Yonex - all parts manufactured in japan?

[babyken]

One of my friends told me that, even for the top models of rackets, Yonex does not for the racket manufacturing.

Yonex imports raw materials to other countries (e.g. China, Taiwan, etc) and some of the manufacture processes (e.g. making the frame and shaft) and done in these countries. Then these parts are shipped to Japan for Q.C., painting and install the wooden handle.

Does anybody know this is the real case?
Thanks.

[drifit]

welcome to BC................:)
high end models are produced in Japan. raw material such as wood handle, carbon, graphite etc maybe imported. process and manufacture in Japan.

as for lower-end, it is design by Yonex in Japan, and might manufactured in Taiwan.

[babyken]

welcome to BC................:)
high end models are produced in Japan. raw material such as wood handle, carbon, graphite etc maybe imported. process and manufacture in Japan.

as for lower-end, it is design by Yonex in Japan, and might manufactured in Taiwan.

Thanks.
Your reply is exactly opposite to my friend's comment.:)

[LouisW]

Thanks.
Your reply is exactly opposite to my friend's comment.:)

But I believe your friend's statement more than all the mfg. process was done in Japan. :cool: Just compare the labour cost in Japan and other countries.

[babyken]

But I believe your friend's statement more than all the mfg. process was done in Japan. :cool: Just compare the labour cost in Japan and other countries.

Thus I require someone having more concert information to support. As I always believe Yonex always remain the racket manufacturing processes (at least the most important parts) in Japan, although shoes and clothes are made in other countries.

[LouisW]

maybe only the finishing was done in Japan and separated into for domestic use and export use.

I believe the OEM factory was at Taiwan. Just guess.

[Smichz]

Yonex high-end n lower-end rackets got a big difference in price,because they r made in two different countries,japan n taiwan.The only difference between those two is just japan has a higher quality standard than the taiwan.Both got the parts manufactured in their own country.

Then,after it is done,the rackets is distributed among countries in the world.Like we know,there r JP,SP,HK,CH,TH,TW,IP,CD,US,etc..n the prices may differ among them.

Some people said the prices r different because of the matter of quality.Some think it's all the same quality,n the price differs since some r distributed to the growing countries,n some to the developed countries.

[silentheart]

All YY high end racquet are made in Japan. For those high ends, YY buy graphite from same Japanese Company. Manufacture the frame in Japan from the beginning to the end in Japan, Only thing YY buy from other country
is the wood to make handle. The wood is only produced in SE Asia. Your friend most likely got the wrong idea because the fake seller told them so.

[david07]

Yup, all high end rackets are made in Japan and lower end in Taiwan, thus the price differences.

[babyken]

Thanks all buddies information.

I like to state that we all know some low end rackets are made in Taiwan. e.g. MP22. But we are not discussing low end rackets.

We are not discussing the code distribution/price issue also.

The discussing point is some of the important racket manufacturing processes (at least I think) of high end rackets are not in Japan, is that the real situation?

Thanks.

[colekwok]

Thanks all buddies information.

I like to state that we all know some low end rackets are made in Taiwan. e.g. MP22. But we are not discussing low end rackets.

We are not discussing the code distribution/price issue also.

The discussing point is some of the important racket manufacturing processes (at least I think) of high end rackets are not in Japan, is that the real situation?

Thanks.

I am sure the molding process of the racket from carbonfibre sheets is in Japan. I know there are a few supplier of carbonfibre sheets and material in Japan, but I don't know which one YY is ordering from. Plus, the now have different fabrics, like nanocarbon (fullerene), titanium mesh etc etc, they may be from different countries. The process of manufacturering a badminton racket is simple, I am sure Yonex does not need to have loads of staff to do it in their factory. Plus, Japanese take pride of their own product, I am sure they would not risk their brand name to do such thing. Like most stuffs manufactured in Japan, raw materials are imported because Japan has so few natural rescources.

If you are in HK, probably it is one of those rumours telling you about OEM Yonex stuffs, which is likely to be bullshitting.

[silentheart]

The discussing point is some of the important racket manufacturing processes (at least I think) of high end rackets are not in Japan, is that the real situation?

Thanks.
1) Do you know the high end YY racquet you buy in HK store is "assembled" in HK? The racquet is unusable until it is strung. So the final "Assemble" point is in HK for you?
2) Of course this is not what you are asking. We already answered your question and you just don't want to give it a rest. So I will give you some true but irrelevant answer
3) If I ask Yonex USA issue a letter about your concern, will it stop people ask the same kind of question in the future? The answer is "NO" because your question has been asked and answered before. So I will not make a request to Yonex USA.
4) If you have an example or part you have in question, bring it up and we can debunk it for you. Who ever told you these info are either stupid or try to cheat your money. If you believe it, either you are stupid too or you have too much money.

I am not angry at you for asking a newbi question. However, I am not happy that you decided to continue to ask the same question after your original question has been answered.

[colekwok]

silent, be cool, apparently he is not a native English speaker, I think he may have a hard time understanding all our replies. I can give him this one.

