got so bad the end clients have refused to accept Chinese product. We are all going to pay one day for the cheap products. It has killed local manufacturing. Cheers

[Robin Frierson]

I set up a new shop the summer and bought all grizzly tools with the exception of the cyclone. I bought the same Grizz planer you're looking at, 15 inch with spiral head and a 12 inch joiner with spiral cutter head. So far I've had no problems. Those two machines were made in China. I also bought a table saw and bandsaw and they were made in Taiwan. I've been very happy with these machines. The thing I like about grizzly is if there is a problem they will take care of it. Their customer service is very good.

[Charlton Wang]

Are you sure about this? Seven years ago when I bought the G0490x it was already made in China.

[Erik Loza]

Much bitter experience with Chinese quality control with cast steel products. The global client our company manufactured for changed to getting all castings from China as they were cheap. Then the failures started. We raised the standards and the quality dropped further. It got so bad the end clients have refused to accept Chinese product. We are all going to pay one day for the cheap products. It has killed local manufacturing. Cheers

1.) It is hard to buy a ww'ing machine (or most products, in fact) that are NOT made in China.

2.) As Rich pointed out, if that's a problem for you, I can tell you what machine to buy that is 100% made in Italy for any of your woodworking needs. Of course, it's going to cost a lot more, so you will have a decision to make.

3.) What if I told you that the biggest industrial manufacturer of professional ww'ing machinery in the world had entire production lines in China and that as a guy with almost 15 years in the industry, even I have trouble telling what is and isn't "made in China" these days. But, there's a difference between a Chinese contractor saw that is made in a sweatshop and a CNC machine that is built in China but designed, overseen, and QA'ed by an Italian or other European. Again, what type of machine are we talking about and more importantly, how much are you willing to spend to make your point?

Erik