Over the last three decades Taiwan has developed a name for supplying high-quality innovative materials and parts for metal-furniture producers around the world. In their rise to the forefront of the global industry, local producers have benefited from a well-established support network that underlies their competition-beating flexibility and cost efficiency.

Taiwan manufacturers in the line also enjoy ready access to high-quality raw materials from integrated steel mills on the island, enabling them to roll out superior products that have paved their entry into high-margin niche markets.

Success, however, has bred imitators, and in recent years a number of manufacturers of metal parts for medical supply, bicycles and automobiles, and sporting goods have expanded their product lines to include items aimed at the furniture industry. While the newcomers have intensified the competition, they are also sinjecting a new impetus for timulating more established suppliers to accelerate the development of new products.



According to Marcellus Shen, president of Four Winds Corporation, Taiwanese companies operating in Taiwan and mainland China account for about NT$20 billion (US$581 million at US$1:NT$34.4) of the more than NT$500 billion (US$14.53 billion) worth of metal furniture parts produced worldwide each year. He expects demand for such parts to continue to grow given their multifunctional uses and easy installation.

The wider use of chipboard, medium-density fiberboard, and other synthetic materials in furniture today has also fueled growth in the metal-parts industry, which turns out wares well suited for use with such materials.

Metal-furniture parts are also are applicable in a wide variety of home, office, school, and hotel furniture and smaller items, such as cabinets, chairs, and boxes. In terms of production value, the main metal furniture parts made in Taiwan, in descending order, are hinges, drawer slides, knobs and pulls, knock-down fittings and fasteners, castors, glides, locks and latches, and functional and decorative components for tables and chairs.

Due to the small scale of the domestic market, Taiwan furniture-parts producers have developed expertise in the small-batch production of a wide variety of products. Instead of concentrating on boosting production capacity, many manufacturers are devoting their efforts to shortening the time needed to develop new products.


Small and Nimble


Ho Yuh Tai Industry Corp., established 16 years ago, is a specialist manufacturer of electroplated metal parts and accessories for furniture, bicycles, medical equipment, and sporting goods.

The company can supply furniture parts and accessories made of stainless steel, aluminum, and iron tubes. All of the production materials used by the company are procured in Taiwan. ManagementThe company boasts it has accumulated much expertise in selecting high-end materials suited for high-quality products.

Over the past several years, the company has made all-out efforts to raise the production ratio of its furniture parts line within its overall catalog. Metal- furniture parts account for 25% of its total production value at present, compared to approximately 21% last year. The company anticipates the ratio will continue to increase overin the next few years.

"In Taiwan, manufacturers are mostly small and medium in size, so they should develop as diverse a range of products as possible to reduce their operating risks and avoid being choked by a single major customer that suddenly changes its ordering strategy," comments Chang Chi-lieh, president of the company.

Chang also underscores the importance of pushing into higher- end markets in order to remain viable in the competitive market. "The only way we can differentiate our products from those made in developing nations is by goingfocusing upmarket," he says. This strategy, he adds, has enabled his company to keep its plants in Taiwan rather than evacuating to lower-cost sites, like mainland China.

Consistent with its focus on quality, Ho Yuh Tai specializes in the small-batch production of a wide variety of products. "Large-volume production is more suitable in developing nations, such as mainland China," Chang notes.

Chang statesnotes that his company uses sophisticated 3D design software to model products based on customizedmer graphics, which can be transmitted to the company through the Internet.

Ho Yuh Tai currently exports over 70% of its total output, with Europe and Japan absorbing most of its overseas sales. A majority of its customers are metal- furniture manufacturers.


Legs, Feet and Pads


Another manufacturer that has shifted into the furniture- parts industry from other production fields is Cheng Hsin Iron Works Factory, a supplier of metal- furniture legs and feet as well as metal and plastic pads.

Cheng Hsin was established in 1968 as a producer of automobile parts, hydraulic production equipment, and molds and dies. Over the past three years, the company has added the production of metal-pipe furniture parts and accessories to its product line.

"We have accumulated deepmuch experience in making deep-drawn iron and stainless- steel products for the furniture, bathroom, and sanitation-productry segmentsctors," says company president Hsieh Yi-chih.

Cheng Hsin has obtained patents in Taiwan and mainland China for its metal foldable metalfurniture legs for casual tables, sofas, cabinets, Japanese-style tables, and other furniture items

Currently the company exports 50% of its total production, mainly to the United States and Western Europe. Most of its products are electroplated and enamel- baked.

"We have been involved in mold making from our inception and have developed significant much expertise in designing molds for customers in the furniture sector," Hsieh says, adding that his company is able to develop cost-effective products in accordance with customer requirements.

Most of Cheng Hsin's furniture parts are made on an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) basis, but the company also has an in-house R&D department to design original products.

Despite the economic slowdown worldwide, Cheng Hsin has enjoyed 20% up to 30% annual growth in sales over the past three years. "We reached 85% of last year's total sales volume in just the first seven months of this year," says Hsieh.


Committed to Taiwan


Meng Nung Enterprise Co., Ltd., established in 1998, specializes in the production of a high-end furniture and kitchen parts and accessories made of iron and aluminum alloy at its plant in Changhua County, central Taiwan.

Among the company's major products are chair legs, handles, glass clippers, hardware for steel structures, necktie hangers, shoe racks, and clothes and trouser hangers. Special- order items can be supplied based on customer designs, and items can be electroplated or enamel- baked depending on customer needs.