Anyway, just don't understand why a lot of people still trust those shops and sellers.

[Athelete1234]

If the buttcap says made in japan, it's made in japan. If it says taiwan, it's made in taiwan. Not just assembled there.

[colekwok]

In this regard, you'd have to trust the manufacturers. The argument of most people (who claim that these products are not genuinely from origin of production) is that nowadays, most electronic stuffs have components from Taiwan, China, Indonesia, Thailand, India, etc etc in there and yet they claimed that they are manufactured in Japan, US of A, the UK. I can understand that. But the point is, who cares? If you think that Yonex rackets are made from Chinese grips and Taiwanese carbonfibres, why not just get a Victor or SOTX. They are genuinely made in China. If you think that the price is right, who cares!? Just like I don't like Thailand made Honda, then get a Japanese made Toyota then!?

[cooler]

One of my friends told me that, even for the top models of rackets, Yonex does not for the racket manufacturing.

Yonex imports raw materials to other countries (e.g. China, Taiwan, etc) and some of the manufacture processes (e.g. making the frame and shaft) and done in these countries. Then these parts are shipped to Japan for Q.C., painting and install the wooden handle.

Does anybody know this is the real case?
Thanks.
wrong, most raw materials do not come from china or TW. Most of the yonex racket components come from the middle east (saudia, kuwait, etc and canada).

u see, the matrix resin, synthetic grip, paints, strings and plastic end caps are made from oil which come mostly from the middle east. Since japan power come mostly from nuclear and coal plants, canada exports lotta coal and uranium to japan. So when u hold a yonex racket, it came mostly from saudia and canada. The wood likely come from forest of INA or russia.

[colekwok]

wrong, most raw materials do not come from china or TW. Most of the yonex racket components come from the middle east (saudia, kuwait, etc and canada).

u see, the matrix resin, paints and plastic end caps are made from oil which come mostly from the middle east. Since japan power come mostly from nuclear and coal plants, canada exports lotta coal and uranium to japan. So when u hold a yonex racket, it came mostly from saudia and canada.

I see I see. :eek:

[babyken]

1) Do you know the high end YY racquet you buy in HK store is "assembled" in HK? The racquet is unusable until it is strung. So the final "Assemble" point is in HK for you?
2) Of course this is not what you are asking. We already answered your question and you just don't want to give it a rest. So I will give you some true but irrelevant answer
3) If I ask Yonex USA issue a letter about your concern, will it stop people ask the same kind of question in the future? The answer is "NO" because your question has been asked and answered before. So I will not make a request to Yonex USA.
4) If you have an example or part you have in question, bring it up and we can debunk it for you. Who ever told you these info are either stupid or try to cheat your money. If you believe it, either you are stupid too or you have too much money.

I am not angry at you for asking a newbi question. However, I am not happy that you decided to continue to ask the same question after your original question has been answered.

Thanks for your detailed explaination and sorry to make you trouble. Really I am not a native English speaker (noticed by another BCer) so you can see my grammer is not so good. So somehow I may not fully understand the content.

My a/c is a new, but I am not new in BC as I forgot my old a/c details.

1) As you may know I am concerning the moulding process (for example).:D
2) Sorry to keep you answering my silly question:o.
3) I am not going to ask anyone to issue letter to Yonex because they will always say high end ones are made in Japan:rolleyes:.
4) I still believe high end yy rackets are made in Japan but my mind is also opened to accept other possibilities. E.g. some stuffs (T-shirt) were made in Japan only before but now made in other countries.

Please just ignore this thread if it bothers you.

[babyken]

wrong, most raw materials do not come from china or TW. Most of the yonex racket components come from the middle east (saudia, kuwait, etc and canada).

u see, the matrix resin, synthetic grip, paints, strings and plastic end caps are made from oil which come mostly from the middle east. Since japan power come mostly from nuclear and coal plants, canada exports lotta coal and uranium to japan. So when u hold a yonex racket, it came mostly from saudia and canada. The wood likely come from forest of INA or russia.

Sorry Cooler. I mistype the 'export' as 'import'.:crying:

[silentheart]

Thanks for your detailed explaination and sorry to make you trouble. Really I am not a native English speaker (noticed by another BCer) so you can see my grammer is not so good. So somehow I may not fully understand the content.

My a/c is a new, but I am not new in BC as I forgot my old a/c details.

1) As you may know I am concerning the moulding process (for example).:D
2) Sorry to keep you answering my silly question:o.
3) I am not going to ask anyone to issue letter to Yonex because they will always say high end ones are made in Japan:rolleyes:.
4) I still believe high end yy rackets are made in Japan but my mind is also opened to accept other possibilities. E.g. some stuffs (T-shirt) were made in Japan only before but now made in other countries.

