Our History
The Name
In nautical terms, a passagemaker is a vessel designed to make long distance sea voyages. Just as a passagemaker ship provides a safe and secure journey for its crew and cargo as it sails around the globe, our company PassageMaker Sourcing Solutions protects our clients’ intellectual property, achieves their desired quality and maximizes savings as products are sourced in the “dangerous foreign waters” of China.
While our web address, www.PSSchina, is the abbreviation of our original name “PassageMaker Sourcing Solutions China”, these days we simply go by “PassageMaker” or “PM” for short.
History
In the late 1990′s PassageMaker began sourcing metal hardware and injected plastics in China. We developed close partnerships with a number of local factories in order to provide quality products to our US and European customers. One factory in particular, called “JinSu”, stood out above the rest thanks to their cooperative attitude, competitive pricing, experienced management, short lead times and sense of quality.
In 2002, through a capital injection PassageMaker took an ownership stake in JinSu, forming the PassageMaker-JinSu Joint Venture (JV). Consolidating our orders and providing investment capital allowed the JV to purchase new equipment and expand operations for metal stamping, injected plastics and a tool & die shop. The JV eventually outgrew its original facilities in late 2004.
In May of 2005, manufacturing operations were consolidated to a new facility in the SongShanHu Development Zone in Dongguan, China. CNC machines were added and dedicated assembly lines were introduced to service key customers. With metal fabrication, plastic injection, and a tool shop under one roof, the enterprise increased production efficiency and advanced its ability to control overall quality, security and shorten lead times. In early 2006, ISO 9001-2000 was achieved at the Dongguan facility.
In early 2006, our precision assembly center was opened in Shenzhen. This facility is 100% under US ownership and focused on “white glove” assembly of quality intensive product. It has a clean room at the heart of its operations to meet the requirements of even our most quality conscious customers.
Also, in early 2006, PassageMaker became the first (and perhaps only) medium sized, 100% US-owned, assembly / inspection company in Shenzhen possessing the following:
1. In-house licensed customs brokers
2. Full import – export rights
3. Authorized by the Chinese government to process Value Added Tax (VAT) rebates.
These allow us to avoid all middlemen and ensure our pricing to customer receives the maximum amount of VAT rebate possible. In some cases, up to 15%, depending on product classification!
2006/2007 saw a spike in the number of PassageMaker-Client Joint Ventures formalized and under discussion. When the value of goods purchased is large enough, setting up a dedicated factory in China may be a consideration. Especially if issues of quality, design security and brand control are paramount. However, the effort required to build and manage a factory from the ground up can be intimidating, especially for those businesses which are new to China. So for our clients that want greater control over the production process, and wish to avoid the headaches associated with “going it alone” in China, PassageMaker leverages its existing business infrastructure and proven China track record to facilitate the formation of, and oversee the operations of the JV factory in China.
In March 2007, our main administration office moved from Yijing Gardens in Shenzhen to the LianTang district of Shenzhen near the border with Hong Kong and close to the key port of Yantian. The move doubled our usable office space and allowed us to nearly triple our front office staff.
In November 2007 we consolidated ownership by buying out our local partners. General assembly was moved out of the Dongguan JV to a new and larger facility in Shenzhen to meet the needs of our growing client base. This general assembly/ inspection center is now 100% under US ownership.
March 2008 saw the expansion of our sourcing operations into the greater Shanghai region with the opening of an office in Jiangsu. In the following months we set up full time Vendor Coordination staff in Zhejiang and Fujian. Staff there will provide supplier identification, vendor coordination, auditing and inspection services for our clients who have suppliers in the Yangtze River Delta of East China.
In May 2008, PassageMaker North America (PMNA) was created in Salem, Virginia USA to expand our footprint in Canada and the United States.
In 2009 PMNA was tasked with expanding our global sales force. At the time of writing we have sales teams servicing China, USA, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Australia/NZ, Brazil and India.
Summer 2009 saw the development of the endorsed service providers section of our website. The endorsed service providers help our client’s move from concept to production and beyond by offering support services (specialized engineering/auditing/inspections, legal advice, financial support and even order fulfillment and marketing advice) which compliment the core China-side offerings from PassageMaker.
From day one, the ability to offer “trust and transparency” to our customers has set PassageMaker apart from the field.
Trust: Absolute confidentiality with client information is key to the way PassageMaker operates. The client’s design specifications, tooling, and brand imagery are respected and kept in a secure environment. Our customers sleep well at night knowing their product is in good hands in China.
Transparency: There are no hidden middlemen. This factory direct relationship facilitated by PassageMaker fosters better communication, shorter lead times, competitive pricing and direct accountability for quality and service. And in the case of PassageMaker, to further simplify the process, the managers on-the-ground in China are American!
Over the years we have helped customers large and small reduce costs, ensure quality and source safely in the PRC. On behalf of the entire PassageMaker team, I thank you for your interest in PassageMaker and look forward to being of assistance to you in China!
Best Regards,
Mike Bellamy
Founder &
China Operations Director
