Taiwan Muscles Up in Global Hand-tool and Repair Equipment Market
2010/12/16 | By Quincy LiangIndustry showcases strengths at Automechankia
The global auto-repair hand-tool industry has been undergoing a metamorphosis in recent years--one in which Taiwan is fast displacing Japanese players.
Evidence of this trend was easy to find at the 2010 Automechanika Frankfurt, the world's leading global auto-parts, accessory, and repair equipment exhibition, held on September 14-19, 2010 in Frankfurt, Germany. Only a handful of Japanese names were among the exhibitors at Hall 9 of the show, where the auto-repair equipment and tool makers gathered to show their latest products to global buyers from more than 160 nations. The turn-out of Taiwanese repair-tool companies, by comparison, was sharply higher than in the past few shows.
According to Automechanika show organizer Messe Frankfurt, the 2010 bi-annual fair attracted about 4,500 exhibitors and some 160,000 global visitors.
Among Taiwanese companies, big and small, the verdict is the same: Japanese counterparts are losing share to them in the higher-level professional repair-tool market. Made-in-Japan auto tools have been well-known for their high quality, durability, precision, and functionality. But Taiwanese players have matched those qualities and are now winning the field on price.
The majority of Taiwanese companies at Hall 9 exhibited innovative, functional products for the professional market and an even-higher segment--industrial applications. This steady rise of the industry value chain is the result of long-term investment in upgrading product quality and functionality to meet the most stringent requirements of production lines in various industries.
Industrial and Instrumental
One of the best examples of the rapid advancement among Taiwanese hand-tool companies is Kuani Gear Co., Ltd., the largest maker of high-level pneumatic impact wrenches in Taiwan.
Harry Cheng, general manager of Kuani, claims that only a few companies in Japan and the U.K. have the technical expertise to produce instrument-level torque meters. He expects that Kuani's self-developed and Taiwan-made products will soon grab a very high share of the international market due to price competitiveness and equal, or better, precision level and durability.
Kuani's tech edge in the tool-making business comes from the company's continued and intensive investment. The firm set up a subsidiary, Kente Co., Ltd., to operate Taiwan's first two CE-licensed noise and vibration test laboratories for pneumatic tools. "We invest heavily in high-end test equipment and cultivating professional talent to make these technical leaps," explains Cheng.
Torque meters are sophisticated instruments integrating advanced electrical machinery to achieve the highest precision level for aligning production-line tools. "With the support of our CE-licensed test laboratories," Cheng claims, "our company's next step will be to develop digital versions of different kinds of hand tools, especially pneumatic ones, which are the most challenging. Digital hand tools will play a vital role in future production-line management."
Kuani is the top producer of pneumatic impact-wrenches in Taiwan, in terms of both volume and quality. The company is now setting its sights higher. At the Frankfurt show, it displayed a low-weight air impact wrench with special mechanism and structure design. It weighs only 8.1kg, but can output an impact force up to 2,000 ft/lbs, compared to 13 kg of a general counterpart with the same output.
Intelligent Centralized Vacuum System
Kae Dih Enterprise Co., Ltd. showcases its high-level vacuum systems at the Automechanika. The company is the biggest of its kind in Taiwan and has over 30 years of experience.
Kae Dih's vacuum systems are widely used by auto body repair shops to collect putty powder ground from sanders. The systems have many advanced designs and functions, such as an automatic switch, wet/dry application, strong suction/low noise, and the ability to suck dirty oils, iron filings and other shop materials.
In addition to its comprehensive range of models for professional and industrial applications, Kae Dih is the only company in Taiwan offering centralized vacuum systems that can simultaneously be fitted with 16 (or up to 64 on custom-made models) suction working arms within a diameter of 5 meters, or up to 100 meters with piping.
Some special features of Kae Dih's centralized vacuum systems, according to James Tsai, company general manager, include remote services: Kae Dih's professional engineers can check and test the company's vacuum systems online and dispatch regional distributors to provide repair or maintenance services to customers as needed. The systems also have a wireless communication link between the central control system and working arms to save space and eliminate wire tangle. Another feature is an intelligent brushless motor control system that automatically detects the operation hours of the main-system motors, collecting needed data for maintenance or analysis, as well as to switch motors on and off to maximize system efficiency.
"Kae Dih's centralized vacuum systems are the smartest of their kind," Tsai claims. In addition to the above-mentioned advanced features, all the needed data of a system, including operation hours/time, repair/maintenance records, motor conditions, operating temperatures, current, voltages etc. are collected and analyzed by the Intelligent Service System.
Air Polishing & Grinding
Kymyo Industries Co., Ltd., a leading maker of pneumatic polishing and grinding tools sold under the “Combest” brand, claims that it can meet all customers' requirements for quality sander and grinder products.
