About 15 years ago, my company sent me to China as part of a fact-finding delegation. At the time, we were interested in learning if the bombardment of Chinese windshields into the U.S. aftermarket might begin to abate as domestic Chinese demand increased and absorbed more and more of the Chinese production, or if it appeared that plans were underway in China for major capacity increases to accommodate their own growing demand for OE glass and domestic replacement glass as well as the skyrocketing increases in U.S. aftermarket orders.

My most memorable experience was a tour of the Fuyao windshield factory hosted by Cho Tak Wong– “Mr. Cho”— the CEO of the Fuyao Glass Group. I still have his business card which interestingly touted his Communist Party leadership credential above his corporate title.

The plant was immaculate and highly automated. And it was populated by scores of workers who walked around doing absolutely nothing but were nevertheless there because Mr. Cho was obliged to have a certain required quota of workers on his payroll.

The highlight of the tour came when Cho showed us a patented multi-million dollar piece of equipment he purchased in the U.S. on which he additionally had to pay annual royalties. Then, with a callous bravado that astonished us, he laughingly pointed to five duplicates of the machine which they reverse engineered and copied!

Of course, that was 15 years ago and surely their ways of doing business have changed— and the Easter Bunny comes down the chimney on St. Patrick’s Day.

So if they do purchase Mygrant Glass, are you saying we are all going down the rabbit hole? I don't want to assume this is you David R. by the handle but why did your company send you to visit?

Interesting story, old timer. Most people always thought Chinese glass was cheap because they paid such low wages. The bigger reason was always that the Communist government supported the exports to get hard currency. Tough to compete with that.

I know who the old timer is because he told me years ago about that trip and those incidents. I remember he also mentioned going to a Ford glass plant there where the American plant manager introduced his “senior associate” who was in a military officer’s uniform. The old timer said they were the real bosses in Chinese foreign co-op ventures. By the way, it might seem like a distinction without a difference, but he said in China, the real Commie bosses are not in the “government”, they are the military.

So I guess hurray for Obama and his most likely successor Hillary. Gary Hart, regarding your comment above... we are already down the rabbit hole without any takeover by Fuyao of Mygrant.

Ya, the Brits own Bel/Safe, the Japanese own Pilkington, etc. Fuyao already took over the PGW factory, so what's the difference if they bag Mygrant too.

Hooray-for Mygrant-just like all of us in this business they have finally decided to tighten their belt and take a good long hard look at their cost base. Mygrant is not going anywhere-your all getting excited about nothing-PPG/PGW and Pilk and all the other distributors before they sold out.. have had to do this same thing..reorganize to survive...The chinese suppliers are making enough money now and have been... importing their glass for the last 15 years and guess what..so many retailers and suppliers have supported them in the U.S. We all know that we are are own worse enemy...but we do what is best for our company at any given time-so good for Mygrant..challenging for the folks who got let go or who have had to take a new job-get over it-move on...they probably should have done it 5 years ago...

Heard some time ago that Mygrant wanted to sell because his kids weren't interested in continuing the family ownership line.

The way the current administration has inflicted additional debt on us to the ChiComs, a little more from the glass industry isn't going to make much difference.

@^&#*9!*+# !!!!!!!!

On The Flip side, When I worked for Guardian in the mid 90's a delegation from China came to visit our Shop in Dayton Ohio, It was about a dozen Male and female Chinese people touring our shop (I have no idea what company they were from) My Van Was always clean and had all the updates including a rear heater where I kept my urethane, So they had me give the group a tour of my van and how I kept it for Mobile service, I was very proud of the box I built around the rear heater so when I opened the box to show them where I kept my urethane and how warm it was..... Well lets just say a co-worker had played a joke on me and had condoms stretched over all of the urethane tubes, I was so overtaken by the joke and the Chinese peoples reaction I could hardly breath... They were actually pointing and laughing as I quickly shut the door, And yes that right there goes down as one of the all time best pranks ever!!!! Good ol' days on Dixie Drive, We were a tight bunch of installers and had some good times both at the shop and away as well.

