# My Trip To A Chinese Machine Shop And Sight Seeing I Did While There



## 4GSR (Sep 27, 2015)

I thought I would share a few pictures of a machine shop in the heart of China that I visited on my current trip.  This makes my fourth trip to this area dealing with manufacturing over there. 
(We all have our differences about the subject and I'm not advocating any politics over what I have to say here, on my involvement of business over there.  It's my customer that has made the decision to go this route, not mine.  It's my main income that I'm able to survive on today.)

The shop I visited is located in a large city west of Shanghai about a 1,000 miles on the Yancy River called Jingzhou City.  It is the location of the Chinese Oil Company Plant No. 5, and many other companies that build and supply most of the World's oilfield drilling and completion equipment used today.

The plant, my customer and I visited, is a new shop to us.  They currently build parts for the old Wichita Clutches and water cooled brakes used on drilling rings and work over rigs.








Please don't let this thread turn into an political conversation.  I just like for you guys to see pictures of Chinese machinery we may not see over here.  This is my last night of stay here before returning to the USA tomorrow.  And I'll be glad to come home, too!

Ken


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## 4GSR (Sep 27, 2015)

Anyone for Scorpion on a stick?  Or a Sea Horse on an stick? Yum yum.

No! I did not try one!


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## Firestopper (Sep 27, 2015)

Sounds like a cool working trip.


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## wrmiller (Sep 27, 2015)

Very nice. Saw a couple of bed mills and a CNC turning center that caught my eye. No room (or use for that matter) for anything like that, but still...


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## TomS (Sep 27, 2015)

Looks clean and well organized.  I've been in a few manufacturing facilities in the U.S. that don't compare.

I did work in the Philippines using a local machine shop.  Not even close to the shop in China.  The Philippines shop was a foundry, weld shop and machine shop.  These three functions were not segregate so everything you touched had welding and casting grit on it.  Glad I'm not doing that anymore.

Tom S


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## Bill Gruby (Sep 27, 2015)

How come nobody is  working???

 "Billy G"


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## brav65 (Sep 27, 2015)

I spent three weeks in Western China and the manufacturing was not anywhere near as up to date as that.  Many work areas were dirt floors with only a shed roof and no walls.  This looks to be up to standards for any country.  

The markets are a total trip, one thing pictures do not convey is the smell.  Sometimes it was pleasant, but many times it was eye watering.


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## Bill Gruby (Sep 27, 2015)

The last two sure do not look mouth-watering.

 "Billy G"


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## brav65 (Sep 27, 2015)

Bill Gruby said:


> The last two sure do not look mouth-watering.
> 
> "Billy G"



You can buy scorpions live as well to cook at home.  Another interesting item is a 100 year old egg, see here https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_egg


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## 4GSR (Sep 27, 2015)

brav65 said:


> ..........The markets are a total trip, one thing pictures do not convey is the smell.  Sometimes it was pleasant, but many times it was eye watering.



You are correct on that!!! This market had many smells to it that I cannot even say one word about it without it being censored.  And this market is on the edge of the major World commerce of the city of Beijing.  

Didn't see any 100 year old eggs, but some of the boiled eggs I saw would come close to it!


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## 4GSR (Sep 27, 2015)

brav65 said:


> I spent three weeks in Western China and the manufacturing was not anywhere near as up to date as that.  Many work areas were dirt floors with only a shed roof and no walls.  This looks to be up to standards for any country........



The shops I've visited in this area in the past 10 years were/are new, less than 20 years old, nice and clean.  For the oilfield work we get made from this area,  I will say, we have had very few non-conforming parts that have been rejected and credits issued for, from these shops as well as others spread out over the country of China.


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## coolidge (Sep 27, 2015)

(Coolidge wanders off looking for his bottle of Pepto)


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## 4GSR (Sep 27, 2015)

Bill Gruby said:


> How come nobody is  working???
> 
> "Billy G"



They only had five or six people working in the shop that day.  They are under capacity at about 40% right now due to the down turn in the oil industry.  Yes, it affects them too.  There was one guy running both gear shapers that I saw.  And another guy running a VTL, and another running a large engine lathe.


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## Bill Gruby (Sep 27, 2015)

Gear shapers and Hobbers are fascinating.

 "Billy G"


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## 4GSR (Sep 27, 2015)

coolidge said:


> (Coolidge wanders off looking for his bottle of Pepto)



LMAO

You don't drink the water unless it is bottled water.  But that's ok,  Drank lots of BEER in its place!!!


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## mcostello (Sep 28, 2015)

Cannot get the pictures to work, help please.


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## FOMOGO (Sep 28, 2015)

Pretty nice looking facility. Thanks for posting. I ate some weird things during my 3 1/2 yrs in Asia, but I don't recall any scorpions or sea horses. Would likely try one if I had the chance. Mike


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