Top engineering from Asia?

Gerwin Pelle - director/owner CNC Team Netherlands BV

Everything you get from afar is delicious. You probably know this saying. This is precisely why I would like to talk to you about the Far East. And, then very specifically about the quality of the machines produced there. Unknown means unloved, but I would argue that the machines that are developed there by the big players are at least as good as what European manufacturers put on the market. Sometimes even better.

10 years ago I thought that THE Quality in our field came only from Europe. That image changed when the Italian Masterwood was taken over by KDT, a Chinese mega factory. I went there to have a look and was impressed. My skepticism turned out to be unjustified. The pricing was much better and the technology was very advanced. The wood industry in Europe would benefit greatly from this. Actually, for years we all looked at the Far East with unjustified suspicion. We underestimated it. Our bias was based on nothing. 

Of course now I hear you say: 'Nice, Gerwin. I want to believe that those machines from China and other Asian countries are top quality and for a good price, but ... it all has to be transported here. Is care for the environment no longer relevant? Good point.

Of course - for example, with regard to the emissions caused by such long transportation - you keep your finger on the pulse. But you must also - as an entrepreneur, as a company - keep reasoning from reality. Moreover, I never cease to be amazed by politicians who continue to judge us - entrepreneurs and ordinary people - on the basis of our (alleged) lack of sustainability, while they themselves simply take the plane for a trip of 200 kilometers. So who are we to improve the world? Or what about what happened recently at the European Football Championship? The Dutch team traveled by train from their home town of Wolfsburg to the stadium in Berlin for environmental reasons. After the match, the return trip was made by bus because there were no more trains. Someone please tell me how that bus from Wolfsburg got to Berlin. Right, it drove there empty. Well, we shouldn't want to do this kind of greenwashing. Really caring about climate and environment is totally okay. But let's also just not forget our own sobriety and realistic entrepreneurship. So: take a look at what machines are coming from the Far East.

In fact, as far as I am concerned, the industry association could organize a study trip to China. Let us all then visit large production facilities and discover what it can all mean for us in the Netherlands. Then everyone can make their own choice.

The fact is that the credo 'unknown makes unloved' will no longer apply. And... after returning to the Netherlands, we will know even more that everything from afar can also be very good.