[SgtZ]

Anyone have some good advice for locating an original manufacturer for a certain product? I hate doing internet searches for product manufacturers because all you end up getting is middle-men and re-sellers.

What's the best idea for getting to the source? Anyone?

Thanks!

[archiebolo]

go to the factories and ask?

find factories that make what you are looking for and ask them about whatever you need to know.

[SgtZ]

Well, yeah, but that's the problem. Is there a manufacturers guide or factory guide that can get me to the right factory?

For example, if I was trying to locate copper jewelry manufacturers for factory pricing, etc., where should I start?

And sorry for being so dense, but I'm just not having success figuring this problem out.

Thanks.

[archiebolo]

have you tried the yellow pages? or white pages?

have you reaserched it on the internet?

have you looked up online directories?

it sounds like you havent really tried yet...

[archiebolo]

I myself went to china asked around found a massive gathering of companies that deals directly with many manufacters.... it took 13 hour plane ride.. 3 days of talking to people and 6 hour train ride to get to the place but hey i found it.. im sure you can too.

[archiebolo]

The cheapest manufacters would be in around china, Tailand, india and other "thrid world contries" the reason being that there are cheap labors in those areas.. it doesnt mean the product will be made poorly (with quality contral)..

check out trade shows and such for the indistry you are intrested in..
however most of them require you to have some kind of identification that you belong in a company.

[archiebolo]

and there isnt really a "original manufacturer" factories only make what you tell them to.. you would need to design stuff yourself.. they wont do it for you.

and be sure you have some way of secureing your design or some factories will steal it and selling to your competitors..

one way i found that is quite effective would be find your own material suppliers and have different factories make different parts and then have one final factory to construct the final product.

this way the factories wont know exactly what you are makeing so they wont be able to steal your design.

[SgtZ]

Alright, thanks for all the advice.

Actually, I've spent countless hours doing internet research and haven't been too successful.

In any event, that's all good advice and I'll keep searching.

Thanks much and if anyone else has a good strategy, let me know.

[22mil]

Z im in the same boat as you.... been trying to find a manufacturer for automotive electronics... but to this day have seen nothing up to par...

[toptemp]

Originally Posted by SgtZ

Anyone have some good advice for locating an original manufacturer for a certain product? I hate doing internet searches for product manufacturers because all you end up getting is middle-men and re-sellers.

What's the best idea for getting to the source? Anyone?

Thanks!

Try ThomasRegister.com. It's probably the most popular place to go for OEM. Do a search for your product and then use the sidebar to find "manufacturers." Typically, these would be the OEM.

Also, if you have a library that publishes "Ward's Business Rankings for Public and Private Corporations," it will give you the top buinesses for a given industry (this will give you a reputable OEM). You'd find the industry by doing a SIC/NAICS search on the governemnt's census site. That brings me do another point, do the latter search on the census site and then search the internet for companies that match that NAICS/SIC.

[AnthonyT]

I dont know if other countries have similar services, but I do know that the Canadian government has a website and other programs in place to connect entrepreneurs to manufacturers and suppliers. I haven't found the exact page but its somewhere in here:

http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_x/engdo...l?guides=e_spc

You do not have to be a Canadian citizen to take advantage of the above.

Hope this helps