1. Separate the selling entity from the plant
Many listings are operated by export companies that own no machinery. That is not automatically a problem — plenty of good factories sell through a separate trading arm — but you should know which one you are dealing with, because it decides who is accountable for a dimensional deviation in month six.
Two identifiers settle it: the factory address on the business licence, and whether the same address appears on your test reports as the manufacturer. If the selling entity and the manufacturing entity differ, ask for the relationship in writing. A supplier who answers this plainly is usually also straightforward about the rest.
2. Ask who cuts the mould
In-house tooling is the single largest difference between a manufacturer and a reseller. When the mould shop is on site, a drawing change is a conversation; when it is subcontracted, every revision carries a queue position you cannot see. Ask how many tooling staff work on site and what the sample-mould lead time is. Ours is 5–10 days for a sample mould and 7–12 days for a production mould, cut in our own shop.
3. Get equipment numbers, not adjectives
"Advanced equipment" means nothing. Press counts, tonnage, injection versus compression, and auxiliary capacity are checkable in one factory visit or one video call. At our plant: 20 compression presses, 2 injection moulding machines and more than 30 auxiliary units, with a combined output above 100,000 pieces per day.
4. Inspection described as stages, not slogans
Ask where inspection happens, not how good it is. A workable answer names incoming material, in-process and outgoing checks, and says who signs the outgoing record. Our line runs IQC, IPQC and OQC with five inspectors; the OQC record travels with the shipment.
5. Read the scope line on every certificate
A test report is a statement about specific samples. Look for the model number, the standard, the issuing laboratory and the report number, then check that the model matches what you are buying. A document naming a different model proves the supplier has been through testing; it does not prove your SKU complies.
6. Buy the sample, not the promise
Order a sample against your drawing before the tool. It costs a fraction of a mould and it tests the whole chain: drawing interpretation, material choice, dimensional discipline and packing. First samples from our plant take about 3 days after design sign-off.
Questions to send before the first call
| Question | A verifiable answer looks like |
|---|---|
| Where is the plant? | A street address that matches the licence and the test reports |
| Who makes the mould? | Named in-house shop, with a sample and production lead time |
| What is installed? | Press count by type, plus auxiliary units |
| How is quality checked? | Named stages, named inspectors, a record that ships with the order |
| Which document covers my SKU? | A report number whose model line matches your product |