Ideas born of greatness often times die from confusion, chaos and the inability to track and control development. With our network of resources, we at PassageMaker have made it our goal to eliminate the chaos and confusion and hand control back to you. A typical trading company operates by keeping the customer in the dark, whereas our motto is “Trust & Transparency”.

You will always know who your vendors are, where your product is, who has your designs and what you are paying for. PassageMaker does not add a hidden mark up and resell it to you, rather we charge only for the services we perform. Our resources allow us the ability to customize any operation regardless of size, scale or global target. Whether an invention, a mature product or anywhere in between, PassageMaker is your global solution.

Click on the link below to download our “Controlled Evolution of an Idea” sales brochure.

1989 was indeed an amazing year to be alive.  Ross Douthat has an excellent op/ed in today’s NYT (free registration may be required):

For most of the last century, the West faced real enemies: totalitarian, aggressive, armed to the teeth. Between 1918 and 1989, it was possible to believe that liberal democracy was a parenthesis in history, destined to be undone by revolution, ground under by jackboots, or burned like chaff in the fire of the atom bomb.

Twenty years ago today, this threat disappeared. An East German functionary named Günther Schabowski threw open his country’s border crossings, and by nightfall the youth of Germany were dancing atop the Berlin Wall, taking hammers to its graffiti-scarred facade. It was Nov. 9, 1989. The cold war was finished.

There will be speeches and celebrations to mark this anniversary, but not as many as the day deserves. (Barack Obama couldn’t even fit a visit to Berlin into his schedule.) By rights, the Ninth of November should be a holiday across the Western world, celebrated with the kind of pomp and spectacle reserved for our own Independence Day.

Never has liberation come to so many people all at once — to Eastern Europe’s millions, released from decades of bondage; to the world, freed from the shadow of nuclear Armageddon; and to the democratic West, victorious after a century of ideological struggle.

Never has so great a revolution been accomplished so swiftly and so peacefully, by ordinary men and women rather than utopians with guns.

Twenty years later, we still haven’t come to terms with the scope of our deliverance. Francis Fukuyama famously described the post-Communist era as “the end of history.” By this, he didn’t mean the end of events — wars and famines, financial panics and terrorist bombings. He meant the disappearance of any enduring, existential threat to liberal democracy and free-market capitalism.

This thesis has been much contested, but it holds up remarkably well. Even 9/11 didn’t undo the work of ’89. Osama bin Laden is no Hitler, and Islamism isn’t in the same league as the last century’s totalitarianisms. Marxism and fascism seduced the West’s elite; Islamic radicalism seduces men like the Fort Hood shooter. Our enemies resort to terrorism because they’re weak, and because we’re so astonishingly strong.

Starting in 1993, my family company began a relationship with an excellent plastics company in Plzen, Czech Republic that lasted for 12 years.  I had the pleasure of visiting Czech that year when Prague was still new to the West, and had I not visited Singapore and China the next year, I might have made a career in Europe.  PassageMaker now has a growing sales presence in Europe, led by Marc Brzezinka and Julien Roger (Managing Director of our sister company China Quality Focus), and we expect to have at least one rep based in Eastern Europe soon.

I occasionally hear commentators in the USA talk about “Communist China”.  While China is a one-party state, I have a good laugh whenever I hear that.  China today is more capitalist in many ways than the USA, and Shenzhen, our corporate home, is the most capitalist city of all.  While the marriage is imperfect, the relationship between the USA and PRC is nothing like the Cold War, and thank God for that.

This is an interesting conundrum.  How do you promote business in China, without seeming to run down your home country?

Here is my [edited] response for what it is worth:

Thank you for your email.  All of us at PassageMaker look forward to working with you.

I appreciate your feedback vis-a-vis patriotism.  I cannot speak for Mike and Brian, as they have both married into China as it were, but I can tell you that I consider [it PassageMaker’s role to help American businesses] remain viable.

