Re: "co-maker", what does it mean to you

[Jim Purcell <jimpur -at- MICROSOFT -dot- COM>]

Ed Hull asks:

> The word "co-maker"? is a fashionable word among machine builders in
> Holland.  What they mean by this is: a machine builder which works
> with,
> let's say, a producer of candy bars to design and build the candy bar
> production machines.  The idea is, that the machine builder is totally
> responsible for tihe design, construction, installation and
> maintenance of
> the macinines, freeing the candy bar producer to concentrate on its
> core
> business - making and selling candy bars..
>
> Obviously, the machine builder is a contractor of the candy bar
> producer.
> My feeling is that the word "co-maker" does not say this at all but
> rather,
> it implies a sort of joint-venture in building something.
>
> Have any of you heard this word before and if so, what is the meaning
> of it
> in English speaking countries?  Is there a better word for this?
>
This sounds supiciously like an original equipment manufacturer
(OEM)--the manufacturer who makes the machines that your stuff runs on.
I think OEM has currency outside the software industry, and it would
seem to apply to the company that makes the machines you use to make
candy bars.

Jim Purcell
jimpur -at- microsoft -dot- com
My opinions, not Microsoft's

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