complex relational problems. This is not to call the Chinese unintelligent. In fact, they are industrially and creatively brilliant. The fact remains that the Chinese are just beginning to understand that they will never dominate the granite market without making partnerships with American companies. China needs relationships with American clients, which can be accomplished with American business partnerships.

The same cultural trends which enable China to dominate the labor sector have created communication barriers that are thicker and

What I am about to write comes from many years of experience and partnerships with Chinese factories within the granite industry. It also comes from being an avid ‘China Watcher’.

I have written this article several times and have hit delete when I was done. This is an article that will cause friction. It will polarize the readers because is will be interpreted as controversial as best, and in some cases even dogmatic.

China will eventually snap the baseline pricing structure of the granite countertop industry in the USA.

First, let me explain the ‘baseline’ to which I am referring. This is the lowest prices at which American granite companies will offer their services, in order to meeting the basic needs required to maintain established lifestyles. This does not mean that Americans cannot survive below the baseline. It just means that they are very unhappy to do so, in part because changes must be made to their lifestyles.

So, why will China eventually snap the baseline? They will do so because they have no baseline. There baseline is a non factor. As they strive to compete for granite market share, the typical Chinese company is working with employment costs that are closer to the levels of slavery rather than to a realistic minimum wage. It cannot be stopped. Not only has their cultural momentum eliminated the baseline in China; we Americans actually embrace it. We thrive for lower costs, as long as the laborers live outside the USA. While we calculate US unemployment in single digit percentages, China measures their unemployment rates in the kilometers of willing workers lined up at the granite factory every morning. If one individual does not want to work for a certain wage in China, there are a thousand others waiting to do so.

In the granite industry, the writing is on the wall, or perhaps it is more fitting to say “Etched in stone.” In this decade, industrial domination is controlled by costs, and China is the undisputable leader. The only thing that is slowing China down is their software. I do not mean a computer program. I am referring to the muscle between the ears, designed to run programs all day long and solves complex relational problems. This is not to call the Chinese unintelligent. In fact, they are industrially and creatively brilliant. The fact remains that the Chinese are just beginning to understand that they will never dominate the granite market without making partnerships with American companies. China needs relationships with American clients, which can be accomplished with American business partnerships.

The same cultural trends which enable China to dominate the labor sector have created communication barriers that are thicker and

t, let me explain the ‘baseline’ to which I am referring. This is the lowest prices at which American granite companies will offer their services, in order to meeting the basic needs required to maintain established lifestyles. This does not mean that Americans cannot survive below the baseline. It just means that they are very unhappy to do so, in part because changes must be made to their lifestyles.

So, why will China eventually snap the baseline? They will do so because they have no baseline. There baseline is a non factor. As they strive to compete for granite market share, the typical Chinese company is working with employment costs that are closer to the levels of slavery rather than to a realistic minimum wage. It cannot be stopped. Not only has their cultural momentum eliminated the baseline in China; we Americans actually embrace it. We thrive for lower costs, as long as the laborers live outside the USA. While we calculate US unemployment in single digit percentages, China measures their unemployment rates in the kilometers of willing workers lined up at the granite factory every morning. If one individual does not want to work for a certain wage in China, there are a thousand others waiting to do so.

In the granite industry, the writing is on the wall, or perhaps it is more fitting to say “Etched in stone.” In this decade, industrial domination is controlled by costs, and China is the undisputable leader. The only thing that is slowing China down is their software. I do not mean a computer program. I am referring to the muscle between the ears, designed to run programs all day long and solves complex relational problems. This is not to call the Chinese unintelligent. In fact, they are industrially and creatively brilliant. The fact remains that the Chinese are just beginning to understand that they will never dominate the granite market without making partnerships with American companies. China needs relationships with American clients, which can be accomplished with American business partnerships.