Please just ignore this thread if it bothers you.
Hi,

I like this type of questioning because it is more specific and not repeating the same question as before/
1) For YY high end, only the raw material is bought from out side. Example, resin used to bind graphite, wood for the handle. Since each model use different mold for the frame and shaft, they are all mold and baked in Japan factory. Another example, we were asked last year to take a vote on YY Ti line racquet. To keep 1 mold for Ti 80 in production, it cost $15000 USD. It was destroyed after not too many response from dealers.
2) You asked good question this time.:)
3) It is actually true that if the Made in Japan is on the shaft, it is really made in Japan. For example, AS50 shuttle, it is highest standard of shuttle used for international game, it is made in China and it says it on the tube. YY has no need to lie about their product.
4) Example, YY high end shuttle used to made in Taiwan 20 years ago. Now it is made in China because it is cheaper and same quality.

We welcome good question from any member, new or old. However, just do a search first and many question can be find.

Thanks!:p

[babyken]

Really thanks for your knowledge sharing.

[ilovedude]

This is my personal assumption regarding YY high and any grade rackets production.
They are ALL produced in China. By means of a mould (by the way, there is no way a mould is close to $15,000), with the carbon sheet rolled into a tube form and blown, the finished semi-finished products will come out the mould with different quality, this is simply due to the nature of process disregard where the process taking place (Japan or China). Technicians will sort them out, best quality will go to Japan for final touch, THEN labelled with the sticker "made in Japan". Cost of making a rackets is not much, formulation of material mix is also a known secret. FYI, it is a very common practice that a lot of OEM dealers all around the world placing orders to X factory of their own contact ordering 200 pcs of rackets with the specs of AT800D. Those rackets are simply produced in the same identical process as how YY produces their and are sold as "no frill". I am always laughing whenever there is an arguement about Japanese YY rackets. For example the "made in Japan" label costs at least USD120 for an AT900T and people are feeling proud of ONLY the label.
Have a nice day

[Pete LSD]

It costs a lot of money to make a mould. The mould is CNC machined from a block of metal. Hence, the only way to recoup the fixed cost is through massive production.

[colekwok]

This is my personal assumption regarding YY high and any grade rackets production.
They are ALL produced in China. By means of a mould (by the way, there is no way a mould is close to $15,000), with the carbon sheet rolled into a tube form and blown, the finished semi-finished products will come out the mould with different quality, this is simply due to the nature of process disregard where the process taking place (Japan or China). Technicians will sort them out, best quality will go to Japan for final touch, THEN labelled with the sticker "made in Japan". Cost of making a rackets is not much, formulation of material mix is also a known secret. FYI, it is a very common practice that a lot of OEM dealers all around the world placing orders to X factory of their own contact ordering 200 pcs of rackets with the specs of AT800D. Those rackets are simply produced in the same identical process as how YY produces their and are sold as "no frill". I am always laughing whenever there is an arguement about Japanese YY rackets. For example the "made in Japan" label costs at least USD120 for an AT900T and people are feeling proud of ONLY the label.
Have a nice day

That is quite some conspiracy theory.

I am not a YY diehard fan, nor do I hate Yonex for some particular reason, but you are assuming that all Yonex rackets are madei in China and then being labelled as made in Japan? Then what is the point of Yonex just labelling those high end rackets as made in China while honestly telling you that their beginner's range is made in Taiwan or China? Why not just stamp the made in Japan label on all their rackets?

Also, there are local custom/importing laws or regulations regarding the country of origin for goods. If the item is labelled as made in Japan, they should a certain percentage be actually made in the Japan. Manufacturers should be able to provide these information upon request.

I believe that Yonex Japan is repectable enough not to commit this kind of fause claims.

Oh yes, the mold..... Well, I am not in this field of science/engineering at all, but like what Pete says, creating a mold is expensive, expecially with tight tolerance. The mold of carbonfibre parts needs to withstand high temperature, high pressure, long durability, needless to say, without changing much of the original dimension. I can imagine it can be pretty expensive just to make one.

[ilovedude]

for CNC all you need is a blue print and a button. I am in the precision metal industry and we manually have to deal with micros $ thousandth of inch everyday, no big deal.

[ants]

This is my personal assumption regarding YY high and any grade rackets production.
They are ALL produced in China. By means of a mould (by the way, there is no way a mould is close to $15,000), with the carbon sheet rolled into a tube form and blown, the finished semi-finished products will come out the mould with different quality, this is simply due to the nature of process disregard where the process taking place (Japan or China). Technicians will sort them out, best quality will go to Japan for final touch, THEN labelled with the sticker "made in Japan". Cost of making a rackets is not much, formulation of material mix is also a known secret. FYI, it is a very common practice that a lot of OEM dealers all around the world placing orders to X factory of their own contact ordering 200 pcs of rackets with the specs of AT800D. Those rackets are simply produced in the same identical process as how YY produces their and are sold as "no frill". I am always laughing whenever there is an arguement about Japanese YY rackets. For example the "made in Japan" label costs at least USD120 for an AT900T and people are feeling proud of ONLY the label.
Have a nice day


I agree with you on your understanding in the Products labeled/package in Japan is "made in Japan". For Yonex products,not all is made in Japan. Some are in Taiwan and in China. Personally i have been to the plant itself. And they do have moulds etc in the factories.

