Made In Japan or China?!

We’ve recently received several calls or emails from consumers regarding the country of origin for our coilovers. So we wanted to clear up the confusion.

In short, coilovers, and our springs for that matter, are being manufactured in both of our facilities- Japan and China.

It shouldn’t be news by now that we have our own factory in China, and it has been operational for nearly 10 years now. Initially, this factory handled our new-at-the-time ENDURAPRO and ENDURAPRO PLUS shock absorber manufacturing. But within the first few years, we were also able to get our STREET BASIS Z & STREET ADVANCE Z kits made at this factory. It wasn’t that cut and dried of a plan, though. TEIN Japan was still manufacturing a majority of the coilovers. It is just that TEIN China needed to address product manufacturing for their local market and soon demand increased and we found ourselves needing to increase more manufacturing out of this factory to meet global demand.

Then, the pandemic threw all of us a curveball. If anyone can recall, there was a period of incredibly ridiculous costs on freight. Soon, we hit a problem with getting containers and scheduling vessels from our Yokohama facility. From China, however, shipping wasn’t much of a concern. The only exception being regional lockdowns in China due to the fast-spreading virus, as well as some shut downs due to electric power being rationed (kinda strange). Shipping was still more expensive than usual, yes. But at least we were able to have products shipped. But another problem became apparent- not all of our customers want STREET BASIS Z or STREET ADVANCE Z coilovers. Soon our backorder list was growing by the week, but it seemed to revolve around one specific coilover model- FLEX Z.

TEIN China had yet to manufacture any of our FLEX coilover line. But the shipping concern forced us to retool for FLEX production out of this facility, and we started adding new machines necessary for FLEX Z production. Starting in late 2021, we received only a few part numbers of FLEX Z from China. But to date, they are now making a majority of FLEX Z kits.

This isn’t to say that TEIN Japan does not manufacture FLEX Z any longer. It’s just that TEIN Japan can now focus on product manufacturing for their domestic market, and a few other Asian countries, as well as for USA.

We now have springs being manufactured in China too! This is relatively new, about 1 year or so now. Before, we were having springs shipped to China for the assembly of STREET BASIS Z & STREET ADVANCE Z kits. We were hoping to find a suitable spring manufacturer in China, but several tests of locally manufactured springs didn’t meet our requirements. BUT, by importing coil spring wire from Japan we are now able to have springs made to our specifications. Yes it costs us more to do so, but quality is still paramount to our business. Still, there is a savings in doing so, and ultimately we still want to bring a quality product to our customers, so long as we are in control of that quality.

TEIN Japan Factory Tour with DSPORT Magazine

Never before has a consumer stepped foot into the TEIN factory, ever!

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As you can imagine, TEIN (as with many other manufacturers) has some proprietary methods for manufacturing shock absorbers, with several processes pioneered in-house. In fact, there are some machines developed specifically by TEIN engineers solely for our own use. So, to show that to the public may be detrimental to us since we do not want such information to be released to the public. This is information that can reach another suspension manufacturer!!!

However, there is a benefit to showing consumers what TEIN does and what we’re capable of. For one, it’s a sign that TEIN is confident in our technology. Second, consumers are just as interested in seeing how their products are made. So why not show them?!

Well, that’s exactly what we did! We worked with DSPORT magazine to arrange a tour of our facility during their Tokyo Auto Salon guest tour for this year.

Every year, DSPORT Magazine arranges a tour package for interested people. For about $3,500/person, guests get to take a trip to Japan and visit Tokyo Auto Salon and several Japanese performance parts manufacturers’ facilities. So it sounded like a prime opportunity to have TEIN show the public our factory.

We felt bad for our guests, though. The day before was to be a trip to Fuji Speedway. But, due to bad weather the event was canceled. We were hoping our tour would make up for that missed event!

We had just over 40 guests for our tour on January 19th.

Prior to the tour, we gave our visitors a general overview of our property, including our offices, R&D facilities, Quality Assurance facility, and manufacturing.

