Hu Xinfu, chief executive officer of Fuling Plastic, said that 90 percent of the group's products are exported to the US, but the cost of doing that is very high.

"We felt it was a good choice to invest in the US," he said. "We may save the transportation costs to pay more wages to our American workers."

The 88,000-square-foot factory is part of the company's $21 million investment in the US, and may already be paying off.

First-quarter earnings for this year were $1.4 million, compared to $700,000 for the same period last year. Sales rose 28 percent to $26.3 million.

Hu confirmed in a statement that he was "pleased" with the year-on-year growth and was optimistic that results will continue to improve.

Gilbert Lee, chief financial officer, felt the main goal of the Allentown factory was to increase sales in the US, the biggest market for Fuling's products.

Because it manufactures in China and the US, Fuling can decide where to make its products based on labor and production costs.

"Even though the labor costs in the US are much higher than in China, if we can utilize automation and higher volume, then we can save on costs from having to ship from China," he said.

"That will create a much more cost-competitive advantage for us to compete in the US, and allow us to bid on higher volume contracts with the larger QSR (quick service restaurant) chains," he added.

Lee noted another advantage. By bringing production to the US, it creates a "much better image".

"It (shows the products are) made here, and a lot of the customers such as Wal-Mart and other companies will find it very favorable to buy our products in the US," he said.

The company's listing on the NASDAQ also adds credibility to its operations, Lee pointed out, and "doing business with us is just like doing business with a US company".