I had not heard that story. Way too funny!

while the "well respected" US manufacturer Pilkington has recently announced they are shutting down another US plant, FYG is currently in the process of opening 2 US plants. Think of that. A Chinese company sending jobs overseas. Anyone who has made a practice of using FYG must admit they have one of the best quality products out there. So good that GM, VW, Audi and others are using them as a supplier. They are opening in the states for 2 reasons. It will be cheaper to build in the states than to ship overseas, and they will be better able to provide "just in time" delivery for customers. The Mygrants may be willing to sell. They have worked hard for many years and like all of us would like to retire while they can enjoy and afford to have a great time. A well established wholesale distributorship would be very attractive to a new manufacturer.

Good opportunity for a Canadian company and or a regional wholesaler with some market presence to expand in the US.. maybe be the next Mygrant in 5-10 years. it is all about opportunities. Nice to have choice other than manufacturer- wholesale- Chinese .
Just my 2 cents

The problem with the U.S. glass manufacturers is they are run by bean counters who not only do not know anything about the business, they don't WANT to know anything about the business. Guardian is a good example of what happens. They are run by a Koch Brothers appointee who knows about glass like he knows about Chinese opera.

Once upon a time, people were encouraged to "buy American". But that was eons before commie tree huggers began ruling the country.

The way everything is interconnected, it is almost impossible to buy American.

Glass Jockey, since you wrote that post it looks like the Koch Brothers/Guardian have bailed out of the automotive glass business. That's ironic. Maybe they do know what they are doing!

Auto glass and glass in general have become a commodity and price alone is king.

Hey tj, who will play a better golf game: a pro who's handed an amateur bag of clubs or a guy who never played who's handed a set of pro clubs? Pretty obviously the pro.

But a great installer who has to put in an out of bend w/s won't fair much better than a hack with an OE.

All w/s are not commodities.

We used to have a saying, "The cheaper it is the better it fits"
If the price is the same, they will use the better quality, but make the junk a few dollars less, and it is amazing how many will take the junk.
PS I am not referring to FYG as being junk, the junk is Benson and XYG.

Sorry benji, all auto glass is a commodity.

tj and Billy D are right. Auto glass is a commodity. Look at the Sept 22 glassbytes article about the Ford recall for air bubbles in the windshields. Let's hear it for OE!

Years ago I drove out of a dealership with a brand new GM car. I went two blocks and the car came to a dead stop and I had to be towed back. The guy in charge of the dealer's repair department said "Your alternator blew, but don't worry, we're putting in another OE genuine Delco one."

I said, "Really. You're so proud you're putting in another OE genuine Delco one. If they are so terrific, how come they crap out after just two blocks?"

Yes, let's hear it for OE!

An astronaut said he was nervous getting ready to take off because he was thinking that every part of the rocket was supplied by the lowest bidder.

I'm looking forward to St. Patrick's Day so I can come down the chimney!

OE is a joke no matter how you look at it. The glass put in at the assembly plant is usually made at a different factory than the same brand that goes out into the after market. For me, the cheaper the better.

You must not read dot numbers.

The DOT number is a function of the company, not the specific plant. If a U.S. w/s fabricator has more than one plant in the U.S., they all have the same DOT number. Only when that same fabricator has a plant OUTSIDE the U.S. does the DOT number change.

Hey Moe-I saw the 3 Stooges at Rocky Point back in the 60's.. and they did not know too much about glass...hopefully you do-but I got to tell you each plant does have their own DOT number-at least the ones I have dealt with over the years-domestically and over seas...

Hey Jimminy, you need to get with Curly and Larry!

When Guardian was in the automotive glass business, their plants in Auburn, Indiana and Ligonier, Indiana and Millbury, Ohio and Upper Sandusky, Ohio all put out glass with DOT 22. Their plant in Llodio, Spain was DOT 83. Don't know the DOT # of the plant they had in Luxembourg.

Obviously your dealings with domestic and overseas companies were not very extensive.

LOL-your a funny guy...

Hit him in the head with a shovel, poke him in the eye or run a hand saw over his head and he will be even funnier.
Ooops...

Too many threads and posts here are nothing buy moaning and groaning. I actually learned a few things in the posts on this thread. Thanks to the posters.

I suspect that at his U.S. plants Mr Cho won't have too many people standing around doing nothing like in china

old timer, the Chinese government underwrites the production of aftermarket glass, and prices according to the market. when you and I die, the Chinese will still rule the aftermarket.
We let this occur, and it was clearly a consequence of U.S. politics. These people pay their BILLETED employees, the equivalent of $80 per month. And now, they've invested in modern bending/fabrication equipment. We're toast.

