Office Furniture & Accessories Innovation the Key To Survival in a Tough Market

Facing a highly competitive market, office- furniture producers in Taiwan are learning to distinguish their products from the rest of the pack through redoubled emphasis on style, ergonomic design, and reasonable pricing.

The days of turning out copycat models are now long past, and local manufacturers are investing ever greater resources in the development of innovative and multifunctional products, optimistic that the protection of patents will be significantly strengthened now that Taiwan and mainland China are both tucked into the World Trade Organization.

Producers have also been expanding their furniture lines to meet the diverse demands of end-users. Today, Taiwan can supply office furniture made of natural woods, artificial woods and plastics, glass (for tops), and metal tubing (for frames). Most of the wood desks and chairs are produced in mainland China, where labor costs are low, while items composed primarily of metal tubes, glass, and plastics are crafted in Taiwan.

Designed for Easy Shipment Deh Fong International Co., a veteran producer of Japanese-style chairs, sofa beds, and occasional chairs, is enhancing production of multifunctional office chairs to meet the growing market demand.

"As the global village takes shape, export-oriented manufacturers around the world must pay more attention to developing products that are cheap to transport," comments Yen Chun-hui, president of the company.

One of Deh Fong's space-saving models is the N155 office chair. Patented in Taiwan, mainland China, Japan, and the U.S., the N155 has a back that can tilt from 90 degrees to 120 degrees, allowing office workers to recline for a rest when desired, Yen states. The N155 can be fully assembled with only a screwdriver needed. The chair seat and back can be packed separately to reduce transportation space and cost.

Yen has over 30 years' experience in the design and manufacture of furniture items. He says his company is working on numerous ideas for novel multifunctional furniture items that he intends to introduce over the next few years.

"Many of Taiwan's furniture manufacturers are now scrambling to produce high-end office chairs for the upscale market," Yen says. "But we have decided, having seen significant demand emerging, that great opportunity lies in concentrating on mid-priced multifunctional products."

Deh Fong has plants in Dongguan and Shenzhen in mainland China's Guangdong Province. To penetrate the mainland Chinese market, the company recently set up a dedicated sales outlet in Sunde, Guangdong Province. In April this year, Yen will tour Shanghai to assess locations for another outlet there.

Strong After-Sales Support Established in 1991, Welltrust Industries Co., Ltd. Is a specialist manufacturer and exporter of office furniture and accessories, including office chairs, computer chairs, office desks, and related components.

With an in-house R&D team, the company says it develops at least three new items each quarter and can produce items according to customer specifications.

Since its establishment, Welltrust has been dedicated to providing high-quality products and top-notch after-sales services. Many of its innovative products have been patented in both Taiwan and mainland China. To distinguish itself from its competitors, Welltrust is constantly designing unique products that in most cases are patent-protected, such as an adjustable office- chair armrest and a swivel-chair support structure, both of which are patented in mainland China.

The firm's leadership firmly believes that providing good after-sales service is the best way to attract long-term customers. "We offer personalized assistance and reliable information to customers on the maintenance and repair of our products," says Charly Lin, managing director of the company.

Although the company sells much of its furniture under the "Welltrust" brand, it began accepting original equipment manufacturer (OEM) orders from U.S. and European customers about six years ago.

Welltrust's plant, located in Tainan City, southern Taiwan, is only one hour's drive away from Kaohsiung international harbor, allowing for convenient transport to overseas markets. The firm's capacity is currently the equivalent of one full 40-foot container each month; current production averages between 4,000 and 5,000 office-furniture products per month, though output can be boosted to 8,000 units to meet rush orders. The company says it accepts minimum orders of 500 units, depending on the type of product.

The ISO9001-certified company boasts state-of- the-art production equipment and testing instruments at its plant, to assure product quality. It also employs sophisticated software-design tools to develop the most innovative products possible. Its products feature stylish, practical, economical, and ergonomic designs.

Lin says that Taiwan is one of the best places to source materials and components for the production of office furniture because the island has the support of strong metal and plastics industries. Currently, the company sources 90% of its materials in Taiwan, with the remainder coming from mainland China and Italy.

Caster King

Founded in 1974, Chuan Hsing Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. Specializes in the production of polyurethane (PU) and polypropylene (PP) armrests, armpads, and casters for office chairs. The company employs 45 workers at its 108,000- square-foot plant in Taichung County, central Taiwan.

Chuan Hsing has cooperative relations with an Italian manufacturer and a Taiwanese-invested firm in mainland China, with a joint-venture plant set up in Kunshan, near Shanghai.

An ISO9001-certified office-furniture parts maker, Chuan Hsing exports 70% of its production under the "Chuan Hsing" brand, with the remainder going to domestic manufacturers of office furniture. The company's major export outlets are the U.S., Canada, the Middle East, and western Europe. Currently, casters account for over 90% of its Taichung plant's output, and it also has the capacity to turn out about 400,000 armrests per month.

Although the company derives most of its revenue from own-brand products, it also accepts orders on an OEM basis. Chuan Hsing is dedicated to developing innovative products to meet the most stringent demands in the world market, and holds several patents in Taiwan and the U.S. for its multifunctional armrests. It has also applied for patents on these products in mainland China.

Because of the worldwide economic slowdown, the firm's revenue remained flat last year. As the global economy is now showing signs of a slow recovery, the company expects turnover to pick up this year.

Over the last three decades since its establishment, Chang Huan Metal Equipment Co., Ltd. Has changed its business focus twice, initially switching from leather-processing equipment to textile-production hardware, and later, in 1976, to K/D office-furniture products.

The company has a catalog of more than 100 K/D office-furniture models, including items made of aluminum alloy, iron plate, and stainless steel, all turned out at its 108,000-square-foot plant in Changhua County, central Taiwan. According to company president Yeh Ching-hsing, Chang Huan introduced six new office-furniture items last year and another 20 are under development.

At present Chang Huan's hottest-selling products are A-shape tilting whiteboard carriers, K/S stainless-steel display racks, K/D file carts & boxes, wooden plant stands (in woodgrain finish), and eight-layer magazine holders.

Last year the company sold the bulk of its output to the domestic market, mostly through shopping malls and hardware stores, but increasingly it is eying the growth potential abroad. The company hopes to boost its export ratio to 50% this year from 10% last year.