With over three decades of development, Taiwan`s manufacturers of rubber and plastic products have accumulated much experience in making various items designed to meet various levels of demand with diverse specifications.

Taiwan`s manufacturers in this line are capable of rolling out products suitable for use in automobile, motorcycle, agricultural machinery, trucks, buses, trailers, exercise equipment, medical equipment, etc.

By adopting advanced production equipment, domestic manufacturers in this line have been trying to upgrade product quality as an effective way to compete against underselling from developing nations.

As domestic manufacturers in this line have accumulated decades of developmental experience, most of them are capable of manufacturing products of different specifications to meet a wide range of demands, especially those calling for some degree of cutting-edge technology, or the capacity to adopt foreign-transferred techniques. Some have the ability to develop accurate formula for rolling out suitable products for military agencies which demand precision tolerances.

Some say the advantage held by domestic manufacturers in this line versus counterpart producers from developing nations rests with their versatility in developing well-developed products for various industries, ones that rivals have difficulties producing.

Rubber Products Meeting Military Standards



Chang Yang Latex Co., Ltd., founded in 1993, is one of the domestic professional manufacturers of rubber products who may vie for orders released by the military through open bidding.

With a production facility of 6,480 square feet in Alien Hsiang of Kaohsiung County, southern Taiwan, Chang Yang specializes in the development and production of various kinds of rubber products of a range of imported raw materials.

"We have 18,000 square feet of land adjacent to the existing factory for expansion if necessary," says Yu-ru Lee, marketing manager of the company. "I think we will have to expand our production facilities in the next few years to meet the increased demand of the world market. My company has accumulated much experience to rapidly respond to market trends to develop the most advanced products in the rubber sector."

Lee says that her company is a specialized manufacturer of rubber products with strong support from an affiliated firm which also focuses on rubber products but with different product ranges. The affiliated firm, which has four factories also in Alien Hsiang, works closely with Chang Yang to develop specialized products. In addition, the two companies always team up to take orders.

Lee says her company currently concentrates on the production of rubber products for electronics, machinery and automobile industries, while the affiliate focuses on the construction sector.

Currently the company`s major product lines include oil seals, O-rings, gaskets, floor mats, packing, roller-skate toe stops, cable heads, rubber tubes, rubber toy stamps, and various special rubber products, which are weatherproof and resist heat, cold, acid, alkali, pressure, tensile, friction, and ozone.

"My company has won good reputation at home and abroad because of our long-term dedication to developing sophisticated rubber products to meet the special demand of customers from around the world," asserts Lee.

Chang Yang is one of the few domestic manufacturers of rubber products that have the ability to develop molds in-house. "Our advantage lies in the ability to make the appropriate precision molds in line with customers` requirements," says Lee. "Although the number of manufacturers of rubber products in developing nations has been on the rise, our customers still rely on our supply because they are confident that we can make higher-quality products, ones that when installed in machinery will help them stabilize their own production."

The company boasts that its factory is running under the ISO9000-series international quality assurance standards. "Over the past several years, we have streamlined our production procedures to keep cost down as we know rivals in developing nations have no other strategy than underselling," Lee explains.

At present, half of the company`s products are sold globally, including major export outlets such as the U.S., Canada, European Union, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.

Since its establishment, the company has been paying much attention to upgrading product quality by implementing strict quality control procedure. In addition to product quality, the company also tries to minimize delivery time.

Production Across Taiwan Strait



Yung Hua Rubber Industrial Co., Ltd., established in 1981 in Taipei County, northern Taiwan, specializes in the production of a wide range of rubber products including O-rings, backup rings, custom-molded rubber products, silicone extruding profiles, silicone polishers and grinding wheels.

Over the past few years, the company has step-by-step expanded production in mainland China because of the increased demand for price-competitive products from foreign customers.

Based on the belief of customer satisfaction, over the past several years Yung Hua has continually invested in R&D to upgrade the quality of its products and make selling prices more reasonable.

The company boasts it has carried out the CBI (controlled batch identification) quality-control system to ensure the quality and efficiency since its establishment. In August 2003, the company won the ISO 9001:2000 international quality-assurance system from the United Kingdom-based UKAS certifying body.

Yung Hua`s plant in Hsinchuang City of Taipei County, northern Taiwan is equipped with a set of continuous vulcanization production lines to produce silicone extruding products.

Yung Hua also has a factory equipped with a series of sophisticated rubber injection molding machines in Shenzhen of Guangdong Province, mainland China. The factory has 400 workers specializing in the production of custom-made rubber parts. The company has an in-house tooling shop, allowing it to rapidly roll out prototype products at low production costs.