However products that is labeled MADE IN CHINA is most likely Everything is made in China from producing,manufacturing and packaging. The reason is simply it cheaper to make in China. Everyones knows that.

But for products that is MADE IN USA,ITALY,PARIS etc etc.. i would say most of it may not come from those country itself. For example Cosmetics... for the ladies they always thinks that Whatever that is made in PARIS or FRANCE ( Europe ) is better and good quality. But what they don't know is that the Materials itself from Facial Power, Foundation, Perfume, Cologne etc.. usually comes from ASIA. These materials are then sent to the European countries for the final Packaging from Putting the foundation into the plastic container, liquid perfume into bottle and then place them into the box and packed it. THEN they are labelled as Made In France etc etc...

So for the Japanese products from electronics,rackets,clothes etc that is Labelled MADE IN JAPAN may not come from JAPAN itself. However the JAPANESE always get the best stuffs first.. they have their own quality control and sort the nessesary things for their own countrymen to use. USE THE BEST. NO offence to the Japanese.. not all products that is Made in Japan is the best. There are some lousy ones too. But rest assure.. most of the items sold in Japan is Good quality. Its worth the money you pay for.

For Rackets... you can ask the pros. I would say those that i know who have used JP rackets says that the JPs are much better.

[Pete LSD]

Hey now Ants, you are opening up a big can of worms :D:D:D.



For Rackets... you can ask the pros. I would say those that i know who have used JP rackets says that the JPs are much better.

[GunBlade008]

Hey now Ants, you are opening up a big can of worms :D:D:D.

No Ants, noooo!

[taneepak]

There is a lot of confusion about "Made in Japan" or made in any country. Almost no country in today's world make everything, including Japan, because of comparative advantages of sourcing raw materials from various countries. From the costs of some top Japan made Yonex racquets I am of the opinion that most of them are made from materials sourced from outside Japan. BTW, do you know that China is now Japan's, Australia's and also Korea's biggest trading partner?

[Neil Nicholls]

oil which come mostly from the middle east.
about 30% of the world's oil comes from the middle east
about 55% comes from (in descending order of production)
Russia
United States
China
Mexico
Norway
Canada
Venezuela
Nigeria
United Kingdom
Libya
Angola
Brazil

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/ene_oil_pro-energy-oil-production

[General Foo]

This is my personal assumption regarding YY high and any grade rackets production.
They are ALL produced in China. By means of a mould (by the way, there is no way a mould is close to $15,000), with the carbon sheet rolled into a tube form and blown, the finished semi-finished products will come out the mould with different quality, this is simply due to the nature of process disregard where the process taking place (Japan or China). Technicians will sort them out, best quality will go to Japan for final touch, THEN labelled with the sticker "made in Japan". Cost of making a rackets is not much, formulation of material mix is also a known secret. FYI, it is a very common practice that a lot of OEM dealers all around the world placing orders to X factory of their own contact ordering 200 pcs of rackets with the specs of AT800D. Those rackets are simply produced in the same identical process as how YY produces their and are sold as "no frill". I am always laughing whenever there is an arguement about Japanese YY rackets. For example the "made in Japan" label costs at least USD120 for an AT900T and people are feeling proud of ONLY the label.
Have a nice day

i love dude (why?) is practically right - im almost certain of it! i had a coach for a wetek in china who was invited to visit the manufacturing plant in guang zhuon. he says the factory makes not only yonex rackets but also bonny rackets and thhe oth0eter factory in singapore also makes yonex rackets and other brands. i cant remember exactly, but the jist of what he said was that all ch rackets were manufactured in guangzhuo and some finishing touches were added in japan whereas most other codes of rackets were manufactured in singapore and then as before, the finishing touches were put on in japan. Apparently, the only thing that differentiates between the country codes is the number of quality control stages. for example ch rackets may only need to pass 23 tests, sp 30 and jp perhaps 45. (this is just an example and not based on any specific figures.) however, the coach also said that it was possible that different codes of rackets used different grades of high modulous graphite. so say ch rackets may use 450 grade hi-mod graphite where as jp used 600. Although im not sure i believe this last comment.

But yeah generally i believe what ants says in referrence to his professional player friends. i think there may well be a difference between the performance of different country coded rackets but as to the performance difference - this is open to your own imagination.

[colekwok]

he said was that all ch rackets were manufactured in guangzhuo and some finishing touches were added in japan whereas most other codes of rackets were manufactured in singapore and then as before, the finishing touches were put on in japan.

Umm, very interesting indeed. I believe your coach is correct in some ways. You see, Yonex make most of their low-end rackets in China, and probably Taiwan and Singapore. But I am not quite sure if those high end rackets are made in China though.

