China takes its shots from outside for a reputed indifference to waste treatment, and its true that its EPA is overburdened from a lack of inspectors. For noncompliance, a company is shut down. If something leaks, Chong says, it's best to let regulators know upfront. Water is 14 percent cheaper than in Singapore, while electricity costs about the same. Generic chemicals are used.
Clearing customs is a problem.
Delivery of spare parts is slow, and GulTech has to order two of each type to ensure it gets what it needs. A bonded warehouse for the industrial park has been promised for more than a year, but is nowhere in sight. To overcome this, distributors will leave parts with a factory on a consignment basis, and ship extra parts in with new equipment, even equipment destined for other companies. Still, Chong is bullish on Suzhou, predicting it, not Shanghai, will be the leading site for PCB manufacturing within five years. Isola broke ground in Suzhou in September 1997.