Archive for November, 2009

Hong Kong Airport

Final day at the fair which I have to say I was really looking forward to! The agenda for today was to revisit some fabric scarf manufacturers that I met yesterday to brief them on a new project and if possible get some quotes.  After that I headed to the carpets & flooring hall to discuss a current project with one of our rug manufacturers.  At the same time, I picked up a couple of other contacts.  I then spent the next few hours walking through the home textiles halls in search of possible manufacturers for towelling products, handkerchiefs, scarfs and kitchen textiles.  Not an easy task finding partners who you can trust and deliver a good service.  Picked up 2 or 3 very good options which we will investigate further.  I ended the fair with a trip to the fashion & travel bags hall, where I met some current suppliers of Sorcit and one or two new sources. Finally I headed back to my hotel for a good Thai meal before catching the train to Hong Kong and checking in for a brief overnight stay in one of the local airport hotels.  Looking forward to getting back for a good Sunday roast! Will be back in the UK office on Thursday.

Hope you enjoyed following my trip and I look forward to the next one in 2010. For a full range of our products and services click here.

First day of the fair which I focused on fashion accessories (scarfs, hats & handkerchiefs), office supplies (stationary & accessories) and medical devices & disposables (1st aid kits).   In each case, I had specific products or materials that I needed to find for current customer projects. Some interesting finds on the Sustainability front which will be very useful to follow up later. So a successful day at the fair and then I headed back to my hotel for an evening of e-mails! Tomorrow will be my final day at the fair, specifically looking at home textiles and possibly a few other categories, time permitting.

Began the day with a visit to a new ceramic factory which is located 30 minutes from our Xiamen office. Currently they have 60 workers and producing mid to high end glazed ornamental ceramics. Guide prices on some of Sorcit existing items suggest it is a possible factory for the near future. Afterwards, I headed back to the office for a final summary meeting with our Chinese staff. In the afternoon, I flew to Guangzhou for the 3rd and final phase of the Canton Fair which covers textiles, bags, sports equipment, office supplies and medical products.

Set off for Dehua (in the Fujian Province) this morning arriving at 10am. Initial visit to a small ceramic factory which we are consider to use developing some new items. Established 25 years ago, generally the quality of products was very good and the management seemed very professional. They produce garden ormaments, indoor decorative artefacts and tableware.   In the afternoon we headed to a factory that currently produces 100% of our ceramic business. I have known this factory for at least 13 years, so they understand our quality requirements and most important ensure our products are not copied. We have a number of key orders going through at present which I was involved in the QC process and at the same time new developments were discussed. After a good lunch and evening meal ended up back in Xiamen, ready for a final day in the China office tomorrow before heading to the Phase#3 of the Canton Fair.

Headed to Quanzhou today (1½ drive from Xiamen) where I visited 2 metal factories whom both produce indoor & outdoor handicrafts. The 1st factory recently moved to these new premises which were very impressive with a large showroom. Excellent quality factory, however, price tends to reflect this as they target medium to high end market. We have a project currently under development for a new innovative outdoor decorative range which we hope to start producing within the November and ship prior to Chinese New Year.

The 2nd fty was a smaller operation but have their own in-house tooling and stamping. Lower priced factory aimed at low to middle market.  We may consider developing few items in the beginning, with the aim to push this factory to produce higher end finishing.

Ended the day with a visit to a PET drinking bottle factory and toilet seat factory, both of which were well organised and producing good quality products.   Off to Dehua in the morning, one of China’s ceramic capitals!