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  • Sourcing Equipment from China

    Firstly, let me say that this community of beer lover, brewers, and dreamers has helped me learn so much on my journey to (hopefully) brewery ownership. I hope that I can share and help others as much.

    Now I have a question that should generate some conversation and criticism. I'll brace myself for the barrage of hate mail.

    Has anyone had some recent, practical, experience buying full brew-houses, fermenters, and/or bottle fillers from China. I have solicited some very competitive bids on all this equipment through Alibaba. Shipped to Canada.

    For someone who has to risk all his savings and still have to convince investors and banks to lend him more, the pricing is very compelling. I've heard many of the obvious warnings that the quality is poor. But come on really?

    So again I ask, does someone have recent and practical experience with purchases of brew-houses, fermenters, brites, and filler+crowners.

    What was you experience? Any suppliers you recommend? Any suppliers to avoid?

    Cheers and thanks,
    Norfolk_Guy
    norfolk_guy
    dream2bbrewing

  • #2
    Zhongde in Jinan, Shandong is the best that I have seen in China. http://www.zhongdeshebei.com/

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    • #3
      Two Zhongde systems went into breweries in my city recently. One is brewing, one isn't after many many months of delays (though some are not brewery related to be fair).

      ParrotDog have photos on their facebook page of a recent Zhongde equipment install.

      Bottom line, like anything, you get what you pay for. If it seems suspiciously cheap, then it probably is!

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      • #4
        We ordered a boil kettle from a "reputable" company back in March and wired half the money. Only to be told this month (July!!!) that it was not ordered! He said he got confused, I will post said company info later if issue goes un-resolved...
        Nate Cornett
        Yellow Springs Brewery
        Yellow Springs, OH

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        • #5
          I spoke with Zhongde when I was looking for a manufacturer but didn't buy from them. I have never heard anything good about them, I know two people that have equipment from them and it is junk. Oh, and if you contact Zhongde expect their high pressure people to harass you for at least 6 months. The sales lady I spoke with would pop up on facebook, skype, msn, email, linked in, you name it...incessantly for months on end even after I told her I had already purchased a brewery elsewhere. It got to the point where it was basically harassment and I had to get angry at her....she still tried to contact me a few more times.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by dfalken
            I spoke with Zhongde when I was looking for a manufacturer but didn't buy from them. I have never heard anything good about them, I know two people that have equipment from them and it is junk. Oh, and if you contact Zhongde expect their high pressure people to harass you for at least 6 months. The sales lady I spoke with would pop up on facebook, skype, msn, email, linked in, you name it...incessantly for months on end even after I told her I had already purchased a brewery elsewhere. It got to the point where it was basically harassment and I had to get angry at her....she still tried to contact me a few more times.

            I have never contacted them directly myself, but they got my email from somewhere and send me generic broken english emails all the time....
            Scott LaFollette
            Fifty West Brewing Company
            Cincinnati, Ohio

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            • #7
              China Equipment

              Hey Guys,

              Thanks a lot. This was great information and I appreciate the time it takes to participate in the forums. I was afraid I would only hear opinions about “made in America (or North America) is great”.

              So these are my take aways...

              Beware of pushy, aggressive, cold calling sales people that don't give up and have bad grammar... hmm sounds like me at my job. ;-)

              Here are my other take aways....

              1.)Expect time over runs
              2.)Expect communication issues
              3.)Plan for the unexpected
              4.)Budget a little more money for some tweaks (I'll plan 20% versus 10%)
              5.)Know a good welder
              6.)Be specific on some specs and testing prior to sign-off

              I will try to contact some of the breweries I heard about and I would really love to hear about specific breweries that I could speak to.

              Anybody have other comments?

              Norfolk_Guy
              dream2bbrewing
              norfolk_guy
              dream2bbrewing

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              • #8
                Hey,

                Love the pics and I like what I see! Wow! Nice price! Thanks for the fact based information.

                Norfolk_Guy
                dream2bbrewing

                Originally posted by mrocka
                Last weekend we received our 12HL turnkey system from Shendong Equipment Technology. We order it in March. Total cost for 4 12HL fermenter. 1 20bbl fermenter, 6 12HL bright tanks, 1 20 bbl bright, HLT,CLT, mash, whirlpool and all accessory's $80,000.00. Shipping around $8,000 to upstate NY.
                We understood that there might be some issues with quality but one of the partners is a master welder so we decided to take the chance. Yes we do see some issues but nothing we can not fix. You can check out the pics on Facebook (Paradox Brewery) http://www.facebook.com/pages/Parado...38920679484529. I also have a copy of the inspection report with pictures. Now all we have to do is figure out how to put it together. They will send a Engineer to assembly the equipment from China but you have to pay for airfare,visa's and room & board. I would like to find someone here in the states to help hold down cost. Let me know if you need anymore information.
                Paul
                Paradox Brewery
                Schroon Lake, NY
                paul@paradoxbrewery.com
                norfolk_guy
                dream2bbrewing

                Comment


                • #9
                  Jinan HG Machinery Co., Ltd

                  Anyone purchased from Jinan HG Machinery Co., Ltd? Any feedback?

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                  • #10
                    And what was your impression, etibeer?

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                    • #11
                      I would contact Atlantic Brew Supply in Raleigh, NC. They have sourced a number of brew houses and FVs for breweries in the area. They have a relationship with the manufacturer in China so they handle all the communication. They have also been able to work on any design issues and have that taken care of on the manufacturing side, so the kinks have been worked out. We are looking at purchasing a new 20 or 30 BBL system with FV/BTs from them this year.

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                      • #13
                        help from Brasil

                        Hello norfolk_guy!!!
                        I'm from Brasil, and since we have beer equipments even more expensive than US, I've started looking for it from China. My question: have you bought it from China? What about them? What are the must reliable ones I should invest?
                        Please help me if possible on that!

                        Many tks man!
                        Uli

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                        • #14
                          I'm an American brewer living in central China, and have visited many brewery equipment factories in Jinan and Ningbo. The simple answer is there is a huge range of options for design, quality, price and support.

                          At the top of the food chain are what I will call the "joint venture" companies, where much of the design and engineering is driven by western companies. The quality of the welding, the inspection and documentation process, the accessories and fittings are to a very high standard. This is the same mechanism by which BMW, Audi, Volkswagen and GM make excellent cars here for the Chinese market.

                          At the bottom are the small shops, dirt floors, little or no documentation. The motors, pumps, wiring, fittings, valves, welding and design will test your patience and problem solving ability, sometimes on a daily basis. The price will seem to good to be true, and it is.

                          The middle is a vast gray area. Some are very large companies with excellent quality, but you need to know exactly what you want and the order must be very specific. As for design insist on referrals from existing customers. Any manufacturer who will not give you this, or appears to be playing games, is just hoping for a quick sale. I've heard the expression in Mandarin more than once, "Maybe customer not notice". It is pretty hard to evaluate a supplier on a quick visit to China, but I believe there are consultants for hire who can help sort the good ones out.

                          We have a new 10BBL system coming next month from Ningbo, and I have worked closely with the western designer and the Chinese engineers, both via email and by direct factory visits. The level of professionalism and support is as good as any I had with US suppliers.

                          Do your homework before making an expensive purchase and you will be happy with equipment from the Middle Kingdom.

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                          • #15
                            Hi Stephen,

                            Could you kindly share the supplier's name with us.

                            Tks

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