Summer Surplus Stock Sale
We have a limited supply of items ready to ship from our Roselle, Illinois distribution center that are all "Grade A" and simply excess inventory we want to move. If you would like to see if we have anything you may be able to use, please click here to see the list.

In China, All Reform is Local
From afar it may seem as if there is just one China. A closer examination, however, reveals wide disparities among provinces and regions, just as there are significant differences in the business climates of Arkansas, California, and Texas.

BEIJING – The recent ratification by the National People's Congress of a constitutional amendment protecting private property rights marks a major milestone in China's transition to a free-market economy. Whether this economic transformation will provide merely a veneer for continued authoritarian rule, or will help pave the way for genuine political reform, remains to be seen. Either way, continued economic liberalization is a welcome change.

But how did this come about? In one respect, the market economy is being embraced because the national government is no longer the only voice being heard in China. Nongovernmental organizations and private advocacy groups have begun to influence both the course and speed of China's transition and are persuading political leaders that economic and political transformation are needed to keep the wheels of economic progress moving forward.

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Specifying Radial Internal Clearance
by Mike Mortensen - Director of Engineering RBI-USA

Typically radial internal clearance is designated by a clearance range. Organizations such as the ABMA (American Bearing Manufacturers Association) and ISO (International Standards Organization) have established standards for five radial clearance ranges. The five ranges are designated with the following codes:

Within each of the five clearance ranges (C2 to C5) above, additional ranges are further defined based on the bore size of the bearing. In other words, to determine the clearance range for a bearing you need to know the clearance code and the bore size.

The table below illustrates for a given bore size, what the clearance range would be for each Clearance Code.

Unit: µm

The Normal or Standard range of radial internal clearance was established to provide a proper operating clearance once the bearing is mounted when using “normal” mounting fits and operating conditions.

Most bearing manufacturers use the clearance codes as a suffix to a bearing part number. The two most common clearance ranges used are Normal or C3 clearance.

Final Word - Lost in Translation
The challenges of getting your product message across

Translating between two languages is never easy, but translating to Chinese has an additional peril that other languages don't have.  The Chinese language is composed of monosyllabic words and compound words consisting of one or more such monosyllabic words.  Therefore, every writable utterance is a word with at least one meaning and often more, depending on the context. 

When a foreign company wants to introduce a new product into the Chinese market, it has two choices.  It can take the easy way out by simply translating the meaning of the name, or come up with an entirely new name.  However, most companies like the idea of global branding so they prefer to come up with a name which is phonetically close to the original name. 

But in doing so, they must make sure that the characters (words) chosen are not just a jumbled mismatch.  Consider the following examples of the intended messages getting lost in translation:  

Things don't always go better with Coke

Coca Cola's first version of its Chinese name was different from the one it presently uses. Unfortunately, the Company found the people interpreted its first choice as "Bite the wax tadpole" or "Female horse stuffed with wax", depending on the dialect.  Coke then settled with Ke Kou Ke Le, which translates literally as "tasty, can make you happy" or very loosely as "so mouth-watering it makes you happy."

Pepsi didn't fare much better with the translation of its "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation" slogan.  In Taiwan, it became "Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead."

The KFC slogan "Finger-lickin' good" was interpreted as "Eat your fingers off."

Wonder if there is a "diet" bite the wax tadpole?

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