The Funny Side

6000 Mile Job Interview

“You’re going to China?”  This was the first thing my friends and family said to me when I told them I was visiting Star Prototype for an extended interview.  They couldn’t understand why I would want to work for a company in a developing country as they put it.

Well, that couldn’t have been further from the truth.  Perhaps China is a developing country by Western standards but its developing fast!

I’m not a seasoned traveller, far from it in fact, the furthest I have been from my home town of Newcastle is to the Greek island of Zante.  The prospect of flying thousands of miles, spending the better part of a day on an aircraft, was an exciting thought, yet having never travelled alone, a scary thought!  The flight was uneventful and I landed safely in Hong Kong for my mad dash through the terminal to make my connecting ferry to Zhongshan.  Having missed the ferry my excitement level was dialled up a notch as Gordon directed me on a high speed taxi ride through Hong Kong to the main ferry port to make the last connection.

The first thing I noticed in China was the climate, as it was November (or ‘Movember’ as top lips where beginning to bloom) it was starting to get cool, so I was told.  Well, to me it was still as hot as the best a British summer has to offer, and mixed with my first ever case of jet lag, took some getting used to!  The next big surprise for me was the food, REAL Chinese food, nothing close to your favourite local takeaway.  Mammoth portions that just keep on coming, everything you can imagine, it was some of the nicest food I have ever eaten.  Not being renowned for an adventurous palate there was a lot on offer that I turned down, “Chicken feet?” errm, no thanks!  I’m sure that there have been many Chinese people who visit the UK and thought that some of our dishes are strange so I don’t feel bad about my lack of bravery!!

Zhongshan is a wonderful city that does an amazing job of balancing industry with large public parks, fantastic restaurants and a great nightlife!  There is something for everyone here and Gordon couldn’t have picked a more perfect place for Star.

What I have seen has totally changed my view on how business is done in China.  There are the ‘back street’ toolmakers, a small lock up with a couple of manual mills; these are dotted all over the city.  Then there are small factories with 15-20 guys running machines.  The further out of the city you venture, the larger the factories become.  There are gigantic factories with over 200 people working in them making huge moulds, 6 feet high when stood on their side.  I remember visiting one and being blown away by the sheer scale of the place and that was considered small to medium by Chinese standards!!

Gordon and his team at Star have put together an amazing manufacturing business in Zhongshan and offer a fully comprehensive range of services, where customer satisfaction is the number one priority.  Star is a fantastic blend of technology, western quality systems and working practices, skill and dedication.

True to the company motto ‘The best of the West in China’ the QC department at Star would have many UK manufacturing business’s drooling at the level of technology on offer, this undoubtedly gives every customer the highest level of confidence especially those new to placing work in China.  Technology is only as good as those who use it, and the staff are an amazing bunch, a very well educated and highly skilled workforce that is dedicated to the business and hungry to learn!

My time in China seemed to fly by, and I have to say a huge thank you to Gordon for giving me the opportunity and taking excellent care of me.  Cheers Gordon!

Michael Hutchinson, CNC manager at STAR, who was kind enough to offer me his spare room for the duration of my stay, a fantastic host who kept me out of trouble.  Cheers Mick!

And of course, thank you to all at Star who made me feel so welcome and despite their best English, putting up with my Geordie accent!!

I look forward to all the challenges working for Star puts my way and look forward to passing on my knowledge and that pride to the toolmakers at Star whenever I visit China.

Intern from America

I have been working for Star for about a month, and I love it.  I have to say that I could not be working for a better company than Star Prototype.  The people who work here are warm and friendly.  Everyone is very relaxed, but very hard working.  

Star produces excellent quality of products and have a stellar reputation with their customers. It makes me very proud to have the opportunity to work here.

I expected the transition to living in China to be rough, but I have been so well taken care of that it has been really easy, and really fun!

I hope to have a bright future working at Star Prototype China Limited, in learning everything I can about the technology and the business, learning the best Mandarin that I can, and making friends.

Thickness of a Dollar Bill

This was in my head when I woke up this morning.  Indulge me please.

Did you know that a USD 20 dollar bill or a GBP 20 pound note are about 0.11mm thick?

The US trade deficit is USD 690,000,000,000 each year – a real financial loss to the USA.

The UK trade deficit is GBP 94,000,000,000 each year – a real financial loss to the UK.

So, if you had a pile of 20 dollar bills equaling 690 billion it would stand 2,371 miles high.

