Shenzhen empties out quickly for the Lunar New Year. With the city to myself, I decided to bike south until I ran out of land. Which turned out to be the Shekou Port. I feel pretty confident that I was the only American to ride through the world's third busiest port that day, at least in flip flops.
Other photos from the ride included. This is a pretty great town.
I originally posted these photos on my Instagram. Check it out!
新年快乐🐷!
Gordon...
We have been making trips to Vietnam to explore the manufacturing environment south of the border. We have had the pleasure to make connections in Hanoi and Saigon and expand our team in-country. Below are thoughts on starting to do business in Vietnam.
Vietnamese Die Casting of Korean Aluminum, Heading to Japan
Prices
Let’s start here. I had heard that prices in Vietnam were low, even lower than those in China. But never had any real info to back that up. Now with our first projects in Vietnam, we’re starting to get that data. Here are per piece quotes on the same die cast aluminum part, quantity 100,000 pieces:
USA $0.68China $0.27Vietnam $0.13
With USA tooling costs at $40,000 and Vietnam tooling costs at $4000.
The prices really are that good. A rule of thumb I heard was 40% savings over China - at least here, that more than holds.
Old machines line Route 1A in Saigon. $2000 gets you whatever you want, if you can bargain.
So....
Our first factory visit in Vietnam! With continued pressure from the Trump Tariffs, decided it was time to start making contacts south of the border. Caught a flight, hopped on the back of a Grab bike, and went to the factory. Outside of Hanoi, we saw examples of molding (plastic injection molding and aluminum die casting - molds made in Vietnam), CNC machining, large scale metal work, and electronics assembly. Enjoy! Looking forward to sharing as we continue to explore around Asia.
Apologies for the vertical shot - the best way to hold my phone on the back of a scooter :)...
