Yesterday I put the call out on Facebook to see what people considered to be Australian Made. As it turns out, it’s a complex subject and the answer is also very subjective. Even the wording also has a big effect on the topic. Things like “Made in Australia” can mean different things than “Australian Made” or “Product of Australia”.
The legalities of it are also a grey area, with many people not even being aware that the “Australian Made” logo is a product of a private company, and the logo can only be used by those that pay a fee. To make that worse, is the method which they make the decision regarding the license to use the logo seems to lack substance (in my opinion). This allows products that probably shouldn’t qualify as “Australian Made” to carry the logo.
So here’s the crux of it when it comes to Lithium batteries, and this applies to ALL lithium batteries. The cells, BMS, and in the majority of products the battery case, will all be produced in China. This means about 90% of the material cost of the battery, is consumed by products originating from China. But this is actually ok because there’s simply no alternative, so we need to do the best we can with the available resources.
What does PowerPaul do? We have Australian suppliers of the Cells, BMS, Cases and Wiring Looms. This means when we purchase these items, that money goes to another small Aussie business who’s supporting their Australian family, on Australian soil, and we’re also covered by Australian consumer laws to protect our (your) investment. These suppliers are also just a phone call away if we need immediate help.
There are a few ancillary items (balancers, tape, printer filament, some screws) that we sometimes purchase directly from China, because the economy of it is vastly superior, and this presents good value for money. These items are also low cost and low consequence in the event of a problem.
The design of the battery internals, bus bars, BMS program settings and firmware, stickers and more are all done in-house by PowerPaul staff. PowerPaul is an Australian company, paying wages to people living in Australia, and aside from product purchases, the money that goes through the company stays right here in Australia.
This is the absolute best that PowerPaul can do to play it’s part in producing a product that is as Australian as possible. We hope this provides clarity for people when they are choosing a product. If Australian products are something that appeal to you, then we hope this shows that as much of the cost as possible stays within our shores.
One hundred percent agree with your explanation and can any business truely claim to be 100% Australian made. Once the government forced local companies to stop producing and manufacturing here in Australia buy not supporting them through purchases imported from overseas the writing was on the wall. Keep doing what you do so well and I for one will keep supporting you a true Australian business.
Professional