Last TV factory in Australia closes

[David L. Jones]

Front page news in Electronics News this month:
Panasonics TV factory at Penrith west of Sydney has closed due to the
boom in the LCD/Plasma market.

The Penrith plant manufactured all of Panasonics medium to large screen
CRTs for the Asia-Pacific market. They used to churn out a finished and
boxed TV even 49 seconds or so, impressive stuff.

A sad loss for the Australian industry.

Dave

 

[crazy frog]

what are we comming to

"David L. Jones" <altzone@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1143067432.900434.110670@i39g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

Front page news in Electronics News this month:
Panasonics TV factory at Penrith west of Sydney has closed due to the
boom in the LCD/Plasma market.

The Penrith plant manufactured all of Panasonics medium to large screen
CRTs for the Asia-Pacific market. They used to churn out a finished and
boxed TV even 49 seconds or so, impressive stuff.

A sad loss for the Australian industry.

Dave

 

[Mr.T]

"Arthur Drummond" <art@fscans.cjb.net> wrote in message
news:44239afe$0$10673$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...

A country of bad spellers and lousy grammar?

Fortunately it's not as bad as the USA though,......yet.

MrT.

 

[dmm]

On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 19:18:36 +1000, "Allan" <all@n.com> wrote:

What do you expect!
We all want a decent Pay each week,

I get a decent pay each week. Don't you? If not, perhaps you should consider
a different vocation. Perhaps being a lawyer, doctor, surgeon, accountant,
architect, mechanical, project, or electrical engineer would make you happier
with your pay packet.

We are not Little China men working in a country earning next to nothing.

Quite a lot of Chinese women work in factories producing electronic goods.
Their standard of living has improved vastly in the past 10 years.

We have govts with Free trade agreements saying its a good thing,
They also drop the Import duty's.

Making imported goods cheaper. After all, why should my hard-earned cash go
to the treasury in the form of tariff payents, to protect inefficient local companies who
don't want make their goods cheaper. Tariffs amount to little more than protection
money, ie extortion. And why should Australian goods be more expensive to foreign
consumers, because the local manufacturers can't make their goods cheaper/better
or more innovative.

China do not have a floating currency, its like we used to be years ago, a
fixed Exchange rate.
So in reality they have a VERY cheap exchange rate.

Labour is also very cheap. Overseas companies also get incentives to build factories
and employ local people. More investment, more factories, business want a more
educated workforce so they can expand their businesses, thus wages increase,
prices increase, etc.

So yeah, they and other Asian Countries will ALWAYS out perform us Caucasian

Oh really? I don't see Australian industry falling over itself to head into oblivion
because the Asians are "outperforming" us. Remember that the economy of many Asian
countries were in recession for many years when Australia was booming. And still is.
Japan until recently had zero growth for about 10 years.

Wage earners....
So don't Gripe when our poor Australian Companies cannot compete against
these guys,

As I understand, the factory was owned by overseas interests (Matsushita Electric
Industrial Co.) so the decision to close the factory would not have been made locally.
BTW, Panasonic is investing $150 million for a building and equipment in Singapore.
(I can just hear the steam coming out of Allan's ears right about now ;-) )
Besides, who's buying large screen crts anyway? And who really wants to stuff
pcbs day in, day out anyway? Do you? That's why pcb stuffing machines were
invented. Oh, and to reduce costs.

It just will never happen...

Roll over and die then, eh? Don't innovate then, eh? Don't develop new products
and develop new markets, eh? Who, other than another large manufacturer
would want to mass produce other domestic equipment like dvd players, tv's, to
compete against other manufacturers? There ain't the incentives for a small start-up to
produce and compete in those markets other than for manufacturers building specialised
equipment, ie Halcro.

Personally, I think they should have High Tariffs on ALL imported Gear, and
anything Made Locally should be free of Tax and other duties. Thus putting
us on a better equal playing field. It snot Just electronics, it should be
across the board, Cars, Foods etc..

Allan

What equal playing field? Since when do world markets consist of "level playing fields"?
Countries all over the world have tariffs to protect their local markets. Food? You want
cars, food, housing, electronic goods to be more expensive, just so we can be on an
"equal playing field"? Who's playing field? Yours?

I'm glad you're not in government.

"David L. Jones" <altzone@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1143067432.900434.110670@i39g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Front page news in Electronics News this month:
Panasonics TV factory at Penrith west of Sydney has closed due to the
boom in the LCD/Plasma market.

