[arcseco]

I work for a Canadian company that manufactures lighting components near Guangdong. Chrome plating is almost impossible to do in North America at a cost competitive price point. Just an anecdote about the conditions there; The supplier we use chome plates parts using a hexavalent chromium plating technique as opposed to a trivalent technique, irrespective of the environmental hazards that come along with it (As far as I know it's produces carcinogenic by products). I didn't see one worker with a respirator on or disposable gloves during my visits, health and safety seems to be an after thought. One of the holding tanks that for the byproduct plating solution was leaking from a fitting into the soil below, the surrounding areas are mostly farm lands (not sure what is in the solution that was leaking, but I would assume you wouldn't want it taken up by food crop). For us it's definitely an environmental sidestep. Really the only way for the west to become cost competitive for low end industrial manufacturing is going to be through a softening of environmental regulations or China's will have to close the gap with improved regulations.

[mulmen]

Or we could apply our domestic regulations to the entire supply chain. If you sell it here you have to follow the rules, all the way down.

Of course then things would be expensive...

[katastic]

There are various treatments (like Chrome plating) vendors one of my metalworking clients use--all available in the USA.

They compete by being extremely efficient with their use of labor hours and cutting waste. Just-in-time everything.

I'd be careful to extrapolate your direct experience to indicate trends.

[nugi]

I speak from experince in chroming. In the USA, hex chrome is insanely expensive, if even still possible under EPA. You may be thinking of tri chrome, which is what you can get here. Everyone outsources now due to this.

Hoenstly, the chemicals are horrendus and chrome's days are numbered in any capacity thanks to new mirror finish water based paint. Even china will soon ban hex chrome process, by proxy if not explicitly.

[mulmen]

I'm not a chemist, how will water based paint displace (heh) chrome? I understand the environmental and possibly cost benefits but if it is water based how will it work for exposed surfaces? Will it be used in heavy equipment on hydraulic actuators? I see the benefit of water based paint inside the cylinder where it meets the oil but what about the exposed area?