If you had a pile of 20 pound notes equaling GBP 94 billion it would stand 323 miles high, only 24 miles short of the Hubble Space Telescope.  Think about that.  And the British have the smaller pile.

If you then laid the American pile down onto the face of the planet it would stretch from New York to San Diego.

If you then laid the UK pile down it would go pretty much from London to Edinburgh.

Think about that the next time you get in your car or truck and drive a few miles down the road.  Imagine that pile laying at the side of every road you travel.  Most Americans would need about 2 months of typical car mileage to drive the entire length of their country’s loss.

And just remember this; the German ($197bn) and Chinese ($174bn) PROFIT piles combined would stretch from New Orleans in the South to the Canadian border – 1,160 miles –  EVERY YEAR.  I would rather need a month of typical driving mileage to survey my countries profit.

American and British politicians like to make out like the trade deficit is some kind of paper loss – that it is somehow not real.  Well it is REAL.  The politicians are correct about it being a loss on paper in only one way:  the loss is printed on special paper that carries the picture of Andrew Jackson (or the Queen) and that REAL pile of paper money stretches from New York to San Diego or London to Edinburgh – every year.

Think about that every time you get in your car and try to not get angry with Washington or Westminster.

Gordon Styles
Star Prototype China Limited

Reprint from: http://www.star-prototype.com/blog/thickness-of-a-dollar-bill/

Rapid Product Development in China

Star Prototype China Limited of Zhongshan, China is the latest Star Investment in China.  Everyone knows that China is going crazy for product development; well Star-Prototype is riding that wave.  What is different about Star Prototype China is the fact that it was started by, and continues to be run by, British businessman Gordon Styles.  After meteoric success with a UK based company by the name of Styles Rapid Product Development, he went to  invest his fortune in a start-up in China.

Star-Prototype helps a huge number of Chinese and Western product developers to realise their product dreams.  Star-Prototype has experienced meteoric growth and does not see any end in sight.  Managing Director Gordon Styles said - "The Chinese have no end to their appetite for developing products that can be sold at home and abroad.  We help them do their prototyping and their product introduction…"

Rapid Product Development, as cited in the 2010 Wohlers Report, has become a multi Billion Dollar market sector populated by entrepreneurs like Gordon Styles.  It includes technologies such as Stereolithography and Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) which allow components to be grown in a bath of liquid plastic using laser beams.

Gordon Styles - "One often sees films such as Face Off, or even programs such as CSI, that depict Stereolithography as a way of reproducing organic forms.  But the future of our industry is the ability to be able to produce 'impossible' components using only lasers, photopolymers and powders.  Many people are unaware that many modern airplanes have engine components that can only be produced by laser based DMLS."

The future would appear to be bright for Star-Prototype as the only western owned RPD company in China.  "It is no secret that we are preparing to raise a very significant investment in the near term.  Investors will have to wait and see what vehicle we choose, but given the current investment climate in China, we are expecting a significant oversubscription." - said Gordon Styles

For further information, please contact Christal Chai at christal@star-prototype-china.com

The Rise and Rise of China

The following blog post is in response to an article written by MP John Redwood entitled “The Rise and Rise of China” posted in his blog: http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/2011/01/02/the-rise-and-rise-of-china-2/

Hi Phil, you ask a very good question about wealth creation.
Only a few know the answer. Few British politicians can even guess at the answer and this and previous British Governments had no clue. But the Chinese Government holds this as their central economic principal.

The answer is simple accounting. To become more wealthy as a country, a company, or an individual you have to increase the overall value of your complete balance sheet.

Generally there are two types of asset and one type of liability. There are physical fixed assets (buildings, machines, infrastructure etc.) and there are intangible assets (cash and equivalents). There are usually only intangible liabilities (loans of all types).

To increase the value of a balance sheet you must either increase the long-term realistic value of your physical fixed asset register or increase the long-term realistic value of all of your intangible assets, or both.

Finally, overall, your total assets must be increasing at a faster rate than your liabilities. Seems simple – right?

[On a UK national internal domestic level we can completely disregard all savings and loans denominated in GBP because all money is debt (including savings) and ultimately owed back to the banks and finally the central bank - all money nets to zero in a 'cash is debt' closed monetary system. So for financial assets and liabilities we can only look to foreign held loans and assets denominated in any currency including GBP.]

