The Dremel is a pretty useful hand-held rotary tool available typically at your local hardware store.
It turns out it’s also pretty useful for describing just how ridiculously global supply chains have become.
Dremel is a company founded in Racine, Wis., and now part of Germany’s Bosch Tool Corp.
Looking at the box of a new Dremel, purchased by a friend, I was gob-smacked at the array of locations from which the product was sourced. I quickly snapped a photo of the list for posterity.
Here it is: “Tool assembled in Mexico. Battery made in Malaysia. Charger made in China. Storage Case made in Mexico. Accessories and attachment made in Canada, China, Germany, Israel, Italy, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Switzerland, Taiwan, or U.S.A.”
Keep in mind the entire box (including the tool and its accessories) is probably one foot by eight inches. If that doesn’t underscore how complex international freight movement is, I don’t know what does. – Eric Johnson
It takes a globe
