Alfie
New member
Hi all, I wanted to hop on here and post about this because I'm actually quite surprised about what I saw...
I visited China for a couple months, touring A LOT of factories.
Some where really good, some where utterly terrible, one of which I saw leaks from machines sitting in a showroom lol.
But there was a handful I saw which showed really competitive signs of development and attention to detail. The welding was solid, production lines clean and organised, piping appeared strong, some factories building end-to-end taking steel and forming it into micro and mini excavators.
For Sub 2T machines, I think Chinese machines are starting to show really positive signs of quality. But the missing part now is aftersales and servicing, as I don't see quality being a bottleneck now. Either way, Here's some advice I picked up having visited lots of factories manufacturing micro and mini excavators:
1. Don't order blind - If you're going to buy a micro or mini excavator, buy from someone who has visited the factories, assessed quality and has logistics setup in a way that ensure you're not being billed stupid money for something you weren't told about.
2. Servicing and aftersales - Order from somewhere that provides a warranty and some aftersales support. Yes, they might come from China, but parts can be easily shipped to customers in the event of issues happening, from what I saw, it can happen pretty quick. I've also found that most parts are widely available as well.
3. Don't pick the cheapest - Things are cheap for a reason, and that rule even applies in China. If you go below a certain threshold and it sounds too good to be true, it probably is and you might as well give it a miss and find something more trustworthy.
4. Oil and lubricants - These MUST be changed upon delivery. Unless your supplier is instructing the factory in China (and literally hand holding them and watching them do it!!) as the liquids they put into the machines are low quality and the machine won't run as well.
That's about it honestly. But a really eye-opening visit seeing it in person.
Ive attached some pics of my visit below.
Any questions about these factories, micro or mini excavators, feel free to ask.
(FYI: This is in relation to sub 2T machines and is not comparable to major brands like JCB, BobCat, Kubota and others but parts like Kubota engines are open added as optional extras at factory level.) Lion Machines Mini and Micro Excavators
I visited China for a couple months, touring A LOT of factories.
Some where really good, some where utterly terrible, one of which I saw leaks from machines sitting in a showroom lol.
But there was a handful I saw which showed really competitive signs of development and attention to detail. The welding was solid, production lines clean and organised, piping appeared strong, some factories building end-to-end taking steel and forming it into micro and mini excavators.
For Sub 2T machines, I think Chinese machines are starting to show really positive signs of quality. But the missing part now is aftersales and servicing, as I don't see quality being a bottleneck now. Either way, Here's some advice I picked up having visited lots of factories manufacturing micro and mini excavators:
1. Don't order blind - If you're going to buy a micro or mini excavator, buy from someone who has visited the factories, assessed quality and has logistics setup in a way that ensure you're not being billed stupid money for something you weren't told about.
2. Servicing and aftersales - Order from somewhere that provides a warranty and some aftersales support. Yes, they might come from China, but parts can be easily shipped to customers in the event of issues happening, from what I saw, it can happen pretty quick. I've also found that most parts are widely available as well.
3. Don't pick the cheapest - Things are cheap for a reason, and that rule even applies in China. If you go below a certain threshold and it sounds too good to be true, it probably is and you might as well give it a miss and find something more trustworthy.
4. Oil and lubricants - These MUST be changed upon delivery. Unless your supplier is instructing the factory in China (and literally hand holding them and watching them do it!!) as the liquids they put into the machines are low quality and the machine won't run as well.
That's about it honestly. But a really eye-opening visit seeing it in person.
Ive attached some pics of my visit below.
Any questions about these factories, micro or mini excavators, feel free to ask.
(FYI: This is in relation to sub 2T machines and is not comparable to major brands like JCB, BobCat, Kubota and others but parts like Kubota engines are open added as optional extras at factory level.) Lion Machines Mini and Micro Excavators