The Penrith plant manufactured all of Panasonics medium to large screen
CRTs for the Asia-Pacific market. They used to churn out a finished and
boxed TV even 49 seconds or so, impressive stuff.

A sad loss for the Australian industry.

Dave

 

[Jasen Betts]

On 2006-03-24, David L. Jones <altzone@gmail.com> wrote:

Allan wrote:
What do you expect!

It was to be expected, but it is still sad news none the less.

We all want a decent Pay each week,
We are not Little China men working in a country earning next to nothing.
We have govts with Free trade agreements saying its a good thing,
They also drop the Import duty's.
China do not have a floating currency, its like we used to be years ago, a
fixed Exchange rate.
So in reality they have a VERY cheap exchange rate.
So yeah, they and other Asian Countries will ALWAYS out perform us Caucasian
Wage earners....

Funny how the Panasonic factory has been going so well for so long then
isn't it?
It only went belly up because the CRT market has declined drastically.

So don't Gripe when our poor Australian Companies cannot compete against
these guys,

I didn't, you're putting words into my mouth.
The factory closed because the CRT market is in decline, that was
expected. It has got nothing to do with them not being able to compete,
they have been doing that sucessfully for a very long time.

no it closed because it was unable to compete, were it able to compete it
would have been re-tooled for flat screens, or PVRs or some other new
consumer product.

Bye.
Jasen

 

[Mr.T]

"Jasen Betts" <jasen@free.net.nz> wrote in message
news:3191.4424b4fe.63fba@clunker.homenet...

The factory closed because the CRT market is in decline, that was
expected. It has got nothing to do with them not being able to compete,
they have been doing that sucessfully for a very long time.

no it closed because it was unable to compete, were it able to compete it
would have been re-tooled for flat screens, or PVRs or some other new
consumer product.

Actually it was able to compete with *large screen CRT's* only because of
the shipping and handling costs involved with such items.
No Australian company can compete with China for small mass produced items,
regardless of little Johnny's attempts at forcing a similar wage and
conditions structure here.

MrT.

 

[David L. Jones]

Jasen Betts wrote:

On 2006-03-24, David L. Jones <altzone@gmail.com> wrote:
Allan wrote:
What do you expect!

It was to be expected, but it is still sad news none the less.

We all want a decent Pay each week,
We are not Little China men working in a country earning next to nothing.
We have govts with Free trade agreements saying its a good thing,
They also drop the Import duty's.
China do not have a floating currency, its like we used to be years ago, a
fixed Exchange rate.
So in reality they have a VERY cheap exchange rate.
So yeah, they and other Asian Countries will ALWAYS out perform us Caucasian
Wage earners....

Funny how the Panasonic factory has been going so well for so long then
isn't it?
It only went belly up because the CRT market has declined drastically.

So don't Gripe when our poor Australian Companies cannot compete against
these guys,

I didn't, you're putting words into my mouth.
The factory closed because the CRT market is in decline, that was
expected. It has got nothing to do with them not being able to compete,
they have been doing that sucessfully for a very long time.

no it closed because it was unable to compete, were it able to compete it
would have been re-tooled for flat screens, or PVRs or some other new
consumer product.

It was able to compete just fine for large screen CRTs, and it did that
for many decades.
If CRTs were still as popular then it would not have closed.
The factory was only set up for large screen CRTs, it would have
required a completely new factory entirely for any other product.
Being able to compete *from scratch* with a different product is an
entirely seperate issue, that is not why they closed. Panasonic is not
an Australian company, so I'm sure there are other very good (internal
political) reasons why they would not set up a flat screen factory in
Australia.

Dave

 

[Ken Taylor]

"Allan" <all@n.com> wrote in message
news:4425c6e9$0$21308$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au...

"dmm" <dmmilne_REMOVE_@ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
news:jnm722lu4gf1k1i1g8v1qii6e097vdsi1b@4ax.com...
On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 19:18:36 +1000, "Allan" <all@n.com> wrote:

What do you expect!
We all want a decent Pay each week,

I get a decent pay each week. Don't you? If not, perhaps you should
consider
a different vocation. Perhaps being a lawyer, doctor, surgeon,
accountant,
architect, mechanical, project, or electrical engineer would make you
happier
with your pay packet.

