Taiwan Makers Ride on the Back of China Capacity

As with manufacturers in many other industries, makers of lampholders, sockets and switches in Taiwan have all offshored production to mainland China to cut costs and ramp up production capacity. The strategy has proved successful, as most makers scramble to expand their facilities and keep up with surging demand from lighting fixture makers in China and elsewhere.

Quality, as well as quantity, is given close attention among these transplant operations, say sources in the industry. Most factories run by Taiwanese companies in the mainland are ISO 9001 certified and turn out products meeting such strict quality and safety standards as UL, SASO, CSA, VDE, CQC, PSE, and others.

In addition, most of the leading Taiwanese makers in China are producing parts and components needed for their own production in order to assure consistently high product quality, reduce production overhead, and thereby stay competitive in a business notorious for its low average selling price (ASP) and profit margins, the sources state.

The efforts seem to be paying off. Most Taiwan-invested makers of lampholders, sockets and switches in China are operating at full capacity to keep up with demand from local lamp assemblers and other buyers around the globe, the sources note. "Demand will be always there because there could be no lamps without these parts, " says one industry insider.

Cross-strait Advantages

Golo Electric Lighting Co., Ltd. Is one of the largest and most comprehensive makers of lampholders, switches, and dimmers operating on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

This cross-strait deployment, says Golo chairman Derek Lin, has enabled the company to leverage the competitive advantages of each side and maintain a superior competitive position in the global market.

From its outset, Golo has been committed to long-term research and development projects, aiming at turning out top-quality products that meet international standard, Lin notes.

For instance, Golo's lampholders support various lighting sources including halogen, energy-saving, fluorescent and incandescent bulbs and tubes.

Golo migrated the majority of is manufacturing capacity to China in 1992 in order to ramp up its output, while reducing its production costs. The company's plant in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, which covers a floor area of 80, 000 square meters and employs some 500 workers, is capable of producing 7.2 million lampholders, sockets, switches, dimmers, cord sets, wiring devices and lamp accessories per month, all of which meet UL, CSA, CE, VDE, T-mark, BS and SPS quality and safety standards.

The company also produces various kinds of lamps and lighting devices, including halogen lamps, pendant lamps, ceiling lamps, spotlights, downlights, and track lights

In addition, the company obtained its ISO 9001 certification in 1997, allowing it to join the international quality assurance system and supporting its rise as a leading global supplier in its field.

In response to the increasing market demand, the company is building a new factory in China on a 90, 000-square-meter lot, Lin says. The new plant is scheduled for completion by the end of 2005.

Expanding Fast

Yah Fei Electric Co., Ltd. Is another company that is expanding production capacity in China. The company specializes in the production of high-end plastic injection lighting accessories and parts such as lampholders, plugs, switches, cord grips, lampshades and cables.

The company's expansion project calls for doubling the floor area of its production lines to 180, 000 square meters in order to develop and manufacture plastic injection lighting parts for information technology products, says company president Chen Wen-chieh.

Yah Fei's plant in China employs 1, 200 skilled workers who manufacture the bulk of the parts and components needed for the company's production. The plant also handles nearly all of the processing work in-house, including cable production, precision processing and die-casting.

Chen says that in-house production of parts and components is necessary to keep costs down and survive in the highly competitive and mow-margin lampholder, switch and socket markets.

Yah Fei boasts a comprehensive lineup of automatic equipment, including injection molding machines, sparking machines, CNC lathes, stamping/punching machine, cable cutting machines, pneumatic pressing machines, spot-welding machine and other assembling equipment. "A well-equipped and organized factory is the key to success, " Chen asserts.

Strict Quality Control

Hun Pool Enterprise Co., Ltd. Is another leading manufacturer of lighting fixtures, with nearly 20 years of experience in the line. In 1992, the company moved production to China and now operates factories in Dongguan and Zhongshan in Guangdong Province and in Shanghai as well.

With the implementation of the most stringent quality-control measures, Hun Pool earned its ISO 9001 certification in 2001. In addition, many of the company¡¦s products meet such quality and safety standards as UL, SASO, CSA, VDE, CQC and PSE.

Hun Pool offers a wide range of lighting fixtures and accessories, including halogen lamps, ceiling lamps, pendant lamps, downlights, track lights, ballasts, sockets, switches, energy-saving bulbs and nightlights. Its lampholders are available in a number of series such as E10, E11, E12, E14, E17, E27, E39/E40, GU10, GZ10 and G9.0.

The company's plants in China occupy more than 30, 000 square meters of space and have a combined workforce of 900 persons, according to company president Michael Kang.

In 2002, Hun Pool became a qualified supplier of lighting accessories for LG Electronics of South Korea. Furthermore, at a LG supplier meeting held in Shanghai in December 2004, Hun Pool was recognized as LG's second-best supplier worldwide in terms of product excellence, according to Kang. With this recognition, Hun Pool and LG signed a cooperative contract to jointly develop quality and safety standards for the new products in 2005, Kang says.

Hun Pool exports its products to the U.S., Canada, Japan, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and other countries in Asia.

Electronic Parts

Established in Taiwan in 1992, Kaoyi Electronic Co. Ltd. Is a specialized manufacturer of electronic lighting parts, such as transformers, dimmable transformers, dimmers, ballasts for fluorescent and HID lamps and various LED lighting systems.

In line with its growing business, the company has expanded its production capacity in China. Its first factory opened in Dongguan, Guangdong Province in 1994 and the second one in Xiamen, Fujian Province in 2002, according to a top executive of the company, surnamed Yu.

With high quality, innovation and excellence as its operating principle, the ISO 9002 certified company turns out products meeting the stringent quality and safety standards in the UK, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Australia, and the U.S, Yu says.

Over 60 of the company's 600 employees are engineers and designers. In addition, the company also sources key components and parts from the leading European, Japanese and Taiwanese suppliers.

In addition to being a preferred partner to major international companies, Kaoyi also plays a role as a total-solution provider, Yu stresses. For over the past 12 years, the company has helped many lighting manufacturers in Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China upgrade their product designs and secure numerous quality certifications.

Kaoyi is able to ship over 10 million units of electronics parts a year to clients worldwide on an OEM or ODM basis, according to Yu.

High-end Components

Anchorn Enterprise Co., Ltd. Is a specialized manufacturer of electronic transformers, dimmers and electronics ballasts in Taiwan. It is headquartered in Taiwan and has a production subsidiary--Hui Yang Hsin Chang Electronic Co., Ltd.--in mainland China.

Anchorn turns out products with top-quality parts and components such as chips and other semiconductors manufactured in Taiwan or Japan to guarantee its product quality. The adoption of such quality parts has also enabled Anchorn to command a slight price premium over rival products, according to a top executive of the company.

Most of Anchorn's transformers are available with double-circuit designs. Every aspect of its product specifications, such as electrical circuits, power function and heat dissipation, are tested in accordance with the EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) safety standards, says the executive.

In addition, Anchorn's transformers are made with strict quality-control measure. The company transformers as well as dimmers and electronics ballasts have earned many key safety certifications, such as CE, CB, EMC, TUV, NEMKO, SEMKO, DEMKO, FIMKO, UL and CUL.