sugar mill, or an electrified tea factory. One American firm only 
is in a position to quote for electrical installations, but it does not 
attempt to bid for the complete job, whereas the representatives of 
German and other Continental firms frequently undertake the actual 
construction of buildings or electrified sucar mills, and as a matter 
of course also secure the contract for the oleotrical installation. The 
important purchasers of electrical equipment prefer to have one large 
firm contract for an undertaking rather than deal with one firm for 
the concrete work, one for the steel work, another for the electrical 
installation, ete. 
This handicap is one that will be extremely difficult for American 
firms to overcome unless thay are fortunate enough to secure as 
their representatives one of the large general engineering firms, which 
are mentioned in the subsequent section of this report entitled 
“Marketing agencies.” 
SERVICE AND TECHNICAL ADVICE 
Many orders are placed with firms having experienced technical 
staffs in Java, which supervise or actually carry out the electrical 
installation. In addition, consumers of heavy electrical equipment 
expect the manufacturers to maintain a trained staff and ample 
stocks of spare parts to servite the equipment which they have 
purchased. 
American manufacturers as a rule are not prepared to keep high- 
salaried electrical engineers in the Netherland East Indies on the 
chance that some business will come their way. Several American 
firms have tried it, but at present there are only two electrical manu- 
facturers with representatives in the territory. The men who have 
been sent out in the past have found that the obstacles they had to 
overcome were too great. 
STOCK 
It is of course desirable for manufacturers interested in marketing 
their products in the Netherland East Indies to consider the question 
of stocks. The success of Continental manufacturers in certain 
lines is directly attributable to the fact that either their branch 
houses or their agents carry representative stocks. It is only logical 
that a prospective buyer prefers to buy locally instead of placing an 
order with the agent or representative of a company which takes 
from three to four months to fill his indent, It is of course not 
necessary to maintain stocks of power house or substation equipment, 
but the manufacturer who expects to sell motors up to 50 horsepower, 
electric-lighting fixtures, fuzes, switches, house-wiring equipment 
and accessories, domestic appliances, etc., must look for an agent 
that will carry stocks or else open a factory branch. 
A CONSERVATIVE MARKET 
New lines of electrical equipment are extremely difficult to intro- 
duce. In view of the fact that most American equipment is little 
known in the Netherland East Indies, the advantages and merits 
of these products must be thoroughly proved and tested before it is 
possible to interest prospective buyers. Manufacturers desirous of 
having their equipment tested and approved by the Bureau of Water 
Power and Electricity may do so by complying with the requirements