The same cultural trends which enable China to dominate the labor sector have created communication barriers that are thicker and

strive to compete for granite market share, the typical Chinese company is working with employment costs that are closer to the levels of slavery rather than to a realistic minimum wage. It cannot be stopped. Not only has their cultural momentum eliminated the baseline in China; we Americans actually embrace it. We thrive for lower costs, as long as the laborers live outside the USA. While we calculate US unemployment in single digit percentages, China measures their unemployment rates in the kilometers of willing workers lined up at the granite factory every morning. If one individual does not want to work for a certain wage in China, there are a thousand others waiting to do so.

In the granite industry, the writing is on the wall, or perhaps it is more fitting to say “Etched in stone.” In this decade, industrial domination is controlled by costs, and China is the undisputable leader. The only thing that is slowing China down is their software. I do not mean a computer program. I am referring to the muscle between the ears, designed to run programs all day long and solves complex relational problems. This is not to call the Chinese unintelligent. In fact, they are industrially and creatively brilliant. The fact remains that the Chinese are just beginning to understand that they will never dominate the granite market without making partnerships with American companies. China needs relationships with American clients, which can be accomplished with American business partnerships.

The same cultural trends which enable China to dominate the labor sector have created communication barriers that are thicker and

ite factory every morning. If one individual does not want to work for a certain wage in China, there are a thousand others waiting to do so.

In the granite industry, the writing is on the wall, or perhaps it is more fitting to say “Etched in stone.” In this decade, industrial domination is controlled by costs, and China is the undisputable leader. The only thing that is slowing China down is their software. I do not mean a computer program. I am referring to the muscle between the ears, designed to run programs all day long and solves complex relational problems. This is not to call the Chinese unintelligent. In fact, they are industrially and creatively brilliant. The fact remains that the Chinese are just beginning to understand that they will never dominate the granite market without making partnerships with American companies. China needs relationships with American clients, which can be accomplished with American business partnerships.

The same cultural trends which enable China to dominate the labor sector have created communication barriers that are thicker and

complex relational problems. This is not to call the Chinese unintelligent. In fact, they are industrially and creatively brilliant. The fact remains that the Chinese are just beginning to understand that they will never dominate the granite market without making partnerships with American companies. China needs relationships with American clients, which can be accomplished with American business partnerships.

The same cultural trends which enable China to dominate the labor sector have created communication barriers that are thicker and higher than the Great Wall. It is not about the speed or the size of the airplane that makes a person feel safe. Rather, it is how the airplane takes off and lands. In the granite industry, China allegorically has the biggest airplanes and the biggest fleet. American clients, from hotel chains to homeowners, will have no problem choosing their airline once the Chinese acquire capable American pilots via a partnership.

Now, let me speak on gradual evolution. The Chinese are already dominating the product supply of granite vanity top and prefab kitchen countertops, but the real domination is around the corner. Contracting Services are the hallowed ground of ‘installation’, built on developed communication skills and customer service, which will not be replaced. Instead, it will undergo a cultural transformation. No culture works harder than China’s. Americans do not want to compete at their level unless it is a matter of survival. As American Company Organizational Charts increase with Chinese middle managers, company production will increase as well. This is because the Chinese middle management will be able to hire culturally related associates in greater percentages.

For small granite shops, the situation is even worse. As a whole, we are watching one of two things go down on a monthly basis: prices or volume. If not, then the granite shop is truly at the apex of the localized area. Don’t look down! One might think they have a good ‘custom’ market that can not be replaced with prefabricated countertops. While this may be true for a little while, this is only a product issue. Builders are gradually maneuvering their kitchen designs to standardize the granite sizes so that they can take advantage of the lower costs of granite prefabricated in China. However, what a person needs to be concerned with most is the labor issue. Once a Chinese company enters a local market, buys the latest equipment and hires American “pilots”, the small American granite fabricator is in trouble unless there is plenty of work to go around.

In this article, I want most to provide these realities to think about. I would also like to add some possible strategies