Concerned about the beginning of localization of foreign instruments

In recent years, the demand for domestic instruments has continued to grow. However, due to backwardness in scientific research and technological innovation, high-end precision analytical instruments have long relied heavily on imports. The vast Chinese market and cheap labor have attracted many foreign instrument manufacturers to set up factories in China, and have entered the Chinese market with their advanced technology, abundant capital, and top brand effects. It not only opens up the market, but also can significantly reduce the cost of manufacturing the instrument and has a competitive advantage in terms of price.

Localization of the instrument is of course a good thing. On the one hand, we can get close contact with advanced technology, cultivate a group of local talents, fill the domestic high-end equipment market, and increase employment. However, there are also many problems that accompany it. Once high-end instruments of foreign top brands are affixed with Chinese-made labels, they have an advantage in terms of price, but their quality is not satisfactory. The Shimadzu of Japan went to Suzhou, and the quality was far inferior to the original one. Therefore, some people said that “No matter how good the brand is, if it comes to domestic production, the brand will succeed.” This is of course extreme, but it is also directly reflected. The "localization" phenomenon of foreign instruments.

Why does the quality of high-end foreign instruments enter the Chinese market has declined? This issue is indeed worthy of deep thinking.

First of all, from a technical point of view, technology is the key factor in determining the quality of products, but foreign companies are not concerned with the confidentiality of technology. Some key technologies that affect reliability, such as precision machining technology, sealing technology, welding technology, etc., are not easy to leak. Domestically produced foreign instruments may not be the same as the original product technology, resulting in product performance that is not stable enough and reliable. At the same time, the cycle of product technology renewal is slow. Domestic manufacturers lack research on key technologies of products and cannot upgrade products independently. Often, the introduction of foreign technologies is used to achieve the renewal of a generation of products, which cannot be well absorbed after introduction.

Secondly, the lack of attention to production details is also an aspect. For example, the length, material, and even the length of the outlet holes of the bulkheads must be consistent. A valve with 14 holes and 28 outlets must be uniform and uniform. Uniform. It is difficult for a technician in the domestic assembly line to have such a technology. The lack of attention to details directly leads to the roughness of precision instruments.

In terms of training and qualifications of technical personnel, training and assessment will generally be conducted by a unified society. However, there are too many departments for personnel training and accreditation in China. They are too fragmented, there is no complete standard system, and many companies have employees on the production line. No systematic training has been done. Foreign workers may not have been educated by the university, but they have received vocational education. The prescribed procedures will be meticulous, and our workers will not be able to achieve it.

Finally, the decline in localization quality is related to cost control. Domestically produced instruments are mainly sold to underdeveloped countries and developing countries. In domestic production, certain non-core components are certainly domesticated, so that production costs will be greatly reduced. The pursuit of the maximization of profits is the first goal of the manufacturer, and the past and the past have not paid enough attention to quality to lead to a decline in product quality.

The quality of many foreign brands entering China has declined, and it also includes after-sales services. Although foreigners do as they do in foreign countries, they have an advantage in terms of price, but they also have a bad influence on their own brands. Foreign instruments affixed with Chinese labels are also discriminated against as domestic instruments, at the expense of product quality. The price advantage is not desirable.