All the companies these days seem to be outsourcing products and materials overseas or below borders, and it bugs me. Doesen't anybody remember when the best tools were made in the USA by Americans? With those good tools our dads and grandpas built great things, and that made Americans proud of thier country. It bugs me that when a newer Miller or Lincoln welder breaks down and I take off the sheet metal to find the problem, there are stickers or stamps on parts that say "MADE IN CHINA" or "HECHO EN MEXICO". Even when the welding machine manufacturers facility is ISO certified, the welders are still filled with plastic and PCBs, "printed circuit boards", that wear out and break all too soon. I'm okay with importing rice and tortilla chips, but not my welders and consumables.
When new machines go down on the job, I can almost always look over my shoulder and see the dented up grey Lincolns from the 1960s or faded blue Millers from the 1970s still chugging away, getting the job done. Remember when Americans built the best stuff, in America? I want us to be proud like that again.
Here's a link to pictures of the Lincoln Electric China factories, that you and your families probably don't work at. Watch that communist flag wave over the Lincoln Electric emblem.
http://www.lincolnelectric.com.cn/english/corporate.htm Oregon Jake