Also, I have heard many time before about YY making their rackets inside China. I doubt that it is entirely true as I know some racket production plants (in China), always claim that they are making rackets for Yonex, but the fact is, they are either making the low-end rackets or ...... you know, the fake ones. especially when they invite you to their factories, obviously they have to show you what they have got!? :D

As far as I know, branded Chinese made rackets are of similar if not better quality than the Yonex top-end rackets. QC is getting better and better but the price for top end Chinese made rackets are getting higher and higher as well. Look at brands like Victor, you cannot even get a cheap Superwave in China. Carlton,Babolat, Prince are all made in China, just look at the price that they are selling their rackets. So I guess this 'made in Japan' issue is not going to be as critical to most buyers as, say, ten years ago?

[ilovedude]

I was in the plastic raw material trading business for more than 15 years. Every producers in nature when producing one batch of plastic resins, no one knows if every batch will carry the same acceptable quality even under identical processing conditions. For off -specs batch the ratio ranging from 5% to 35%. You might not know, the off specs (it is called off-grade) market is HUGE. By adjusting the moulding temperatures technicians can produce the same product with off-grade resins have quality almost close to prime grade materials. If you have a chance to look at how rackets are made in some of the Chinese and Taiwanese website you know the process is pretty much quite labour intensed and no rockets science involved. To add more nano technology (raw materials) is only $1 or $2 different per racket only. I am not saying owning a YY racket is a bad thing, the fact that I want to make is you only paid 30-40% of your money to buy the production cost of the racket and the rest goes to the dealers' pockets and other games promotion costs. While with the other rackets the ratio is the reverse. So, what is your preferences.

[colekwok]

Yonex 信頼の証 『MADE IN JAPAN』 :crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::c rying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::cry ing::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::cryin g::crying::crying:

[colekwok]

Just found this article, maybe I should start eating my own word if it is true.

If somebody can tranlate it, it would be nice, I just don't have the time to do it myself.

Part 1

一些细心的球友可能会发现很多牌子的羽毛球用品是在近四,五年的时间里才慢慢的进入市场,并且极力的推广让 消费者熟之```但多数人却无法去了解他们的品牌来源,公司背景及真正的产地````今天索性在这里向大家 做一个大概的介绍和个人看法
羽毛球拍的发展大概可以分为这么一个流程:
羽毛球拍最早大概是在五十年前开始发展,当时欧洲部分都是由英国生产(现在仍是),亚洲则是由日本生产,但 是后来日本的商家慢慢的发展到台湾,并在台湾当地办厂和生产,这段时间大概在五十年到三十年之间.三十年到 二十年这段时间台湾渐渐发展了多个品牌,并且逐步的往国内推进,二十年到十年前这段时间多数厂商开始定居国 内发展规模,最后近十年来才开始推广自己的牌子和产品!并且许多品牌都是在近十年来甚至近五年才出现在市场 的````
而这些品牌他们多数没有自己的生产基地,更不用说他们会有自己的技术特点了,绝大部分是有广东,东莞附近的 一些小厂生产加工出来的,然后他们在贴上自己的牌子,进行推广```材料则参差不齐!
我可以很肯定的说目前大多数的羽毛球品牌都是出自于台湾,包括现在我们认为是国产的胜利品牌也都是出自于台 湾,胜利早期在台湾是以生产羽毛球为主,也是以羽毛球出名的``后来才移到国内开始介入球拍系列.直到现在 仍是以球为主力,再球服,再球拍!
而某些品牌所说的哪个国家的牌子或哪个国家进口的,则更容易分辨了```一些资业内人士就会知道,德国近百 年来都没有羽拍的工厂,更别说生产了```所谓德国品牌或进口的,至多是在当地注册过而已!我还可以透露一 点,现在在国内极力推广自己的一个品牌SOTX索德士(简称索牌),他们真正的老板是我们中国的江西人氏( 如果我没记错的话)
现在国内可以肯定的牌子我个人只看上胜利和凯胜!
呵呵~~~你们可以仔细看看有哪几个品牌在那些国际知名的网羽赛上出现过或赞助过,或者有的球友有机会出国 ,可以列举一些你所知道的品牌,看看当地有没有人知道或者能不能找到``````!目前拥有自己的生产基地 和形成技术特点的,并且在世界上形成国际品牌的只有YONEX和PROACE这两个竞争对手!他们各自都有 雄厚的资金和技术力量!
YONEX在日本和台湾有自己的工厂,其他地方的也是YONEX授权生产再为其贴牌的!不知道大家是否清楚 ,在日本当地买YY的球拍要比在世界其他地方买都略贵哦!(YY公司每年大概要拨1500万的物品赞助国家 队,并且合约一签就是五年,这就是为什么大家看到国家队员都是用YY用品的原因)
PROACE也有自己的生产基地,在越南,原材料则是有澳洲空运过来去,并且是装在一个温度保持在零下15 度的特制集装箱里面!(PROACE也想赞助国家队,现在就是在等他们跟YY的合同期满才能介入,所以目前 PROACE先从一些国际性或大师级的比赛开始着手,像03年的国羽赛乃至今年12月的世羽赛,都是有他们 赞助的)
所以现今只有这两个品牌的球拍才能称得上是进口的!
最后一点个人建议,如果消费500以上的球拍尽量选择知名度交高的正品球拍,如YONEX或ProACE等 牌子,再下来可以选择凯胜或胜利````最后再去考虑那些中低档品牌和一些我们所谓的杂牌`` ``
呵呵```不知不觉说了这么多````目的只是想让更多的球友们了解羽球市场发展的一个概况```让大家能 够更好更理性的作出选择```避免道听途说或盲目消费!
另外以上言谈纯属个人看法和一些基本的了解,绝没有其他意思,希望个别人或商家不要产生误会! 谢谢!