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Just a brief overview of TEIN’s facility prior to showing our guests our facility.

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Since it was a fairly large group for us, we had split up the group among 8 tour guides.

Below are a few pics of the factory’s facilities and processes. Again, we have to limit what we can show the public. Sorry:

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Our Materials Yard, where we keep inventory of parts to prepare for manufacturing our suspension.

ALUMINUM BILLET GRADES

Other than steel components, we also use aluminum alloys. We stock three grades of aluminum billets, each one to be used depending on the application and use. For aluminum damper shell cases, we use an A 7050 grade extruded tube, however.

BAND SAW FOR BILLET

Aluminum billets are cut into smaller billet blanks using either our band saw or circular saw.

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A series of some of our many lathes used to machine many types of our suspension components.

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A sampling of some of the suspension components our lathes can process, from prototype to finished product.

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Some of our components are machined from billet blanks, which we cut from larger bar stock, using various grades of steel and aluminum depending on the product requirements. These steel pucks will end up becoming our pillowball cases for strut type upper mounts.

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We use tubing of various sizes to make damper shell cases to lower brackets for full-length adjustable dampers.

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Lower brackets, after any necessary welding, go through shot blasting prior to any surface coatings.

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Semi finished piston rods that have just been gun drilled (for damping adjustable suspension applications). Still a few more steps to being completed sub assemblies.

NC LATHE

We have many lathes to handle different processes, such as piston rod machining. Here, threads being cut for piston valve assembly.

PISTON ROD INSPECTION

Vital for our piston shafts is our high-resolution inspection machine. It is capable of detecting even the slightest flaw on the piston shaft surface. Each and every piston shaft is inspected. If defects are found, we must discard the shaft.

Our Swiss Precision Lathes help create small damper components like our ADJ Needles. Such small parts require great detail, which this machine can do consistently. It also runs nearly non-stop!!!

NEEDLE STOPPER

A finished batch of our ADJ Needle Stoppers out from the Swiss Precision Lathes.

LASER CUTTING

A recent addition to our factory is this Laser Cutting Machine, capable of cutting steel up to 16mm thick using a carbon dioxide laser beam. Quite a fast and efficient process!

LASER CUTTING 2

Here’s the Laser Cutter in action, cutting our camber plates for strut type pillowball upper mounts.

SHOT BLASTING

The second floor of our factory handles our surface coating stages. First, we shot blast our steel components. This allows our powdercoatings to adhere better to the steel bodies.

POWDER PAINTING

After shot blasting, some shell cases go through our patented 2-Layer/1-Bake powder coating process, where zinc powder is first applied, followed by our trademark green powder paint, then cured.

PACKAGING

After final assembly, kits are packaged up and shipped out!

 

While a couple groups went out for the factory tour, we also set up a test drive so visitors can try our new FLEX A dampers and EDFC ACTIVE PRO on a Toyota Vellfire.

The tour went faster than expected, and considering the factory was in full swing when we had it, it was difficult to hang around the machinery for very long with TEIN staff trying to navigate around us.. We even had to speed through some demonstrations by factory staff. Fortunately we were able to showcase a lot of our machinery and even some prototypes.

Afterwards, we took our guests out for a sushi lunch.

Overall, it looked to be a fun experience for our guests. I got to speak with several of them and they were all impressed with our manufacturing. So many people wanted to purchase TEIN suspension kits right away!!! Lol. I felt bad that we couldn’t arrange any suspension purchases while we were there, but I’ll be taking care of them on their return to the U.S.!

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Thanks to DSPORT and all of our guest for joining us in our Factory Tour!!!

 

We hope to continue doing tours for guests each year. So, if you plan on making your way to Tokyo Auto Salon, take a little extra time from your trip to stop by TEIN!!!……

……..Like our friends at Evasive Motorsports!

evasive at TJP

Thanks for stopping by, guys!!!!

 

Tokyo Auto Salon 2016

We sent a couple of TEIN USA staff to Japan to attend the Tokyo Auto Salon car show at Makuhari Messe, as well as to assist and represent the North American market.