We are not Little China men working in a country earning next to
nothing.


So why do you think they closed the Factory in Australia, and investing
$150 million for a building and equipment in Singapore?

Because I , like YOU want a Good wage.

Allan


Against the capital cost of the equipment, a few wages are (not quite, but

essentially) irrelevant. Singapore gives massive subsidies by way of tax
breaks, tax holidays, and a lesser corporate tax rate.

Cheers.

Ken

 

[GB]

"Ken Taylor" <ken@home.nz> wrote in
news:jpkVf.8627$JZ1.317063@news.xtra.co.nz:

"Allan" <all@n.com> wrote in message
news:4425c6e9$0$21308$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au...
So why do you think they closed the Factory in Australia, and
investing $150 million for a building and equipment in Singapore?
Because I , like YOU want a Good wage.
Against the capital cost of the equipment, a few wages are (not quite,
but essentially) irrelevant. Singapore gives massive subsidies by way
of tax breaks, tax holidays, and a lesser corporate tax rate.

... and the Singaporeans aren't that far behind us when it comes
to wages, and what they'll work for. It's a first world country,
arguably more technically advanced than us, and the punters there
have an expectation for stand of living and ability to afford gadgets
that is not unlike ours.

A key difference lies in the "power distance" in their culture.
They have a greater respect for authority than we do, and as a
result are likely to be "better" for various values of "work harder",
"quality", etc as a derivative.

If you wanted cheap labour, you wouldn't set up in Singapore. You'd
go there for central location, high level of skill, high power
distance, etc. Not on labour costs though.

GB
--
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the
entrails of the last priest." (Diderot, paraphrasing Meslier)

 

[David L. Jones]

The Real Andy wrote:

On Sun, 26 Mar 2006 10:44:31 GMT, GB <g.b@sonicresearch.mailme.org
wrote:

"Ken Taylor" <ken@home.nz> wrote in
news:jpkVf.8627$JZ1.317063@news.xtra.co.nz:
"Allan" <all@n.com> wrote in message
news:4425c6e9$0$21308$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au...
So why do you think they closed the Factory in Australia, and
investing $150 million for a building and equipment in Singapore?
Because I , like YOU want a Good wage.
Against the capital cost of the equipment, a few wages are (not quite,
but essentially) irrelevant. Singapore gives massive subsidies by way
of tax breaks, tax holidays, and a lesser corporate tax rate.

... and the Singaporeans aren't that far behind us when it comes
to wages, and what they'll work for. It's a first world country,
arguably more technically advanced than us, and the punters there
have an expectation for stand of living and ability to afford gadgets
that is not unlike ours.

A key difference lies in the "power distance" in their culture.
They have a greater respect for authority than we do, and as a
result are likely to be "better" for various values of "work harder",
"quality", etc as a derivative.

If you wanted cheap labour, you wouldn't set up in Singapore. You'd
go there for central location, high level of skill, high power
distance, etc. Not on labour costs though.

GB

I thought that was odd that a company like that would go to Singapore,
when places like india and even china (still) have much cheaper
manufacturing costs. An in addition, the cost of living there is
apparently quite high tdhese days, so I assume real estate is also
quite scarce in singapore.

I've worked for a couple of large multi-national companies, and where
the work goes has not much to do with the economics of it, it's mostly
to do with internal politics. People protecting their own local jobs,
managers and directors with their own career agenda, whos greasing whos
wheels etc.
In the case of the big name consumer giants there is probably a fair
bit of government politics involved as well.
Who knows, some manufacturing director with a lot of clout may simply
have preferred to move his family to Singapore instead of China - bingo
Singapore get the billion dollar factory.

Dave

 

[Rudolf]

Being a service agent for Palsonic, i can tell that al the Tvs I've seen are
"made is china".
But i must admit it is heaps better than other asian brands. HDTV models
(76WSHD), for example are quite good.

Rudolf




"Mr.T" <MrT@home> wrote in message
news:4424c62e$0$10678$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...

"The Real Andy" <will_get_back_to_you_on_This@> wrote in message
news:med722hkkgniichpa65kqpnbqrrcap9tm0@4ax.com...
On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 15:10:38 +1100, "Mr.T" <MrT@home> wrote:
"The Real Andy" <will_get_back_to_you_on_This@> wrote in message
news:30m422df0ainjh764gdbvdd15r1s43r0l3@4ax.com...