So here is your answer:
To increase the national wealth of the UK you must increase the asset base at a faster rate than the liabilities. That means increasing the amount of fixed assets and external cash reserves, and/or reducing our financial national liabilities.

This can be done in only two ways:
1. Build national and private infrastructure at a faster rate than it is physically/financially depreciating (industry, manufacturing and construction).

[We are not building physical infrastructure at a rate faster than it is depreciating/crumbling. This means national wealth destruction.]

2. Sell more than we buy as a nation. The most efficient and high-volume way to do this is to sell more manufactured goods abroad than we do today or replace imports.

[Today we have a GBP 90bn trade deficit. That means that we are losing money as a nation and therefore it weakens the balance sheet - and that means national wealth destruction.]

One of the mantras of those who decry the wealth creating properties of Industry, Manufacturing and Construction say that domestically consumed services add to the economy. But let us be very clear about this. GDP is not wealth. Only the balance sheet tells you the value of the country. GDP is clearly important, but only to the degree to which it is stable and growing. It is the same insanity as the Managing Director of a company only reporting that Sales are growing without mentioning profitability or the state of the balance sheet. All we heard from Gordon Brown from 1997 to 2008 was how wonderful our Sales Turnover was.

There is no one place you can go to get the balance sheet of a Country. I did some recent calculations of my own and estimated that the balance sheet value of the UK is negative – if you want the numbers I am sure you can find my blog. We all know in our bones that the UK balance sheet is shot to pieces. I challenge anyone at the treasury to publish a UK balance sheet. I challenge anyone to officially publish anything like this. You will not find it because it is too embarrassing for the UK Government.

I hope this explains why Industry, Manufacturing and Construction are at the top of the wealth creating pyramid. For sure IM&C could not function without a well rounded economy. But services that have no remaining physical value or usefulness do not create wealth unless that service is exported. If a service is purely for domestic consumption, it does not directly create balance sheet wealth.

This is the reason why the Chinese Government is so supportive of all forms of physical asset creation and all forms of trade surplus generating activity.

Great question, hope the answer does the trick.

Thanks, Gordon Styles

Feel free to contact Gordon Styles at gordon.styles@star-prototype-china.com

Was it the right move?……….Oh yes!

I have been Living and working in southern China for just 10 months , and I have got to say I have enjoyed each and every day of it. To be fair I have been very lucky, my company Star Prototype have taken great care of me. I anticipated a huge culture shock prior to moving to China , and sure things looked a lot different at first. Chinese people , I find are genuinely decent hard working people and they have a great sense of fun too. China has my admiration. Sure there are things that could be better, and things are getting better, unlike some countries ! People are not content with the government , they are delighted with the government and proud of their leaders, and rightly so. It seems everybody has real ambition in life, and believe that their dreams really can come true.
My function within Star Prototype is to teach a group of young CNC machinists the way things are done in the west and the standards that are expected in the west. I have over 25 years experience workshop experience in top tier manufacturing companies in Europe. I have learned along the way that an individual is always learning throughout his working life. I am passing on that knowledge that I have gathered to a group of very keen and bright young guys, that really do want to learn. I already have a genuine affection for them, and want to do as well for them as I possibly can. In return they are producing ever better results, and we are getting feedback from some big US customers stating the quality of the work we are producing is the best they have ever seen. I feel like a proud father sometimes!
Outside of the workplace is not what I am used to, In general, people in China don’t speak English. And so far my Chinese is not that extensive, so communication is a problem. Having said that I still manage to do all the things I want to do. You just manage somehow, with the help of friends, and sometimes strangers. Chinese people I find are very receptive to westerners and are very polite and would willingly help you if they could. Another interesting topic in China is the food. Chinese people just love food, they talk about it all the time, and there is a huge variety to choose from. The style of food in Guangdong is not every westerners idea of what Chinese food should be like. Unlike you find in a western restaurant, all the bones are served in a dish , which have gotten used to, and it does add flavor. One great thing about Zhongshan is, you can get German beer that is imported from the oldest brewery in the world, that I like! In moderation of course.
Coming from the North West of England , the weather here has been just great. In the summer we enjoyed ( and sometimes endured ) temperatures of 35C. We are now in November and it is around 25C and sunny. Things could be a whole lot worse. When eventually have a bad day, I will let you know!

Michael Hutchinson
CNC Precision Machine Shop Manager


Feel free to contact Michael Hutchinson at michael.hutchinson@star-prototype-china.com