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The TEIN group has been active in Tokyo Auto Salon for many years now. Each and every year is a perfect time to showcase our latest technologies and product releases directly to the consumer.

Unlike shows like the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, Tokyo Auto Salon allows consumers (potential customers) to see what’s new, and to also speak directly with the manufacturer. That’s great since there’s not really any salesperson trying to breathe down their necks and push products on them. The customer has the freedom to choose WHAT THEY LIKE!

The turnout was good- just over 144,000 visitors during the 3-day event. We had a total of just 14,000 visitors to the TEIN booth alone. So for sure we kept very busy. I personally felt bad since my Japanese speaking skills are next to nil. However, I met several Westerners, and even some TEIN USA dealers! That was nice! Better than standing quiet the whole weekend, hahaha!!!

On top of our displays, we had goods for sale, a “Garapon” raffle, and a real-life Dampachi and Dampatty that visitors could take photos with!

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Speaking of our “Garapon” raffle, we had a few big winners:

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This visitor got the grand prize- a damping adjustable TEIN suspension of his choice + an EDFC ACTIVE PRO setup!

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This was our second big winner. He wins a TEIN suspension kit of his choice!

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This winner gets a free set of TEIN lowering springs!

Other prizes ranged from TEIN original goods and stickers, to calendars and posters. So there was something for everyone that played!

As for new products, TEIN Japan brought out the upcoming STREET SPORTS line of premium shock absorbers. A perfect match for our S.TECH and HIGH TECH line of lowering springs, or as a great upgrade replacement of your stock shock absorbers.

Also showcased was our line of 4X4 Dampers. We have a total of four offerings- Sports, Gravel, Premium, and Rally. To date, TEIN Japan has already launched the Premium line, with applications for the Mercedes G63 AMG and Nissan Patrol (these are for the Middle East market consumers). 4X4 Rally dampers are a made-to-order application, which we’ve catered to competitors in rally raids and such. I’m personally interested in the Sports line, and I think that would be a great offering for the North American market!

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Our EDFC ACTIVE PRO display also got a lot of visitors. It’s a unique offering in aftermarket suspension. There’s no other unit out there that gives you the option of having dynamic suspension tuning on the fly like our ACTIVE PRO controller!

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Our Hydraulic Bump Stop (H.B.S.) display intrigued a few visitors, as they weren’t sure what it was or how it worked. We had a tester for them to try out, as well as some clear models for them to see the inner workings of our H.B.S. system!

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While we were there, we had a chance to walk around and see what else is new among other manufacturers. We even visited our friends at Defi! Here’s their upcoming release, the new Sports Display F unit!

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Here are some other things we got to see!

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That was a wonderful experience for our U.S. staff, and we certainly look forward to representing the U.S. at next year’s Tokyo Auto Salon!

TEIN Staff TAS 2016 blog

 

 

TEIN Has Two Manufacturing Plants?!

That is correct!

Earlier in 2014, we posted about the new TEIN China manufacturing plant, which construction of the plant was completed before the end of the year. This new plant will be focusing on production of our upcoming line of performance replacement dampers. YES, we will finally be working on replacement dampers designed to work with factory springs, as well as our S.TECH & HIGH TECH lowering spring kits! We’ll blog more on this product later.

However, this will not be the first manufacturing project for TEIN China. We’re going to be receiving our new STREET BASIS Z & STREET ADVANCE Z damper lines from the TEIN China plant.

If you had read our previous posts regarding the new “Z” line, you’ll notice that the other Z line of dampers, our FLEX Z coilovers, will be coming from TEIN Japan. Why is that?

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TEIN Japan’s Yokohama plant. This new facility was opened in January 2014.

It’s a little difficult to explain. But, in short, TEIN is still a very proud Japanese brand. In fact, many of TEIN’s domestic customer base prefer a Japanese manufactured product, especially more of the high-end kits we offer. So TEIN Japan will still continue to produce some of our higher end product lines, such as the upcoming FLEX Z & FLEX A, MONO SPORT, SUPER DRIFT, HG, SUPER RACING, GROUP N., and several other product lines.