I spent most of my life in the US automotive industry, and the corporate buyers began pressuring us in the mid-to-late 1980s to move production, first to Mexico (after 6 trips to check it out, we decided to pass); to eastern Europe (we had a great 12 year relationship with an excellent supplier in Plzen, Czech Republic); to the Asian Tigers (we started sourcing in Taiwan in 1991 and I lived in Singapore in 1994); and now to China.  Left to ourselves, we likely never would have moved anything anywhere.

PassageMaker recognizes that outsourcing is a sensitive subject with many clients, but the sad reality is that buyers expect a “world price”.  Having worked in manufacturing for over 20 years, starting with my first job in a machine shop at 14, I know that sometimes American companies can deliver that price.  I know my company in Virginia does just that.  But many companies, especially start-ups, cannot.  They don’t have the tooling, equipment or expertise in place to meet the expectations of the market.

China has a role to play, and that is where PassageMaker comes in.  Our goal is to help foreign companies be successful in their dealings with China.  If by helping an American company successfully manage their China supply chain, I can make the USA operation more profitable, everyone wins.

While the economic and political environment in the USA are causes for great concern, I agree with your assessment of America [as the exceptional and indispensable 'city on a hill' with its best days ahead of it].  It is why I live here.

PassageMaker intends to be a truly global company, with Assembly Centers in every major market.  PassageMaker-Mexico will likely be next, but PassageMaker-USA is also on the list.  We already have sales presence in USA, EU, Mexico and Brazil [with Asia, India and Africa on their way].  We want to be able to offer a comprehensive supply chain solution, including the option to assemble or complete manufacturing in America, regardless of where the core components are made.

I appreciate your concern and would be happy to discuss this further.  Please feel free to call me on my cell.

Whether or not this prospective client takes me seriously has yet to be seen, but my email was sincere.  I take no joy in the apparent slow death of American manufacturing, but I also do not think I am the one doing the killing.

Dan Welygan, who worked in our Shenzhen office for 4 years and is now back on the team as the sales representative serving Oregon and Washington, sent me a link to the China Law Blog.  Thus far looks like a good read.

Another good China business blog is our friends at Silk Road International.  Both well worth the time.

1. Heck yeah!  Buicks are popular in China and since I am now an unwilling shareholder in the second-worst run American car company, we need to sell some Lacrosses ASAP!
2. Thank God I (a) telecommute and (b) don’t live in Beijing.  I can’t stand the traffic in Roanoke, VA.
3. Yes, there will need to be a alternative to the dominance of petrol, and the Chinese have as much of a vested interest as anyone in finding it.  Their motivation will be more economic and national security than pollution, though they will certainly pay lip service.

I look forward to reading Turning Oil Into Salt.  When I read Salt some years ago, I was amazed at the currency value of that now basic commodity in ancient times.  The book’s thesis is that we can break the back of the oil cartel by just introducing engines that run on a variety of combustible fuels.  Let’s hope they are right.

Transport costs are one of those variables that PassageMaker will not quote.  Our Logistics Department can give estimates, or we can help you get a quote from the shipper of your choice, but even with freight near all-time lows, it fluctuates daily.

A world in which transport energy is like salt is a world that will deliver prosperity to the masses of desperately poor people around the world who are trying to improve their lives.  I hope I live to see it, and I have a feeling I will.  Human ingenuity is a powerful thing.

The presentation is available in 4 parts, please view each ten minute part below.

For those clients that need additional assistance beyond PassageMaker’s core services, our Endorsed Service Providers stand ready to assist your business in areas such as Engineering, 3rd Party Quality QC (3PQC) & Specialized Auditing, Lab Testing, Due Diligence, Legal Issues, Finance and Funding, Logistics, Marketing and more.

Click here to see our updated list of outstanding endorsed service providers.

Hover your mouse over each of the red service balloons to find out how PassageMaker can help your business.

Assistance is available to the buyer at any phase of production. Whether you need help turning an idea into production or you wish to explore the feasibility of producing an existing product in China, we can help.

Click on one of the links on the right column to find out specific details about PassageMaker’s service and fees

]]> http://psschina.com/2009/09/circle-of-services/feed/ 0