Hi, I’m Dr. Alan Weidner from Massage Chair Relief, and today I’m going to talk a little bit about where massage chairs are actually made.
Now, I say “made” because some chairs are labeled Made in Japan, Made in the USA, Made in China, or Made in Korea. But where are the chairs really made? It’s not as clear-cut as it used to be.
For example, the vast majority of massage chairs in our industry are made in China. China has been designing, engineering, and manufacturing chairs for decades. I started in this industry back in 2002 with my first massage chair. It was a Human Touch chair—at that time one of the only brands available—and it was made in China.
At the same time, there were Panasonic and Sanyo chairs, which were labeled Made in Japan. But since then, things have shifted. Today’s economy is global, and components for chairs aren’t all produced in one place.
Take the JP Medics Kumo, for example. It’s advertised as being Made in Japan. In reality, most of its components are manufactured in China, then shipped to Japan for assembly, testing, and programming. Because of this, it’s labeled as Made in Japan. Other chairs follow a similar process, such as the OHCO chairs from Furniture for Life.
There are some chairs with a higher percentage of Japanese components. For example, Synca chairs from Johnson Wellness and Johnson Technologies are built in a Japanese factory the company purchased—Mount Fuji Medical. Their JP 3000 model has more than 70% of its components made in Japan. We haven’t seen that level of Japanese manufacturing since Sanyo was bought out by Panasonic, which moved its production to China.
Even chairs labeled Made in China aren’t entirely made there. While 90% or more of the components may be Chinese, some parts come from Singapore, Malaysia, or other countries. Manufacturers import these smaller components in bulk to reduce costs.
The same is true for chairs labeled Made in Korea. Brands like Bodyfriend and KAI promote themselves as Korean, but most of their components are made in China, then exported to Korea for final assembly, testing, and programming.
One major exception is Luraco, a company based in Dallas, Texas. Luraco massage chairs contain virtually no Chinese components. Their older models, like the iRobotics 7, iRobotics 7 Plus, and the Legend, were about 60–70% American-made, with the remaining parts sourced from places like Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia. Their latest iRobotics 9 Max series has raised the bar, with more than 80% of components manufactured in their Arlington, Texas facility—including upholstery, roller mechanisms, and ottomans. These are the only chairs on the market that can truly claim to be Made in the USA.
Some people question those claims, especially since other companies in the past have falsely advertised American-made chairs. But as of now, Luraco is the only brand producing chairs that are legitimately manufactured primarily in the U.S.
This can be confusing for customers. Someone might say, “I want a chair made in Japan,” but no chair is 100% Japanese-made anymore. The best you can get is something like Synca’s JP 3000 with about 70% Japanese components. If you want an American-made chair, Luraco is your option—with 80% U.S.-made components. For Korean chairs, most of the actual parts are still produced in China.
It’s nearly impossible to find a massage chair without some Chinese components, because manufacturing costs are so much lower there. Unless you’re willing to pay higher prices for U.S.-made chairs like Luraco, some reliance on Chinese parts is unavoidable.
I hope that clarifies things. We get this question a lot in our showrooms. People want to know where chairs are made, and the reality is that it’s rarely as simple as the label makes it seem.
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I’m Dr. Alan Weidner from Massage Chair Relief, and I’ll see you in the next video.
Bye-bye.