That is not to say there is a lack of pride for the TEIN products coming from the TEIN China plant. In fact, we have invested a lot of money into this new plant in an effort to maintain the same TEIN quality our customers know and expect out of every product. Even machinery and equipment used in TEIN Japan will be the same in the TEIN China plant. A few of TEIN Japan’s engineers and managers will also be making the move to China, not only to train new staff, but to also control all operations. To us, this is a necessary step in controlling and maintaining TEIN quality.

Maybe this would have been a much easier undertaking if we just outsourced manufacturing of these more affordable coilover kits through some other Chinese or Taiwanese manufacturer. Sure, but that isn’t the TEIN way. We’re proud of our technology. Again, we’re not claiming to have invented dampers. We’re just proud to make suspension better through our own engineering and through our own technology.

Still though, why the new factory in China?

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Our new TEIN China manufacturing plant!

A very good question. For several years now, we’ve faced stiff competition in the market place, especially with a lot of these somewhat engineered suspension kits selling for well under $1000. We’re not trying to defame any particular brand. So in their best interests, we’ll leave that information out. Sorry! We’re not here to bash on anyone!

It hasn’t been easy for us. For years, most of the feedback from our authorized dealers and wholesalers is how TEIN suspension is overpriced, and no matter how we dissected our manufacturing process in trying to reduce cost, it still didn’t gain the appeal for a broader range of customers. We were essentially becoming a boutique brand. We’re hoping that opening a new overseas facility helps to address this matter. Of course, this exploits a certain factor about manufacturing in China- affordable labor. However, we’re not in China to simply abuse this factor and gain in profitability. It is just a simple fact about the country and its economic structure, and this is how other manufacturers are able to price their products well below ours. This new affordability in manufacturing translates directly into a more affordable product for our customers.

It wasn’t an easy decision. In fact, it was an idea that we never knew would come to fruition. We didn’t simply decide to open up a new plant. We’re talking about a problem that hadn’t been addressed since late 2008, during the dreaded global financial crisis. Again, we could have simply outsourced manufacturing.  But, fortunately, we were able to hang on and maintain some profitability over the next few years in an uneasy industry. We had to outweigh every factor before we made this decision to grow. Now, it’s set in stone, and the TEIN China plant is just about fully operational.

Many of TEIN USA’s staff share the same regards as all other U.S. consumers when we hear “Made in China”. It clearly doesn’t have the appeal that “Made in Japan” does. Typically, we view Chinese manufactured goods as essentially NOT GOOD. That was just something most of us grew up hearing and reading about. It’s sad. Then again, think about how many other goods come from China… Why is it that China is commonly associated with terrible quality? I think this is something that TEIN plans to dispel. Being that we’re in control of all aspects of this manufacturing plant, we have the opportunity to change that “Made in China” label. We think that, naturally, Chinese manufacturing can improve.

All TEIN suspension products, whether made in China or made in Japan, will be covered with our manufacturer’s warranty. That won’t change. In fact, we’ll continue to offer after-sales service, such as replacement parts and dampers, as well as overhaul service, to all of our customers so that they can continue to use their TEIN suspension for years and years.

Disaster Relief Donations

We would like to give our greatest condolences to those who have lost love ones and family members in the horrible accident in Japan. It has been almost a month since the earth quake/tsunami, and would like to thank everyone that has donated or helped the people of Japan. It will not be an easy task for many people in Japan to get back to there normal lives but I’m sure that they will be thankful for all the help and support from around the world.

TEIN Inc has donated a total of 3,000,000 yen to the Red Cross Association

TEIN Employees and overseas fund-raising netted a donation of 874,785 yen

TEIN’s Domestic and Overseas Customers have donated 2,305,362 yen

Giving a Grand Total donation of 6,180,147 yen (approx. $74,000 USD)

If possible please continue your support and donations to the disaster relief efforts.