John Gauthier is Cho's plant manager at Zion. I wonder who Gauthier's "senior associate" from the homeland is.

Probably Col. Mao Zedong or equivalent

If their history is any predictor of future behavior, it looks like operating under the highest ethical standards will not be an issue. Take that any way you want.

The Koch Brothers invested in Guardian when the shares were available privately from Davidson's widow. They were looking to improve their image as they own too many companies that pollute the environment.

Guardian makes more money staying away from automotive glass and has slowly lowered their ambition. They like making architectural glass for Saudi Arabian skyscrapers... who also invested in Guardian.

Fuyao's disregard for intellectual property (i.e.- patents) is very disturbing. They may operate that way at home, but they will be hit with major litigation if they do that here.

FBI: Chinese Hackers “Like a Drunk Burglar”

On 60 Minutes Sunday, FBI Director James Comey said that Chinese hackers target U.S. intellectual property every day. “They’re kickin’ in the door, knocking over the vase, while they’re walking out with your TV set. They’re just prolific.”

According to the news program, recent crimes committed by Chinese hackers include:

•The theft of personal data of 4.5 million patients from Community Health Systems, including social security numbers.

•Stolen Boeing and Lockheed Martin military plane secrets. Hackers “gained remote access to information residing on the computer systems of U.S. companies including cleared defense contractors.”

___________________________________________________________
The Chinese are also suspect in the Chase hacking. It appears their glass shtick is tame compared to the above stuff, and it's reassuring to read in the opening post that the main executive is far removed from the Comm Party/military/government.

Far removed? I trust you're only being super facetious Roger.

If Guardian is out of the vehicle glass business, why are they crapping around with motor homes? I see there's a post today for a new RV website they have. For what once was a major company diddling with this stuff looks like pretty desperate death throes and an embarrassment to me.

With all that is going on in the world right now, compared to middle east invaders, Asians are pretty tame.

Fuyao chief on Forbes billionaire list:

http://www.forbes.com/profile/cho-tak-wong/

This article wherein Cho credits his "integrity" as a major key to his success is the most audacious, hypocritical piece of chutzpa I have experienced in seven decades of living!


http://www.glassbytes.com/fetch.php?url=http://www.ecns.cn/business/2014/12-30/148754.shtml

Old Timer,
Perhaps your trip of many years ago has hardened your heart towards Mr. Cho and his countrymen. Let it go, let it go. Somehow they are creating jobs in states like Michigan and Ohio where others have failed. Relax, rethink the world. Lay back and read his book, "My heart is a bodhi tree." Don't wait for the movie. Lay back and read now. Return to the place of your journey, meet again with Mr. Cho, break bread. Maybe some sweet and sour latkes.

Nimrava, your words are like Nirvanah. Let the latkes of friendship be consumed in the temple close to the great waters after a day of fishing therein.

So-cho-main-man.... What have you got against Chinese food?

Fuyao Glass America Inc. is giving $7 million to the University of Dayton to help develop the university’s China Institute and partner in educational efforts here, officials announced Friday.

The gift will go toward purchase of the five-story, 68,000-square-foot building housing the China Institute, which opened in 2012 in the Suzhou Industrial Park.

Fuyao Glass Chairman Cao Dewang and UD President Daniel J. Curran made the announcement at the University’s River Campus in Dayton.

________________________________________________________________________________________
Above is a post from 1/12/15 GLASSBYTES.

Hey, take a small portion of the tens of millions you reap from not paying royalties to American companies whose patents you crap on, and then grab yourself a great tax write-off! Viva Mr. Cho and viva the America that allows it and the industry that pretends not to notice!

http://www.glassbytes.com/2015/01/fuyao-auto-glass-plant-to-add-750-more-jobs/

Cho or Cao or however you want to transliterate it kind of reminds me of old Joe Kennedy:

You start with a gangster/bootlegger in the case of Joe, and add a President Roosevelt whose campaign he financed and thusly was made an ambassador and patriarch of American "nobility"

or

You start with a Chinese Communist official/robber of intellectual property and cutthroat operator and then add a U.S. governor and throw in some jobs and you have a saint.