The products comply with the ASTM2000 standard meeting the requirements of the U.S. automotive industry. The company boasts it is one of the largest manufacturers of O-rings in mainland China with most of its products being exported.

Employment of Advanced Design Processes



Asia Oil Seals Co., established in 1988, created its own trademark of `ASA` in 1992 and began exporting products worldwide since that time. The company boasts it is one of the few domestic manufacturers in this line that have adopted the well-noted Japanese 5S system in design process to optimize factory efficiency and elevate product quality.

At present the company focuses on the development of oil seals and a wide range of rubber parts that can be applied to such industries as automobile, motorcycle, agricultural machinery, trucks, buses, trailers, exercise equipment, etc.

The company retooled its factory by adopting vacuum compression machines in 2000 to ensure the production of high-quality products. By using such state-of-the-art production equipment, the company has effectively reduced the defect rates in production lines while boosting production efficiency.

In 2001, the company won the ISO9001 certificate from the U.K.-based UKAS certifying body. The company currently almost exports its output to overseas markets, mainly to Europe, America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Asia Oil Seals says it has expertise in tool design through an in-house R&D department. Another advantage the company owns is the design and manufacture of seal tooling which can meet customers` special requirements. All of the company`s oil seals are made through strict inspection of materials, testing of samples, compression molding through packaging in-house.

Pursuing Product Quality



OHLA Plastics Co., Ltd. is one of Taiwan`s veteran manufacturers mainly providing furniture industry with a wide range of plastic and metal parts and accessories. With more than 1,000 items of furniture parts made in-house, the company boasts it would rather focus on paying much attention to product quality than on pursuing production volume. Recently the company has expressed its strong willingness to cooperate with foreign manufacturers on the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) basis to expand production of more innovative products.

Founded in Taiping City of Taichung County, central Taiwan in 1989, OHLA adopts an integrated manufacturing operation, including the processes from design, development, testing, inspection, manufacture, assembling, to packaging and delivery.

Some six years ago the company moved its production facility to the present site from a shabby one, also somewhere in the Taiping City. The existing plant occupies an operating space of 90,000 square feet on a land lot of 30,600 square feet. The company boasts it has effectively elevated management and operating standards, and enhanced production efficiency because it adopts modern management methods in the existing production facility.

What worries the company the most is the high-level prices in such raw materials as plastics, iron and steel. The company currently uses such materials as iron and steel, polypropylene (PP), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), nylon and polyethylene (PE) to turn out metal and plastic parts and accessories for the furniture industry.

"In the intensely competitive trade arena, we don`t dare elevate the selling prices of our products. Otherwise, we will lose our competitive edge to others," laments Chiang Ching-shih, president of the company. "But we have made all-out efforts to keep costs down by streamlining our production processes over the past several months. If the price of raw materials won`t go up drastically in the near future, I believe we will be able to smoothly weather the toughest time."

Chiang says he has accumulated over three decades of development experience in plastic and metal parts and accessories. "With the ample experience in this field, I have figured out how to concentrate on the production of high-end items to meet the demand of customers from around the world," states Chiang.

Chiang boasts he has ability to help customers reduce procurement costs by singling out suitable materials. "Some customers are used to using some specific materials that are priced high," says Chiang. "But I know how to help them reduce the costs by using replacement materials at relatively low prices without damaging the property of their products. I can help customers select the most appropriate materials if they tell me about the applications of their products."

Although the company is capable of producing various kinds of plastic parts and accessories, it doesn`t get involved in the products that many Taiwanese producers turn out in mainland China. "With production facility located in Taiwan, we have little chance to compete with the Taiwanese manufacturers with plants in China who center on low-cost production," says Chiang. "In this situation, we have to boost our international competitiveness by developing innovative products through dedicated research and development work."

Plastic injection molding parts and DIY (do-it-yourself) iron-pipe screws are two of OHLA`s major product categories. Other major products include castors for office chairs. Of the company`s various kinds of parts, castors are mainly made for exports. "As the majority of domestically made furniture are exported, I can say most of our products are indirectly sold to the international marketplace," says Chiang.

"Although we have an in-house department in charge of researching and developing innovative plastic parts and accessories, we also willingly work with foreign firms to develop innovative product items on the original equipment manufacturer basis. By cooperating with foreign manufacturers, our product lines of plastic parts will be rapidly expanded because I believe foreign firms in this field have specific ideas to help us develop more innovative products that meet the real demand of the international market."
(by Ben Shen)