China is in the middle of a revolution. Not one that involves tanks, guns and deposed leaders dragged away in ignominy but one that demonstrates the single global movement powerful enough to change nations - consumerism.

No physical walls have come tumbling down in China but the barricades to free trade are crumbling brick by brick every day and the still communist country is fast becoming the manufacturing engine that drives the world’s need for consumer goods - this isn’t a violent revolution, it’s an industrial one.

The bathroom industry is, of course, no exception to this move towards a global factory and all the biggest producers have some kind of facility out there, whether wholly-owned or contracted, but that wasn’t always the case.

The industrial revolution happening in China has arguably only come about in the last 10 to 15 years and the perception of a ‘Made in China’ label meaning ‘Made Really Badly’ persevered for a long time. There’s probably also a surviving perception that China is solely made up of Western companies flying over and opening a factory.

On the contrary, the one company that claims to have broken down misconceptions about Chinese product in the UK is actually proudly Chinese-owned. Impulse Bathrooms - formerly Mandarin - is wholly owned by HKR International, a publicly listed company on the Hong Kong stock exchange, and is based in Birmingham. HKR’s principle business is hotels, it’s flagship Discovery Bay resort is 20 minutes from Hong Kong and is made up of housing developments, retail shopping outlets and a 27-hole golf course.

So bathrooms is a sideline, but with a current factory output of 800,000 pieces a year with a new factory set to come on stream in the next few months that’ll put that figure up to 1.6m. That’s a sideline many big brand manufacturers would love to have as standard business. It exports to 22 countries in total, including the USA, Australia, India and others but the UK operation - Impulse - operates out of a modest trading estate under Spaghetti Junction in Birmingham, a location as far from the lights and excitement of Hong Kong as is possible to get.

“We’ve been trading in the UK now for 11 years and I think we were probably the first company to bring product in from China for sale in the UK,” says general manager Gary Hawkins. “When we went into the market initially it was very difficult to get Chinese product into the market - nobody was interested and just thought it was cheap china from China. It was a negative perception because it was different and new, but then when some customers had taken a gamble and had a container of it they found it was all gone in a couple of weeks so they asked for another. It’s a confidence thing really. All those reservations have gone and people really only want to know how it looks.”
Everything the company produces in China comes out of one factory and it is this principle that, Hawkins says, gives them the quality control they need.

“Our policy is to have everything under our control on one site,” he explains. “We don’t sub-manufacture anything, we make our own seats, covers, customer fittings, all the sanitaryware - everything. It means we can have one quality standard for every product we produce.”

Changing times

Over in China, the bathroom division’s group md is Mike Keegan (pictured), an industry veteran with over 20 years experience of Chinese manufacturing - 14 of them with HKR. So how has he seen the market change in that time?

“I first came here in 1985 and built American Standard’s first factory in China and since then the changes have been absolutely vast,” he says. “Back then there were no foreign companies as such, in fact the American Standard factory was the first American venture in China, followed a few months later by Heinz baby foods.

“You didn’t see many foreigners as a result and there were few hotels of note - now of course there’s hundreds of very high quality places. The place I went to in 1985 had one street light, no restaurants and there were no private shops, only a state-run store.”

However, the theory that Western companies drive all this change is a misnomer, according to Keegan.

“It’s true that Western companies coming in and opening up the country has had a significant effect,” he says. “But the truth is that the real drive comes from Hong Kong and Taiwanese investors, that’s where the real influence is. If you go back 25 years everything was ‘Made in Hong Kong’ and ‘Made in Taiwan’, now all those companies have moved over the border and it’s all manufactured in China.”

The problem with poor quality products coming in from the Far East is not the location of the factory, Keegan says, but the legislation in the market they’re being shipped to.

“Local manufacturers have no set standards,” he says. “They tried to work a Chinese standard but the trouble here is that you can buy anything - including a standard. So some of the stuff that comes out of the cheap factories is of a very low quality and so don’t comply with British standards. You’d think that would mean they couldn’t be sold in the UK but while the standards are very high they’re simply not enforced.”

In HKR’s other markets, like the US and Australia, standards are much more stringent. The factory must be approved and accredited and the product tested and approved if you want a licence to sell in those countries.

“So if you’ve got a Mickey Mouse backyard operation you’re not going to get approval in the US or Australia,” Keegan says. “In the UK it’s different, nobody enforces any standards so it’s a free for all, people can just sell what they like, when they like and how they like for whatever price they like. It’s not a level playing field. I think it’s the government’s responsibility to make sure stuff coming in complies with UK standards. If Chinese companies can do that and do it cheaper then good for them.”

But with this rampant march towards a consumer culture, the local Chinese are demanding more Western-style business practices. There has been a huge increase in environmental testing, employment law, taxation and many other legislative moves, so are the very reasons why manufacturing in China is economically viable being slowly eroded?
“I’ll answer that this way,” Keegan says. “We’re going to start making our own taps and we’ve just bought a die-casting machine. If you bought that in the UK it would cost you £100,000 - £150,000 - ours cost us £15,000. We buy all local materials for the ceramic production and the clay is about £10 per tonne. In the UK you’re looking at £70 per tonne. For a new breeze block building with a steel roof it’s about £35 per sq m in China, in the UK it’s more like £35 per sq ft. So the advantages are still there and, of course, the cost of living is much lower so our labour rates are still much lower.

“However, we do pay international rates for fuel and that’s about 35% of our costs. So if the company is performing properly and following all the rules and regulations we should end up about 25% cheaper after freight costs.”
The conversation with Keegan ends with a throwaway comment that probably says more about the changes that have swept through China since he first went out there. Remember the one street light and no restaurants on his first visit? Earlier in the day he’d played a round of golf on a nearby course designed by Jack Nicklaus - and that evening he was heading out to the local Irish bar where he can drink Guinness on draught. The revolution continues...

IMPULSE BATHROOMS - THE UK STORY

1995

Company incorporated as Mandarin China Building Products, wholly owned subsidiary of Imperial Bathroom Products, a division of HKR (International) plc. Mandarin headed by former Armitage Shanks export director Bill Steventon based in Birmingham.

1996

Gerry Bond and Gordon Swan join as UK sales agent and start to open accounts with smaller independent distributors and larger retailers.

1998

Moves to larger 10,000sq ft warehouse facility also in Birmingham.

2000

Steventon retires as general manager and takes up post as part-time export director with Gary Hawkins stepping into his shoes. Hawkins formerly projects director for Britech Industries, the company that built the Imperial factory in Dachong, Zhongshan, China.

2002

Exhibits for first time at KBB Show and moves premises again to present 22,000sq ft Birmingham site. Sales team expanded to six and ten year guarantee on all ceramic products introduced.

2004

Company name changed to Impulse Bathroom Products

2005

Tribune suite introduced - UK’s first WRAS approved 4.5/3 litre dual flush wc and cistern.

2007

Brought out Zeto, Kapello, Impala and Impact suites, all short projection and 4.5/3 litre capable to suit UK market. Also launched new RRP catalogue focussed on end user rather than trade.