Buying guides
Practical guidance for sourcing partitions from China — what to verify, what to ask for, and how to read supplier claims.
How to Choose a China Partition Manufacturer
A practical checklist for evaluating Chinese partition manufacturers — how to tell a factory from a trading company, which certifications to verify, and what to require in a quotation.
Movable Partition Buying Guide
What to specify when buying movable partitions from China — track systems, panel construction, acoustic ratings, stacking configurations and the questions that reveal a competent supplier.
What Does a Movable Partition Wall Cost?
How movable partition walls are priced, which specification choices drive cost most, and how to compare quotations from Chinese manufacturers on equal terms.
Fire and Acoustic Certification for Partition Walls: A Buyer's Reference
Which fire and acoustic standards apply to partition walls in different markets, what a test report actually proves, and the questions to ask before accepting a certification claim.
Movable Partition Installation: Site Requirements and Common Failures
What the building must provide for a movable partition to work — structural support, track detailing, tolerances, and the site conditions that cause most operating problems.
How to tell a factory from a trading company
This is the single most consequential question when sourcing from China, and it is genuinely difficult to answer from a platform listing. Indicators that point toward a real manufacturer:
- An independent company website that describes production — not just a product catalogue. Look for process descriptions, equipment, or a factory tour section.
- A published factory address that resolves to an industrial area when you check it on a map.
- Production photographs showing your product being made, rather than finished goods photographed in a showroom.
- Willingness to do a live video call from the production floor without extensive scheduling friction.
None of these is conclusive alone. Trading companies can present a convincing front. The most reliable check remains asking specific technical questions about panel construction and watching whether the answers come quickly and in detail.
What to put in a quotation request
Quotations are only comparable if the specification is fixed. Include:
- Product type and configuration (stacking, sliding, folding)
- Panel thickness and core material, or state that it is open
- Required acoustic rating and the test standard you need it to meet
- Required fire rating and standard
- Clear opening dimensions and height
- Finish specification, or a reference image
- Destination port and preferred Incoterm
- Required delivery window
A supplier who quotes without asking about several of these is likely quoting a standard product and will revise upward later. See the project form for the fields we ask buyers to fill in.
Reading certifications correctly
Certification claims are where most confusion arises. A few distinctions worth knowing:
- A test report is not a certificate. An acoustic rating should come with a report from a recognised laboratory naming the tested construction, the standard used, and the result. Ask for that report.
- A management system certificate is not a product certification. ISO 9001 tells you about the company's quality management process. It says nothing about whether a specific partition achieves a specific rating.
- Match the tested construction. A report for a 100 mm panel does not cover a 65 mm panel. Check that the tested build matches what you are buying.
- Check the issuing body. Reports are only meaningful when issued by a laboratory recognised in your destination market.
On this directory, certifications are recorded with their source. A certification marked “Source recorded” has a link you can check; one marked “Verified” has also been checked by our editors.
Understanding the Factory Score honestly
Factory Score measures published, verifiable information — not product quality or commercial reliability. A capable manufacturer with a Chinese-only website and no English documentation will score low here. A trading company with a polished English site and a long certification list may score higher while manufacturing nothing.
Use the score to find companies whose data you can verify, then do the commercial diligence yourself. The methodology page lists exactly what each component measures and how many points it carries.
Practical next steps
- Filter the directory by product category and manufacturer status.
- Open two or three profiles and read the score breakdown reasons — they tell you more than the number.
- Compare them side by side on the attributes that matter to your project.
- Submit your requirement and we will shortlist suitable manufacturers.