By concentrating on high-end products, Meng Nung has been able to compete successfully in the international market without moving its production facilities to lower-cost nations. The company says Taiwan is an ideal place to develop high-end furniture parts because of the strong support of processing and raw- material suppliers.

Meng Nung sells its products to the domestic market and exports to Southeast Asia. The company is currently in the process of rolling out a new line of products to open doors into new emerging-economy markets.


Nuts and Bolts


Younturn Hardwares Corp. is an experienced hardware manufacturer and exporter of high-end nuts and bolts for wood and metal furniture. Insert nuts are the company's most sophisticated and hottest-selling line, all models developed in-houseitem developed by the company..

The firmcompany supplies five types of insert nuts in various sizes, produced by specially designed machines. "Our insert nuts are made for furniture in the ready-to-assembley form," says M.H. Deng, president of the company.

Although many domestic manufacturers of general-use bolts and nuts have moved their production facilities overseas to take advantage of cheaper production costs, Deng insists his company will stay in Taiwan and concentrate on high-end products, especiallysuch as insert nuts.

Deng says that his company employs stringent quality- control procedures and inspection systems to ensure that its products meet all the requirements for the production ofof fine furniture. "Insert nuts have to be inserted in furniture at a 90-degree angle to ensure accurate assembly of K/D furniture," he says. "Accordingly, the processing of the inner threads of the insert nuts is the most important factor in production. To ensure the accuracy of our insert nuts, we use superior self- designed and developed tapping machines."

Younturn employs about 30 computerized numerically controlled (CNC) tapping machines to achieve highly standardized precision production. "With the assistance of the fully automatedic tapping machines, we can fully control the quality of our products and achieve zero-defect production," Deng claimssays.

Because of its heavily With the help of automated manufacturing processchinery, Younturn is currently able to turn out 60 million insert nuts per month, from less than 30 million five years ago.

Thanks to its high quality, Younturn has been able to command a considerable price premium on its models compared toover its rivals on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. According to Deng, Younturn's insert nuts are threefold to fivefold more costly than mainland-made nuts and double the price of domestically made products. "Despite the high prices, however, our products have been selling well in Europe and Japan, which demand the very highest in quality."

Currently about 80% of the company's products are sold to Europe and Japan. "In the past, the U.S. was our largest export outlet, but our presence in the U.S. has been shrinking for a few years, especially after the Asian financial crisis in 1997," says Deng. "Our old U.S. customers demanded that we match mainland Chinese producers on price. Since our products are of much higher quality than those made in the mainland, we could not meet this demand and have therefore gradually retreated from the U.S. market. Recently, however, some U.S. customers have told me that they will not longer buy cheaper products and are considering resuming business relations with us."

In addition to insert nuts, Younturn produces joint- connector bolts, combination screws, cap nuts, cross dowels, connector fittings, and nylon twin- wheel castors.

To ensure the quality of its products, Younturn makes its product molds from Australian zinc-alloy steel, which Deng says has much higher torque than steel from other sources. So far the company has developed approximately 30 molds, each costing over NT$200,000 (US$5,80010).

To meet the demand of the fast-changing global K/D furniture industry, Younturn regularly rolls out new modelsproducts. "We are now making a new mold for an innovative type of nut , which will hit the market sometime in the third quarter of this year," Deng says.

Younturn recently displayed its wares to a receptive audience at the international furniture show Interzum held on May 23-27 in Cologne, of Germany. The success inof the unveiling show has encouraged the company to participate in other well-known shows, including an international furniture show to be hosted in Atlanta, Georgia next in August next year.


Caster Specialist


Tung Tien Enterprise Co., Ltd. Has been making casters for furniture, luggage, medical instruments, shopping carts, industrial-use and other types of product for over a quarter century.

The company has integrated production lines at two separate facilities in Changhua County, central Taiwan. The plants are capable of handling all of the manufacturing processes for casters, from design, stamping, and plastic-injection molding to product finishing and packaging. They can also produce industrial-use wheels based on original customer designs.

Casters currently account for over 95% of the company's total production. The firm company has consistentlysteadily invested in new manufacturing techniques and product development over the years to make casters with ever higher maximum-load capacities.

Tung Tien currently sells four types of casters--, including ball, light, heavy, and medical-instrument models. Its ball and light casters have a load capacity of 50kg, medical-instrument casters 100kg, and heavy casters, 150kg up to 300kg.

Tung Tien president Liang Ming-tung states that boasts his company has developed more than 1,000 caster modelss in different specifications. Tung Tien's R&D department introduces several new items each quarter of a yeavery quarterr.

With over three decades of manufacturing experience, the company has cultivated considerable expertise in making high-end casters. The company says all of its products have to pass strict durability inspection procedures before they are delivered. "Our casters maintain their original quality in tests involving 38,000 rounds of continuous load moving," says Liang.

He says the key to making durable casters rests in the location of the support point. "This is something that we have become proficient in assessing thanks to our long experience in the business," he notes.

Liang also attributes the success of his company to its strict quality-control procedures, which are made possible by handling all processing operations in-house. This quality reputation has helped Tung Tien steadily expand its overseas sales in recent years. Liang says that his company opened its second plant less than two years ago to keep up with the demand. The company currently can turn out around 50,000 casters per day on a two-shift schedule.

Tung Tien exports products on an original brand manufacturer basis, with major overseas outlets including Japan, the U.S., Europe, mainland China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

In the past, the company has relied on trading companies to market its products overseas. In recent years, the company has set up its own marketing department to handle such sales directly.