cic Archive

  • Going it Alone, Part III: Injection Molding

    Going it Alone, Part III: Injection Molding

    Posted on May 2, 2010 | No Comments
    The first half of Going it Alone, Part III: Inside the Factory Walls appeared on CrunchGear yesterday. We pick up our survey of how consumer electronics are made with … Injection Molding “One Word: Plastics”. Injection molding is the process by which hot, liquefied plastic is injected into steel (or sometimes other materials) cavities called [...]

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  • Going It Alone: How to Make Your Stuff In China

    Going It Alone: How to Make Your Stuff In China

    Posted on April 10, 2010 | No Comments
    Adam Hocherman, 34, is an entrepreneur and founder of the consumer electronics company American Innovative in Boston, MA. Adam founded the company in 2003 with the help of the US Government’s SBA loan program and is currently the 100% owner. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA, both from Cornell [...]

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  • CrunchGear in China: Shanzhai Market

    CrunchGear in China: Shanzhai Market

    Posted on December 11, 2009 | No Comments
    The cellphone market in Shenzhen is like a flea market where everyone is selling the same thing. If it looks like an iPhone, it’s here. There are hundreds of models, hundreds of odd names, and hundreds of people arrayed along the inside of a huge room. There are four or five floors of this mess. [...]

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  • CrunchGear in China: The Ex-Pats

    CrunchGear in China: The Ex-Pats

    Posted on December 9, 2009 | No Comments
    I’m sitting on a darkened patio of a club called Viva in the Futian district of Shenzhen. It’s not too late – about 1am – and the place is busy but not full. It’s mostly ex-pats here, folks who work at the various sourcing companies nearby. This place is so anti-China that it almost looks [...]

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  • CrunchGear in China: Getting From There to Here

    CrunchGear in China: Getting From There to Here

    Posted on December 8, 2009 | No Comments
    For a long time my concept of sourcing – basically order fulfillment – was all wrong. When I ordered a USB charger or headphones for my phone or MP3 player, I thought some little old lady in Texas headed over to a warehouse, put the item in a box, gummed on a few stamps, and [...]

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  • CrunchGear in China: The Factory

    CrunchGear in China: The Factory

    Posted on December 7, 2009 | No Comments
    The driver pulled up to a small office complex in the heart of the city and beckoned us into the back of his scuffed white van. The surface of the vehicle was caked in dust and the seats, clad in new blue velvet, were sized for someone much smaller. I curled up in the back [...]

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  • CrunchGear in China

    CrunchGear in China

    Posted on December 7, 2009 | No Comments
    Greetings from sunny Shenzhen, just north of Hong Kong. I've spent some time in Asia - at least the tech centers - and have never found a place like this. It's like Blade Runner meets 1990s Prague meets the end of the world. I'm here to report on what's going on here in terms of electronics and how it's changing the way we think about price, cost, and value. It's pretty crazy. Thirty years ago Shenzhen was a rice paddy, a town of about 50,000 souls. Today it is a hive, and a dirty one at that. Smog is a way of life. As the sun goes down over the city, the streets take on an amber cast and the darkness falls quickly. There are no picturesque sunsets here. This is the first in a series called CrunchGear In China about manufacturing in Shenzhen. Look for more posts this week and next.

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