Takara Tomy relocating manufacturing lines to Vietnam

[Super_Megatron]

Takara Tomy relocating manufacturing lines to Vietnam (http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/other-news-20/takara-tomy-relocating-manufacturing-lines-to-vietnam-168894/)

Category: Other News

Posted From: TFW2005.COM (http://www.tfw2005.com) - Transformers (http://www.tfw2005.com)

[JLvatron]

Good for V, I guess. I wonder how the quality will be? I expect some period of growing pains, so prolly cool TF's with cheap final versions like Classics Octane (Tankor).

Hopefully, they'll prove me wrong. :)

[QuadESL63]

So, Vietnam is the next hot spot for sweat shops?

Not very surprising: China labor rates have gone up quite a lot along the coastal regions despite the fact that it is still way lower than what we have here.

[Whisky Tango Foxtrot]

By the looks of things this doesn't include Transformer manufacturing. Looks like they're testing the waters with less complex toys before moving on to the big stuff.

[Shepp]

I'm a horrible person.

My first thought was Charlie and the Toy Factory.

[Protoman]

THE VIETNAMESE!................. HRRRMmm...... this could work for me....

[Dark Rage]

Could also be due to problems with toys being leaked.

[Dragon Knight]

So I guess we call them Stolen Vietnamese toys from now on?

[Robimus]

Yeah, those rising Chinese labor costs are a bitch..............

I'm feeling very cynical tonight.

[racerguy76]

Let's see them pass on the savings to us!

[Aernaroth]

I was wondering when we'd see something like this happen.

Basically, this is a smart move for Takara economically, in the face of rising Chinese labor costs and increasing governmental involvement / decreased investment incentives. Its also a smart move politically, as there is considerable anti-Japanese sentiment in China and anti-Chinese sentiment in Japan. Moving to Vietnam not only gets them out of that situation and into one that is potentially marketable, but investment in Vietnam by Japanese businesses and government organizations strengthens the relationship of Vietnam and Japan in terms of the Pan-asian political landscape, as China rises as an increasingly powerful economic and political nation.

I seriously doubt it'll hurt the quality, and who knows, maybe it'll improve due to the possible use of newer facilities and machinery. Maybe we'll also see greener TF production lines.