[colekwok]

Part 2

整个欧洲早在ProKennex横扫的年代就已经开始淡出羽球工业，2000年之后更没出过一只，如果大家 有一只奥地利本土制造的Fischer的话～hoho，实际上整个欧洲在进入复合材料年代之后，真正的制造 中心是奥地利，因为奥地利拥有全欧洲最大的特种纤维生产线，说道HEAD，可能无人不知，但是HEAD的后 台就是奥地利，大家又了解吗？
真正要数羽球器材的发展历史，大体上这样看就好了：
STEP1：木拍年代～60年代中以前。以原木或复合板为主要材料的年代，线张力在16LBS以下，全重在 150克以上，代表品牌是RSL和Carlton，制造中心是我们美丽富饶的欧洲大陆，这个年代的器材由于 笨重，所以欧洲选手能够占很大的便宜。甚至连美国这样背景下，也能偶尔冒个泡。
STEP2：金属年代～60年代直到80年代初。金属及铝合金以巨大的重量优势一夜之间代替了原木拍，虽然 仍有不少顽固的遗老遗少一直坚持原木的“手感”，但是毕竟跟不上时代的步伐，70年代是这些俗称铁拍的天下 ，张力也提高到了20－22LBS的程度，重量却终于能控制到110克之下，这个年代是亚洲人开始发挥“技 术优势”的年代，虽然未能登上羽球世界的最高峰，但是已经不远了。
STEP3：复合材料年代～70年代末至今。在羽球史这是一个大书特书的年代，而要书写这个光辉的时间段， 第一个关键字就是ProKennex～罗光男。1977年，罗光男的ProKennex在台湾成立，随后旋 即推出全球第一款使用炭纤维材料制造的球拍系列，从此炭纤维凭借着他出色的机械特性，一具将金属球拍赶出了 羽球场，而ProKennex的炭纤维球拍制程，以及相关的IE，一只沿用到今天而无大的改变，ProKe nnex不愧于天王的地位。
诚然～ProKennex的成功有很大的大环境背景，例如冷战后期航空技术的爆发性发展使得炭纤维技术高速 成熟，炭纤维工业从美国转移到日本和台湾等等，但是毕竟炭纤维的甜头大家都尝到了，ProKennex实在 太红，引得一家叫做“Yoneyama”的迷你品牌，在1978年也自宫掉一个Y，将自己改名成“YONE X”来粘些Kennex的“炭”气，当然，这些东西咱们都见多了，诸如“Contax”之于“Pentax ”，“ikon”之于“Nikonmat”，但是，所谓“即使自宫，未必成功”，在之后的8500，早期的 几支Cabonex失败之后，聪明的米山丰，看到了美国人将营销的概念引入了体育领域，于是灵机一动，不惜 工本，银弹政策硬是将在中国国家队当红的ProKennex 787换成了杨天王手上的Cab20和赵天王的Boron2～靠～从此一发不可收拾，没想到在网球坛碰了一 鼻子灰，居然在“二线”的羽球市场如此吃得开，从此，YY就专心做咱们国家队的公关，即使李总明着倒腾CP 、CN也笑面相迎，周瑜黄盖嘛～手牵手走向新世纪～
进入21世纪，材料技术日新月异，炭纤维也算到了个头，全球95％的炭纤维产自台湾日本，其中绝大多数的产 量又来自3大集团，几家厂商之间能用的都用过了，在炭纤维的密度上做文章提升球拍的机械性能已经没什么大的 作为。于是～加钛网分散应力～采用编织结构排列炭纤维～混合编织如其他的纤维（硼、凯拉夫等）～粉末改性技 术～等等统统走了个遍，但是能安全拉线到36lbs的拍子还是要靠运气，不过想想也是，只有100克不到的 结构却承受超过100KG的应力，也没多少材料能够做到了。
纵观炭纤维羽拍的整个发展历史，ProKennex虽然首开先河，却最后未能善终，实在可惜，而YONEX 却占后发制人之利，将之发扬光大，也算是一大风景。说道ProAce，这个宝顿旗下的品牌，说实在的，有多 少料实在难说，YY一叫第一，起码就有10个以上的家伙说自己是老二，宝顿和咱大英帝国又有千丝万缕的关系 ，这个ProAce的弓型T头咋就越看越像Carlton？炭纤维产业向东亚集中已经是不争的事实，而最优 炭纱目前较公允的是日本toray旗下高密系列，要是从澳洲进口，还就真不知到是什么货色了，澳洲自产的炭 纱，估计沥青基都有可能，呵呵～或者ProAce是在做转口贸易避税吧。又或者～炭纤维的环氧树脂胶水是需 要较低温保存的。
大势上而言，羽球拍本身的技术含量已经越降越低，YY所谓的纳米技术～不过是在粘合剂上加入细致粉末提高接 触面，这东西早在20年前就已经在工程塑料上大量应用，现在提起不过是炒个概念而已，YY另一项可能的技术 是复合密度炭纤维，但是他怎样保证两种不同粗细的纤维紧密排列呢？呵呵～或者石墨是一个好的未来，例如ba bolat采用的Nanoledge 石墨管，但是～无论采用材料如何，羽拍的制作只能是一个劳动密集的产品，也只能继续向劳动力廉价的东南亚集 中，YY虽然号称唯一在发达国家制造球拍，但是还有多少本土的雇员？随着JIT、OEM、6Sigma等等 琳琅满目的生产概念的出现，拘泥于本土情节似乎也总敌不过利润的召唤，呵呵～YY也按照JIS的最低要求来 MADE IN JAPAN了，于是～就成为了一个很有趣的现象，由中国提供炭纤维的PAN基，TORAY/台丽将他做成炭纱，YY采购，就地供应给相应的厂家，做成胚，或上漆，或不上漆，租个货柜在日本转个圈出来 或搞个厂上漆～Bingo！MADE IN JAPAN～

