Sprintstar factory visit…

arrived late night yesterday in Ningbo China (still suffering that f***ing cold) a city we hardly know of, but with a population of around 5 million not small by any means, Trough China it seems they are known for production, a lot of electric components are build here they told us, also home base of Youngor, China’s premier fashion brand, who owns a whole city on its own here…

Today my buddy Jimmy “Sprintstar” manufacturer called in sick, but finally had his two collegeaus picking us up for no less as two factory tours, dirty and misty, but steel wheels is not exactly a very clean production process…

 

stamping of the centers, the heart of the wheel…

 

and making of rims

finishing outer edges

paint process

centers for the sprintstars, out of new moukds again, longer lip for welding without burning the chrome on the rim…just like the originals! The area manager was so happy they got finally a good product out of the last remaining chrome plant from entire Ningbo area, last year two other chrome plants had shut down from goverment for enviromental reasons.

wheels, plenty of wheels….

surprised a lot what I learned again today, especially regarding quality control, we really moved a LOT forward to a future with way better production! We reached a way to get a quality control in every step now of the production process, this means a lot for a Chinese company! And we could convince factory area managers about how important that is for us as collectors…even more special for a Chinese factory! Its so different when You get a direct contact to these guys!

We deserve a good night of sleep before taking the train to Ruian…. for more factory visit….  so stay tuned!

Linda and Bob, your real time China reporters…:)