Factory to the world

While I can't talk about my work directly, there are many sights at the factories and offices I have visited so far that I wanted to begin to share. I really can see how China is building the brand of "factory to the world". The area I have been working in the South specializes in shoes, furniture, electronics, clothing, etc. but many other industries are present.

One such factory tour took me to a place that sells Portraits, pictures, and assorted artwork on-line. They market through various channels internationally, and use E-bay primarily for the US. Upon entering the warehouse, there are hundreds of employees painting at their respective canvas. All are using a sample as guide, but are free form painting everything. These are everything from Monet to Rockwell imitations. The level of detail and accuracy to the original was shocking. I found them to be incredibly talented. When I asked how long they trained, my guides looked confused. They stated that each artist would bring in friends/family that showed promise, and they would mentor as a replacement someday.

I was told that most depending on level of detail would complete 2-4 paintings per day. These are then stretched, dried, and framed in some cases prior to shipment.

While this was one example, I am seeing an amazing ability for copy prevalent in most areas. many of the factories I have visited, began as a copy of something- then the copy was refined and mass production followed. Labor is cheap, and most of the raw materials needed much less expensive. Most if not all of the factories have housing on site that is part of the compensation package for employees. One of the facilities I visited this week had 28K employees per the literature working in 3 shifts across their production campus. While most are much smaller, the number of production/manufacturing facilities is in itself astounding.

You easily see how many name brand products are run on the same lines with generic, but they are identical in quality and make.

The pictures above were taken on visits today. Both were in industrial areas-one shows work on a modern facility. However, as in many cases, Bamboo is used as scaffolding- somehow I don't know that OSHA would approved practice in domestic US, also scenes from Street-they really do carry a ton on bikes.
Catch up with you all later.