I thought palsonic assembled in australia too, or is that the same
factory?

I thought "Palsonic" was just a rip off monika trying to fool people
that
their "no name" Chinese made crap was actually made by Panasonic.
Do you have any information to the contrary?

I was close, kinda:


How do you figure that? Have they *ever* assembled TV's in Australia as
you
suggest, or always imported and rebadged them, as they do now?
It seems to me they have simply changed badges from "Princess" to
"Palsonic".


http://www.palsonic.com.au/about_us/about.htm

Seems Palsonic is an Aussie company, that looks like it rebadges gear
made by offshore manufacturers.


Which is what I said.

MrT.

 

[dmm]

On Sat, 25 Mar 2006 15:39:09 +1100, "Mr.T" <MrT@home> wrote:

"Jasen Betts" <jasen@free.net.nz> wrote in message
news:3191.4424b4fe.63fba@clunker.homenet...
The factory closed because the CRT market is in decline, that was
expected. It has got nothing to do with them not being able to compete,
they have been doing that sucessfully for a very long time.

no it closed because it was unable to compete, were it able to compete it
would have been re-tooled for flat screens, or PVRs or some other new
consumer product.

Actually it was able to compete with *large screen CRT's* only because of
the shipping and handling costs involved with such items.
No Australian company can compete with China for small mass produced items,
regardless of little Johnny's attempts at forcing a similar wage and
conditions structure here.

MrT.

I saw recently on an SBS program that Wal-Mart in the US takes about 20% of China's
factory output.

Anyway, the Panasonic crts would have been shipped around the Pacific basin.
I wouldn't think that they would have been manufactured solely for the Australian markets.

 

[GB]

"David, not to be confused with the other Davids."
<dave@mailswap.telstra.com> wrote in news:c4IVf.17083$dy4.9027@news-
server.bigpond.net.au:

Singapore is a good choice for an assembly plant.

It is, in the sense that there's quite a skilled labour force
available there, and it's very centrally located. There's a lot
of name brand electronics "manufacturers" (assemblers?) on
Jalan Ahmed Ibrahim, and surrounding districts over there in
the west of the country.

GB
--
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the
entrails of the last priest." (Diderot, paraphrasing Meslier)

 

[GB]

dmm <dmmilne_REMOVE_@ozemail.com.au> wrote in
news9ef22ld7vc5fp9nj160t802c2g5ble0u3@4ax.com:

http://www.reed-electronics.com/electronicnews/article/CA6306437.html

Interesting. Matsushita's semiconductor assembly plant in Singapore
west is the company I did the intial install of an ERP system for
some ten or so years ago. Big place, impressive. Nice folks too. And
plenty of real estate out there for expansion. Very Japanese/Fordist,
the entire workforce started their day with calisthenics in the
'quadrangle'!

They had some really impressive SMT assembly capability back when
SMT was very very new and whiz-bang (It still warranted a 'T' in the
name, instead of a lowly 'D'!). One wonders what they're up to
nowadays!

GB
--
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the
entrails of the last priest." (Diderot, paraphrasing Meslier)

 

[David L. Jones]

dmm wrote:

On Sat, 25 Mar 2006 15:39:09 +1100, "Mr.T" <MrT@home> wrote:


"Jasen Betts" <jasen@free.net.nz> wrote in message
news:3191.4424b4fe.63fba@clunker.homenet...
The factory closed because the CRT market is in decline, that was
expected. It has got nothing to do with them not being able to compete,
they have been doing that sucessfully for a very long time.

no it closed because it was unable to compete, were it able to compete it
would have been re-tooled for flat screens, or PVRs or some other new
consumer product.

Actually it was able to compete with *large screen CRT's* only because of
the shipping and handling costs involved with such items.
No Australian company can compete with China for small mass produced items,
regardless of little Johnny's attempts at forcing a similar wage and
conditions structure here.

MrT.


I saw recently on an SBS program that Wal-Mart in the US takes about 20% of China's
factory output.

Anyway, the Panasonic crts would have been shipped around the Pacific basin.
I wouldn't think that they would have been manufactured solely for the Australian markets.

The engineering manager at the factory told me (about 5 years ago now)
that they did export large numbers to numerous parts of the the Asia
pacific region.
They were very productive, one TV set assembled, tested, boxed and out
the door every 49 seconds or so. It was an impressive plant.

Dave