Post
by timmy » Fri May 22, 2020 5:25 am
I could not be surprised if the "captains of industry" do anything, no matter how illogical, but I observe:
Making pistols is not so high tech anymore, as the basic concepts have been identified for awhile: Some sort of polymer frame, a metallic slide and steel barrel, all of which could be made anywhere. India isn't the low cost labor market in the world; that would be countries like Vietnam and Sri Lanka. The political situation in Sri Lanka may not be optimal, but Vietnam already has experience in arms manufacture: the SMLE clones for Australia.
Chinese stuff is contracted with any number of manufacturers. When I was young, "Japanese junk" was a common term. But Japan soon showed a proficiency in optics, electronics, guns, automobiles, and many other sectors of Industry. China has also gone through this transformation. There are many things that China does a very good job at making. Often, if one acquires something poorly made in China, it is because the middleman (often from the USA or Europe) has fixed an expense that only allows poor or inept manufacture. The product, in many cases, could have been better if the middleman had allowed for a higher cost Chinese manufacturer to make the item.
As i said in a previous post, if the Philippines can make a serviceable revolver at an affordable cost (last night, Sportsman's Warehouse listed a Rock island/Armscor 38 Spl snubby revolver for $200) would all (or any) of the companies mentioned here be interested in outsourcing manufacture alone, at a price point at or lower than the Philippines without also having access to the local market? As I said, corporations cannot be depended on for logic, but I do wonder about the business case of guns "for export only" manufacture in India.
I am, in a way, somewhat sad about this. I wish that India offered a competent product in a line that interested me. For instance, the old Royal Enfield designs are updated and manufactured (but they are very expensive) and I would like to own one. Why can't a gun be made of similar quality and, better yet, at an affordable price? If a Bose can design sound systems and components that command world attention and respect, are not similarly gifted minds available to design firearms?
Well, the answer to this last question is something I learned years ago: the key to success in the corporate world is 20% having a good idea, and 80% BS. Who can talk a better advertising campaign? Who has greased the palms of which politician to buy the land, build the factory, and clear the way for going to work. The key to business is usually the ability to talk someone's money into one's own pocket, rather than a better idea or a superiorly made product, although having a superior product is often a big plus, as Sony or Toyota shows us.
“There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know”
Harry S. Truman
