Loctite made in China?

Just purchased some Loctite 254. It is in a bilingual container (English / Chinese and it says made in China.

Is this just more offshore manufacturing or is the product dubious? Certainly looks like a Loctite container.

Andrew.

I also have some made in China, it's not surprising that companies want to be a part of the huge economy there. I have Kennametal carbide inserts made there as well as in the USA, Germany and the UK. Sandvik are manufacturing in India.

See the second location on this page: **LINK**

https://www.henkel.com/service/search/en/4130?query=china

MichaelG.

Henkel are a huge global concern with facilities over much of the world.. Probably genuine - if it was arm-and-leg expensive, definitely genuine..

My starter for 2p. Genuine, grey import.

Even my tomato seeds are Chinese!

Why not ? Everything else is made in China !

Not the same stuff that Mr Crispin ended up with, is it?

Edited By Andy_G on 02/02/2021 16:58:35

I know that it is fashionable to denigrate Chinese businesses but as in the rest of the world, there are good and bad.

I used to work for a company in England that was jointly owned by two well known American aerospace companies and did very high tech repairs to turbine engine compressor and turbine blades. About ten years ago they decided to move the operation from five of their companies to a new location in China and I am confident that the quality of the work has not deteriorated.

I have also bought model engineering related equipment from Chinese based companies and have had only one instance of inadequate quality, everything else has been, at worst, acceptable and at best, really good.

Brian

I bought some 638 and 641 about 4-5 years ago from ebay. Chinese manufacturer - worked fine when I got and it still does. Just as good if not the same as used at work years ago.

Tug

Funnily enough I ordered some Loctite off Amazon recently. It was the cheapest listed, and arrived pretty soon, from ....India. I did wonder if it was genuine or not.

Fast forward to Monday, and for work I did an online course on counterfeit goods. An example was...Loctite.

Apparently Henkel changed the bottles to be far more difficult to fake - one feature is “Loctite” embossed on a dimpled background at the top of the bottle - and a few other things.

I immediately checked mine, and to my surprise it was genuine. Manufactured in India apparently. No idea how it can be cheaper from India than the UK, but there you go.

Just because it's Chinese don't assume it's rubbish. They do actually make some really good stuff, but they also make some right rubbish. QA doesn't seem to be a strong point.

Does it really matter if it's an exact copy as long as it fools the user for a sufficient time for him to make the purchase?

It took me a couple of viewings (and in the context of this thread) to notice the - rather gross - differences displayed in Andy_G 's picture above.

To be honest that was the whole point of the course - you do have to assume it’s rubbish because there’s often little or no QA.

The examples we were shown said “Loctite” on the fakes. So if you can identify them once bought, you can demand a refund (assuming you got it from a “reputable” supplier). I put that in quotes because sometimes even established suppliers get fooled.

There is a heirachy of risk when buying critical components. Safest way is to buy from the manufacturer, least safe is from an unknown source. Sounds obvious but some other examples of counterfeit military and/aerospace parts that get fitted is unbelievable.

I’m guessing the new Loctite bottles aren’t actually difficult to fake, rather they require expensive slide moulds, or similar, to make them.

I don't even buy Loctite by brand name now I buy the cheaper versions at less than half the price. The only thing I look for is that they are cross referenced to the Loctite type and number threadlock, studlock, retainer etc, but how reliable that is in anyone's guess. I tend to buy the smaller bottles so they don't last as long so what you have on the shelf you know is quite fresh.

I have bought them from hardware shops, builders merchants, tool suppliers etc and have yet to find a bad one they all seem to work just like the genuine Loctite. I don't get hung up on "that it must be Loctite product" it doesn't.

Edited By Ron Laden on 03/02/2021 06:58:56

I know what you mean, and I understand Duncan's comment about not all Chinese stuff being bad, but for me, the difference in cost between Loctite and others isn't worth the risk. For the amount I use I'd rather avoid the "just buy the right stuff and this wouldn't have happened" type comments! I have used non-Loctite in the recent past, but always wondered if or when I'd be re-doing it...so from now on, I'll just go for branded stuff I think, especially considering what I learned from the counterfeit goods course this week.

Just my opinion!

Edited By Dr_GMJN on 03/02/2021 08:56:59

Turns out that the Loctite 243 that I purchased from Ebay is a FAKE, I am trying to work out how one registers a complaint to Ebay, but cannot see how to do so. Anyone know how to do this?

Andrew,

Fake product or fake packaging?

In a different context (photographic chemicals) the genuine product was bought in industrial quantity and decanted into fake bottles - The savings presumably made it worth while, however in this case it worked just as it should.

Edited By Nick Clarke 3 on 03/02/2021 10:40:28

I wonder how many people realise that Loctite products have a 12 month shelf life across most of their product range, I bet its in the minority. Who in the home workshop will take a hardly used £15 bottle of Loctite and bin it because its a year old, not many. You hear of people using Loctite that is donkeys years old and still good.