The short and simple answer to that is a very emphatic No - They are not!
Japanese machines
Established companies like Barudan has been designing and developing advanced embroidery machines for more than 60 years.
Barudan manufacture the whole machine from top-to-bottom including the electronic control systems. These machine are not built to a price. They are built to perform and to last. The electronic control systems and motors are powerful and are built to withstand extreme work-loads and even some unstable power conditions, so when their machines are used in a stable, reliable, power supply like ours here in Australia . . it's like a walk in the park.
That's why there are so many Barudan machines still in use today that were first installed 20+ years ago and of course many more new models too.
Local parts supply - Reputable machine manufacturers rely on reputable, local distributors who like us, who maintain an extensive stock of spare parts and have have a large team of well trained technicians.
World class warranty - A very quick and easy way to determine the quality of a product and the confidence of the local supplier is to find out what warranty and guarantees are offered. Are they offered up front without your request or are they hidden on some obscure page, written in small print with disappearing ink and 3 pages of warranty conditions.
Chinese-made machines - At the time of writing this article there are as many as 50 companies who assemble copy embroidery machines in China.
Now you'll notice that I said "COPY" and "ASSEMBLE".
Yes, they simply copy what is now very old Japanese technology, using low quality electronic and mechanical parts with inferior assembly too. The majority of Chinese-made embroidery machines that I know of here in Australia broke down within the first year or two and were simply pushed into a corner to gather dust. Now there are of course some who are prepared to put up with lower quality embroidery and more frequent break-downs that might take weeks or even months to resolve.
Now that's not to say that things won't change for the better in future but let me tell you that I've been watching the embroidery machine manufacturing industry in China very closely for almost 20 years and I have to say that whilst the machines look better now externally - What I see under the covers still fills me with me with dread and makes my technicians throw their hands in the air.
So pleeeeeease - If you have some cash you'd like to throw away - throw it in my direction. I need it :o)
Now all jokes aside - Don't expect to pay peanuts and get a quality made, reliable machine. I have been in this industry for the best part of 45 years and I have not seen anything yet to convince me otherwise.
All of the Chinese made embroidery machines that I have seen (and I have seen many) could almost be mistaken for being from the same factory. You see in a way, they are all the same. They all buy the parts from the same companies and just put them together. Believe it or not there are even reports of farmers who have decided to supplement their incomes by assembling multi-head embroidery machines in there farm buildings. NOW THAT'S SCARY.
Now you know where the straw came from in the packing case :o)
In China there are only one or two companies who make the control systems. A few other companies that make the chassis. Other companies make sewing head castings and finally there are some others that make needles bars, presser feet, gears Etc. Etc.
Every one of those 50 or so machine builders buys the parts from a series of manufacturers and then takes them back to their own building where they go about assembling them and painting them different colours with putting their own name on the front of each sewing head. Of course they all claim that their machine is in some way far superior to all others. They are not!
They ship them out to different countries around the world where they are cheap but often run very badly with very high thread breakage and poor embroidery quality. They usually end up breaking down and the unlucky (or unwise) owners find that there are no spare parts locally - No technical support and as for warranty well that is in your dreams only.
What's the latest trend in Chinese-made machines?
Well, what has happened is that a couple of U.S. companies have decided to buy machines in China, paint them a different colour and put their own name on them. They don't actually say that the machines are made in the U.S. What they might say is something like "Designed in the U.S." or "Development based in the U.S."
That may or may not be true but it is to say the least, worded in such a way as to to suggest to the unwary that perhaps it is an American embroidery machine.