[ilovedude]

Good morning,
This is exactly what I said in brief regarding what "Made in Japan" means. I've read the above article a few months ago. This is a trend. Japan gave up the commodity electronic market years ago, and now Samsung 's fridge is the best in terms of technology way better than "National". YY is still the leader in badminton rackets because they are still enjoying a loyalty benefit (the early bird effect) from the popularity of those sponsorships worldwide, I guess the only 100% made in Japan rackets are those from their R&D dept.
Have fun.

[ilovedude]

Yonex 信頼の証 『MADE IN JAPAN』 :crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::c rying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::cry ing::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::cryin g::crying::crying:
I guess this certificate is made in Mexico. Hehe.

[colekwok]

FYI :

Toray Industries is a Japan based chemical company. It is the largest CF manufacturer in the world.

JIS = Japanese Industrial Standard

[silentheart]

Good morning,
This is exactly what I said in brief regarding what "Made in Japan" means. I've read the above article a few months ago. This is a trend. Japan gave up the commodity electronic market years ago, and now Samsung 's fridge is the best in terms of technology way better than "National". YY is still the leader in badminton rackets because they are still enjoying a loyalty benefit (the early bird effect) from the popularity of those sponsorships worldwide, I guess the only 100% made in Japan rackets are those from their R&D dept.
Have fun.
Please define "100% made in Japan"?
Some of us has visited the factory in Japan before (ex: ants, me). The high end racquets are made in Japan from raw materials (except the wood handle). I feel there is no point to ask for a letter now because you will just believe in what you believe. You are not going to spend your own money to fly to Japan to change your mind.
FYI, the racquet came out the R&D uses the handle from SE Asia. So by your def, it is not "100% made in Japan" either.
I just want to bring up to your attension on several example.
1) AS50 is "Made in China" It say so on the tube. By what you claim, Yonex can just repackage it in Japan and say it is made in Japan. There is no point for Yonex to lie.
2) The SHB100-LTD is made in China, Say so on the shoe. Once again, there is no point for Yonex to make a false claim.
3) Most of the Yonex shirt is made in China. What is the point for Yonex to lie about that?
Just because you have heard some coach and dealer with false info and close mind, and you start some BS like this. Please grow up. If you like racquet made in China, just go buy Victor, Sotx or some other name brand. They made raquets as good as Yonex and may suit other player better than Yonex racquet. Just don't bring up your "CONSPIRACY THEORY" as a fact.
There are general rule on labling where a item is made. Please do some research on that first.

[colekwok]

:osilentheart, thanks for assuring me!

[ants]

Hey now Ants, you are opening up a big can of worms :D:D:D.

Its not worms anymore.. its Maggots.

[Pete LSD]

Yummmmm. Insect protein for badminton diet :D


Its not worms anymore.. its Maggots.

[silentheart]

Does it come with the brown thing which maggots grow in?

[Pete LSD]

No, just the white maggots :p.


Does it come with the brown thing which maggots grow in?

