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Factory trips

Come to the factory with me.

A week or two in Guangdong, planned and run by someone who's done it 13 times. You meet the people who will build your product, see their lines, and leave with a decision.

How a trip runs.

  1. 01

    Before we go

    • I research and rank manufacturers for your product.
    • I send the RFQ and compare quotes line by line.
    • I plan a route that fits the most useful visits into the fewest days.
    • I prepare a short deck that introduces your product to each factory.

  2. 02

    While we're there

    • Factory tours and engineering meetings, usually two a day.
    • Sample reviews and design-for-manufacturing sessions.
    • Honest debriefs every evening.
    • Negotiation on price, payment terms and tooling.

  3. 03

    After

    • A written recommendation with a scored shortlist.
    • Follow-up on samples and quotes until you've chosen.

A recent trip.

In summer 2026 I took two hardware startups through two weeks of factory visits in Guangdong, with support from UNB's J Herbert Smith Centre. Each founder came home with a scored shortlist.

See the project

Photos shared with the permission of the people in them.

Curtis with two founders on an electronics factory floor.
On the factory floor.
Founders across a meeting table from a factory manager, with a presentation on the screen behind.
The first meeting.
A group of founders listening to a guide on an assembly line tour.
A line tour.
Curtis and the founders on a Shenzhen street at night.
Shenzhen, after the last meeting.

What happens on the floor.

The reason to go. Problems you can't see on a video call, found and fixed in the room with the people who make the part.

A meeting table covered in product samples, with a mould-flow analysis open on a laptop.
Design review. Mould flow on the laptop, samples on the table.
A whiteboard filled with questions and sketches from a factory meeting.
Every open question, on the whiteboard, answered before we leave.
Two grey product handles, with a note drawn on the photo that a thin rubber section may split over time.
Sample review. Problems get marked on the part.
An injection mould mounted in a moulding press.
The mould, in the press.
A circuit board assembly machine lit up inside the factory.
Circuit board assembly.
A long assembly line with workers at stations on both sides.
The line your product would run on.

Planning a trip.

Built around your product

One to two weeks in Guangdong. After a first call I'll send a proposal with the route, the factories, and everything the trip includes: the research, the shortlist, every meeting and the written recommendation.

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Do I book my own travel?

Yes. You book your own flights. I share the plan, the hotels that work, and what to bring.

What about translation?

Factory engineers and my partners translate technical detail. I bring a translator when needed.

Will a factory copy my product?

It's the most common fear I hear. The risk is real and manageable. Work with established manufacturers who have more to lose than to gain. Sign an NNN agreement written for China. File your patents before you share drawings. When it matters, split sensitive parts across suppliers. I'll help with all four, and your IP lawyer should review the agreements.

Let's go and see who can make it.

Tell me what it is and where it's stuck. I read every message myself and reply within two working days.

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