For years, the SMT assembly world was flooded with the same suspiciously familiar “little red box” of imported splice tapes. It didn’t matter whether you were shopping through Q-tek, AllSMT, Antistat, Splicetronics, or SMTsupplies, the packaging was identical, the materials were identical, and the failure rates were identical.
These products weren’t engineered for real production environments. They were mass-produced, low-grade Chinese splice tapes, typically made from generic packing-tape adhesive laminated to thin PET and shipped in bulk containers to Western resellers who simply slapped their logo on top.
We pointed out the obvious:
And, most importantly, zero accountability.
Within weeks, something remarkable happened across the industry’s websites and delivery profile:
✔ Q-tek removed the red box images
✔ AllSMT scrubbed the red box from their product listings
✔ Antistat (UK) removed all red-box images from their U.S. and global sites
✔ Splicetronics (Canada) deleted the exact same red box photos
✔ SMTSupplies replaced the red-box listings with generic placeholders
Not replaced with new, audited products. Not replaced with updated data sheets.
Just gone.
The counterfeit supply chain didn’t get better, it simply got embarrassed.
Because the minute customers realized every importer was selling the same unregulated Chinese splice tape under different names, the illusion of “choice” evaporated.
And once Sierra Electronics publicly highlighted the problem, distributors quietly began distancing themselves from the red-box products they had depended on.
This wasn’t a coincidence.
This was damage control.
Let’s be clear:
We’re not talking about counterfeit brand names, we’re talking about counterfeit engineering.
These red-box splice tapes typically include:
They look like splice tapes.
They are packaged like splice tapes.
But in real SMT production?
They behave like stationery tape.
While resellers of imported products played the hide-the-box game, Sierra Electronics did something completely different:
✘ We don’t rebrand Chinese imports.
✘ We don’t hide packaging.
✘ We don’t remove evidence.
✔ We build the product.
✔ We test the product.
✔ We stand behind the product.
Across the industry, poor-quality splice tapes have caused:
A single $2 piece of poor-quality imported tape can shut down a $500,000 pick-and-place machine.
And that’s why the sudden disappearance of the little red box tells you everything:
The importers knew it wasn’t good enough.
They just hoped no one would look too closely.
If you ever wonder where your splice tapes are coming from, ask for:
If your vendor can’t provide these, you’re buying the red box, whether the picture is still on their website or not.
Sierra Electronics will continue to build American-made, high-precision, high-durability SMT splice products for manufacturers who care about uptime and yield, not shortcuts.
Founder of Sierra Electronics, has dedicated his career to advancing SMT tape splicing solutions. With decades of expertise and a passion for innovation, he built the company on reliability, precision, and customer trust.
