Comment by FirmwareBurner
1 year ago
>> However, if you’ve ever used a product marked “Made in Germany,” you’ll understand what German culture truly values: mastery of a craft and uncompromising quality.
What is OP smoking? I have a Bosch oven, Gigaset DECT phone set and a Fujitsu Siemens laptop, all made in Germany and their quality is complete bottom of the barrel crap, totally the opposite of "craftsmanship and uncompromising quality".
Chinese companies blow them out water to the moon and back in UX and build quality. The quality of recent German cars is also nothing to write home about. Full of cheap and hollow sounding plastics including premium brands like Audi.
The "Made in Germany" sticker is a myth for consumer goods and electronics.
Are those actually still made in Germany? Siemens got sold looong ago, or at least their consumer facing parts, as far as i know.
Except maybe the Bosch oven is made in germany. But tbh I wouldn't buy a Bosch oven, in my corner of the world outside Germany they're known for good tools not kitchen appliances. My Bosch electric screwdriver is great :)
Yes they're still labeled Made in Germany. Although what exactly is made in Germany is unknown to me.
They might even just do the bare minimum for that compliance , and put together sloppily made Chinese made parts in a cardboard box in some warehouse in Germany and call that Made in Germany in order to get subsides from the German state for maintaining jobs in Germany.
> and put together sloppily made Chinese made parts
... and you can't even blame the Chinese.
I've worked a bit for companies having custom hardware manufactured in China. The factory will build exactly what you pay them for.
From sloppy stuff thrown into a box and shipped untested to clean work with reliable parts and a burn in test done before it leaves the factory. It's just that every additional step costs extra and the dignified western industrialists are trying to save money there...
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All of those are the opposite of Mittelstand. Those are old German megacorps, trying to do everything.
Where did I talk about the Mittelstand? I only addressed the issue of the modern "Made in Germany" consumer goods which tends to be an overhyped outdated trope that delivers overpriced and poor quality goods by today's standards.
It's oblivious most consumer goods are gonna come from very large companies since only those have the economies of scale to manufacture, sell and market internationally consumer goods at a profit.
Mittlestands mostly cater to niche products or local markets where there's less downward pressure for cost or upward pressure for innovation by international competition.