[colekwok]

Well, maggots can be use very useful, they eat the rotten flesh and leave the healthy untouched....... .:p

[cooler]

Please define "100% made in Japan"?
Some of us has visited the factory in Japan before (ex: ants, me). The high end racquets are made in Japan from raw materials (except the wood handle). I feel there is no point to ask for a letter now because you will just believe in what you believe. You are not going to spend your own money to fly to Japan to change your mind.
FYI, the racquet came out the R&D uses the handle from SE Asia. So by your def, it is not "100% made in Japan" either.
I just want to bring up to your attension on several example.
1) AS50 is "Made in China" It say so on the tube. By what you claim, Yonex can just repackage it in Japan and say it is made in Japan. There is no point for Yonex to lie.
2) The SHB100-LTD is made in China, Say so on the shoe. Once again, there is no point for Yonex to make a false claim.
3) Most of the Yonex shirt is made in China. What is the point for Yonex to lie about that?
Just because you have heard some coach and dealer with false info and close mind, and you start some BS like this. Please grow up. If you like racquet made in China, just go buy Victor, Sotx or some other name brand. They made raquets as good as Yonex and may suit other player better than Yonex racquet. Just don't bring up your "CONSPIRACY THEORY" as a fact.
There are general rule on labling where a item is made. Please do some research on that first.
although it is a simple concept but most people like to believe what other tells them rather than think for themself for a minute.

[cooler]

about 30% of the world's oil comes from the middle east
about 55% comes from (in descending order of production)
Russia
United States
China
Mexico
Norway
Canada
Venezuela
Nigeria
United Kingdom
Libya
Angola
Brazil

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/ene_oil_pro-energy-oil-productionNeil, i am quite aware of the various sources of petroleum products worldwide, so much so, i made that statement from a gut feel, no previous research at all.

You see, my above statement (u see, the matrix resin, synthetic grip, paints, strings and plastic end caps are made from oil which come mostly from the middle east.) pertains to the context of components needed by yonex (and its outsource contractors) to manufacture rackets and other badminton products in japan. Therefore, i was stating the likely source of japan's oil needs is from the middle east. The key middle east producers are made up of countries like saudia, UAE, kuwait, iran, iraq, quatar, yemen, and so forth. I later refer one source country Saudia to represent a host of middle east producers (ie without listing all the countries) because I believed Saudia is the biggest oil exporter to Japan.


In supporting my guessed statement, here is a current article.

Japan''s crude oil dependence on Kuwait, Middle East down

Power & Materials 11/30/2007 10:52:00 AM



TOKYO, Nov 30 (KUNA) -- Japan's crude oil imports from Kuwait edged down 0.
1 percent in October from a year earlier to 8.30 million barrels but soared 32.
5 percent from the previous month, according to the report released Friday by the government agency.
Kuwait provided 6.4 percent of nation's crude oil in the reporting month, compared with 5.9 percent in September and 7.0 percent in the same month of last year, the Japanese Natural Resources and Energy Agency, a unit of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, said in a preliminary report.
Japan is Kuwait's largest oil buyer.
Japan's overall imports of crude oil increased 8.3 percent in October from a year earlier to 128.86 million barrels for the first growth in two months, with imports from the Middle East accounting for 87.5 percent of the total, down 2.3 percentage points from the year before and slightly dropped 0.2 percent from September for the fifth consecutive month of decline.
Saudi Arabia remained Japan's biggest oil supplier, although imports from the country shrank 5.9 percent from a year earlier to 36.33 million barrels, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 32.06 million barrels, up 15.6 percent. Qatar became third, with imports rising 10.9 percent to 15.51 million barrels. Iran ranked fourth with 13.31 million barrels, up 10.4 percent.
Japan contains almost no oil reserves of its own, but the nation is the world's third-largest oil consumer after the US and China. Japanese oil companies procure about 80 percent of their crude oil through direct-dealing transactions. (end) mk.ema KUNA 301052 Nov 07NNNN

ie, japan oil import was around 90% from the middle east before they cut some from iran to protest iran's nuclear quest. Not bad from a gut feel huh?:p:cool:er

[cooler]

oh, here's the link http://www.silobreaker.com/DocumentReader.aspx?Item=5_796025869

[cooler]

about 30% of the world's oil comes from the middle east
about 55% comes from (in descending order of production)
Russia
United States
China
Mexico
Norway
Canada
Venezuela
Nigeria
United Kingdom
Libya
Angola
Brazil

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/ene_oil_pro-energy-oil-production
Neil, here is something to tease your brain:p
Canada is and had been IMPORTING ~ 1,000,000 barrel/day of oil and oil products. http://www.indexmundi.com/canada/oil_imports.html
Even lotta canadian don't know this.

[drifit]

now, we are learning some good geographies...........:D:D:D

[Babytrex2]

Hmm,,, I guess we should have some facts about the Manufacturing then .

Certification would be Good >>>

[ph_leung]

Neil, here is something to tease your brain:p
Canada is and had been IMPORTING ~ 1,000,000 barrel/day of oil and oil products. http://www.indexmundi.com/canada/oil_imports.html
Even lotta canadian don't know this.

Actually, from the media, Canadians are told we are a net exporter of oil. That's what counts most. I believe some of it is due to refining. e.g. If it is cheaper to transport to WA state for processing vs over to somehere in the next province within Canada. Just like we may buy apples or produce from the Western states vs from the Eastern parts of Canada.

From the same report, this shows that we are a net exporter:
http://www.indexmundi.com/canada/oil_exports.html