VOA慢速英语2019 一家小型美国公司开始制造全美干手机（在线收听）

Small US Company Moves to Make All-American Hand Dryer

Excel Dryer sells about $40 million worth of electric hand dryers each year. Excel's products can be found in airports, restaurants and public restrooms across the United States.

Most of the parts the company uses come from U.S. suppliers. But the motors and controllers have long come from China. No other manufacturer could beat China's low prices. But this is changing partly because of import taxes that the Trump administration requires on purchases of many Chinese-made products.

Excel Dryer每年销售约4000万美元的电动干手器。 Excel的产品可在美国各地的机场，饭店和公共厕所中找到。

公司使用的大部分零件都来自美国供应商。但是电机和控制器早就来自中国。没有其他制造商可以击败中国的低价。但这在某种程度上是由于特朗普政府对购买许多中国制造的产品要求征收进口税。

Excel plans to release its first completely American-made dryer in a few months. William Gagnon and his family own the company. He spoke with the Reuters news agency about the business and negotiating with suppliers of parts.

"We'd actually be willing to pay a little more for U.S.-made," Gagnon said. Now, he actually saves money buying American-made parts.

Excel计划在几个月内发布其第一台完全美国制造的烘干机。威廉·加农（William Gagnon）和他的家人拥有公司。他与路透社谈了有关业务，并与零件供应商进行了谈判。

加格农说：“我们实际上愿意为美国制造的产品支付更高的价格。”现在，他实际上节省了购买美国制造零件的钱。

One reason is that the 25 percent tariffs required on many Chinese-made parts make them more costly. Gagnon notes that, by not buying Chinese parts, his company can save money with lower shipping costs.

When faced with a possible price increase because of the tariffs, Excel believed it lacked the resources to get an exemption from the U.S. government to import motors from China. Instead, the company considered the taxes a business opportunity. Excel was already considering improvements to its motor designs. So, the company decided to change the design to increase the life of the machines.

原因之一是许多中国制造的零件需要25％的关税，这使它们的成本更高。加格农指出，通过不购买中国零件，他的公司可以以较低的运输成本节省资金。

当由于关税而可能提价时，Excel认为它缺乏资源，无法获得美国政府的豁免，可以从中国进口汽车。相反，该公司将税收视为商机。 Excel已经在考虑对其电机设计进行改进。因此，该公司决定更改设计以延长机器的使用寿命。

Excel will soon get its motors and controllers from a factory in the state of Tennessee. Adam Finch is director of engineering at the factory, which belongs to investment company Berkshire Hathaway. He told Reuters, "We hope that more customers will be like this – once they see the total costs involved."

Excel将很快从田纳西州的一家工厂获得其电动机和控制器。亚当·芬奇（Adam Finch）是该工厂的工程总监，该工厂属于投资公司伯克希尔·哈撒韦（Berkshire Hathaway）。他告诉路透社，“我们希望更多的客户在看到总成本后会像这样。”

Finch told Reuters that companies can save money by buying smaller orders close to home. The Tennessee factory is in the process of moving some of its operations from China back to the United States.

There also is an ironic turn to the story of Excel's new all-American hand dryers. The company's first shipments will be to overseas markets. The new design has a 220-volt motor, meaning it cannot be used in the United States. Most of the new dryers will go to Britain. Gagnon said the next step is to develop a 110-volt version for the U.S. market.

芬奇告诉路透社，公司可以通过购买离家较近的小订单来省钱。田纳西州的工厂正在将其部分业务从中国转移回美国。

具有讽刺意味的是，Excel的新型全美式干手机的故事也发生了变化。该公司的第一批产品将销往海外市场。新设计具有220伏电动机，这意味着它不能在美国使用。大多数新型干衣机将销往英国。加格农说，下一步是为美国市场开发110伏版本。

Suppliers change over time

American businesses face a number of difficulties if they want to manufacture products domestically. Suppliers of many parts like electronics and motors have moved overseas in search of lower production costs.

Bringing these suppliers back to the United States is not simple. Many U.S. companies, like Apple, instead try to get tariff exemptions for importing some parts from China. Other manufacturers have switched to low-cost suppliers in other Asian countries.

如果要在国内生产产品，美国企业将面临许多困难。电子和电机等许多零件的供应商已转移到海外，以降低生产成本。

将这些供应商带回美国并非易事。苹果等许多美国公司反而尝试从中国进口某些零件获得关税减免。其他制造商已转向其他亚洲国家/地区的低成本供应商。

Gagnon's father was a former official with the American toy company Hasbro. He bought Excel Dryer in 1997. In 2001, sales increased sharply when the company starting manufacturing a new model that could dry hands in just 10 to 15 seconds. The devices can cost from $400 to $700.

加格农的父亲曾是美国玩具公司孩之宝（Hasbro）的前任官员。他于1997年收购了ExcelDryer。2001年，当该公司开始制造一种可以在10到15秒内使双手干燥的新型号时，销售额急剧增长。这些设备的价格从400美元到700美元不等。

Based in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, the company employs 50 people in its factory.

Worldwide the hand dryer market remains very competitive, with manufacturers in countries including China, Spain and Japan.

该公司位于马萨诸塞州的东朗梅多，其工厂拥有50名员工。

在全球的干手机市场上，竞争激烈，在中国，西班牙和日本等国家都有制造商。

In the United States, paper towels are still the most popular way to dry hands in public spaces. Excel would like more businesses to use electric hand dryers. That is one reason why a sign above the company's office door reads: "Time to Throw in the Towel."

在美国，纸巾仍然是在公共场所擦手的最流行方法。 Excel希望更多的企业使用电动干手机。这就是公司办公室门上方的标语上写着“扔毛巾的时间”的原因之一。

重点词汇：；

Words in This Story：

exemption –n. permission to not be required to do something others are required to do

opportunity –n. a situation in which something can be done

customer –n. a person who buys goods or services from a business

ironic –adj. something that is strange or funny because it is unexpected

domestically –adv. relating to or made in your own country

towel –n. a piece of cloth or paper used to dry things