Cheap Inflatable Boat Manufacturing: How Is A Discount Inflatable Boat Made?





So many boats are manufactured in China or Korea, how does one tell if a cheap inflatable boat is a higher or lower quality product?

Because some brands of cheap inflatable boat have poor quality control and inferior designs, the labels "Made In China" and "Made in Korea" are often associated with low quality.

Interestingly, many boats that are made in China or Korea are very high quality, but these products are often North American, European, Australian, New Zealand, or Japanese designs, with North American, European, Australian, New Zealand or Japanese quality control.

The real challenge comes in figuring out which cheap inflatable boat is a higher quality Asian product and which is an inferior quality product.

The most important points to consider when looking at any boat, especially a boat which is "Made In China" or "Made In Korea" are....

  1. who created the design of the boat
  2. what kind of fabric is used (cheap inflatable boats are almost exclusively PVC) - Hypalon ™ - PVC - Polyurethane - Elvaloy ™ - Nitrilon™
  3. where is the pvc fabric (or other fabric) manufactured
  4. how is the boat fabric fastened together - glued or welded or vulcanized
  5. if put together with glue - where is the glue made
  6. who is responsible for the quality control
  7. what is the reputation of the company selling the boat
  8. how long has the company been around
  9. what are other customers saying about the product

How companies set up their manufacturing can be one indicator of the quality of a discount inflatable boat.

In the world of manufacturing things can get very complicated and confusing. One brand of boats may use a number of different approaches in procuring their boats. Three distinct approaches to manufacturing are:

  • Setting up your own manufacturing plant
  • Contract manufacturing (also called Original Equipment Manufacturing OEM)
  • Original design manufacturing (white label or private label)

This is not a topic of interest to everyone..... but if you would like to read more about the different manufacturing approaches - click here.

I often hear people say "all inflatables are made in the same factory in China" but this is definitely not true! I have a list of almost a hundred factories in China, if you wish to check it out - click here

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