According to Lu, Kymyo's air tools have a patented "oil-less" advantage: the sanders and grinders made by the company don't need any added lubricant oil. This prevents the tool oil from soiling work objects and prevents dust from building up on the tools.
Lu also invented a honeycomb-structure design for his company's sander/grinder mechanisms to protect bearings from hardener powders and other types of dust that can reduce the lifespan of such products, especially in auto repair shops where putty dust is rife. The patented innovation uses air from the air cylinder to blow out dust, Lu says.
Quality and durability are top priorities for professional/industrial users when choosing air tools, and Kymyo's polishers and grinders score high on both counts. Lu notes that his company's products are made of the best materials so they can be operated at the highest rotations per minute (RPM) setting of around 10,000 to 12,000 for a very long period.
Service is another core competitiveness of Kymyo, Lu explains. The company always keeps an ample inventory of various kinds of parts and components for its tool models, and can rapidly deliver these to customers worldwide.
"In general, Kymyo's polishers and grinders are positioned at the medium-to-high segment in the global industrial-tool market," Lu says. "We have been selling more and more products to the furniture and automotive industries, especially in Asia, which is rapidly becoming the global manufacturing center for these products."
Taiwan's air-tool industry has been expanding rapidly in recent years, Lu says. Citing Kymyo as an example, Lu says that about 80% of his company's production capacity was booked in early 2010.
Tool Storage Solutions
Functional and durable storage at a professional workshop or a production line is almost as important as the hand tools they hold. Machan International Co., Ltd., the largest and most innovative tool-storage solution provider in Taiwan, is meeting this need with industrial-purpose solutions.
Machan general manager Brian Chan says his company has become the best known and most innovative player in the tool-storage business in Asia. Machan has set up a major R&D center with a most advanced laboratory of its kind in Asia to handle a comprehensive range of tests, such as loading capacity, deformation, and static/dynamic mobility. Chang says these tests enable his company's products to meet Snap-On's test procedure and standards.
Almost every tool-storage solution developed by Machan is eye-catching and functional. The company's products have features such as a hidden side table, an overall trolley design without any square corners, and even a hidden iPod-compliable stereo system at the top part of a trolley.
Machan also has developed many advanced and patented functions for its products. The "interlock," for example, can prevent the drawers of a tool trolley from slipping out and causing the trolley to overturn. The drawers can only be opened by hand and only one drawer can be pulled out at a time.
Machan has been aggressively leveraging its R&D team of more than 30 people in Taiwan and China to continuously develop stylish products with sophisticated design and eye-catching color schemes. "Many of our customers say our tool trolleys look more like a BMW sport car than a storage cabinet," Chang says. "Even the casters on our trolleys are designed in the style of an Audi R8 sport car rim."
Chang is confident that both the design and quality of Taiwan-made tool trolleys parallel that of big European and American brands. "Our un-satisfaction keeps us moving forward faster and faster," Chang says.
Integrator
Sepro Tools Co., Ltd., an experienced hand-tool trading company that brings together a wide line of the highest quality hand tools made in Taiwan for sale to global customers, especially in Europe. The company's SENECA own-brand tools are famous in many industrially advanced nations, but Sepro also has been helping global customers build their own brands by supplying best cost/performance (C/P)-value products.
Sepro fills this integrator role by providing total solutions to global buyers, Lin says. "We offer tool combinations, design, and new-product development services. We help customers know more about what is new and popular, and we take advantage of our unmatched know-how in the overall supply chain to provide items for a variety of needs," he says.
Sepro's quality made-in-Taiwan hand tools are widely welcome by customers in major markets such as Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and Japan.
After strenuous efforts by Taiwanese hand-tools makers in the past decade, Lin says, high-level hand tools now are much more affordable for professional technicians. In the past, high-end hand tools were only within reach of top-level professional users. "Made-in-Taiwan hand tools have become the absolute mainstream in the European market," Lin says, "And all first-class global hand-tool brands now outsource most of their higher-end items from Taiwan."
What's the next step in the European market for Taiwan-made hand tools? Lin says over the next few years, Taiwanese hand-tool products are expected to enjoy stable sales, though re-attaining the sales peaks of the past few years will be tough.
Torque Wrench Specialist
William Tools Co., Ltd. is the most specialized developer and maker of torque wrenches and ratchet handles in Taiwan. Since its establishment 11 years ago, William Tools has grown steadily and rapidly.
"I estimate that the torque-wrench market will continue to drive our growth over the next 20 to 30 years," Chiang says, "and our company will continue to replace more and more Japanese and European counterparts in this market."
Like most other Taiwanese hand-tool makers, William Tools continued to grow strongly in 2009 despite the global economic downturn due to strong demand for high-quality, reasonably-priced Taiwan-made products.
William Tools recently introduced an innovative torque wrench featuring an easy-to-read torque index display. All of the firm's torque wrench products, according to Chiang, are durable, high precision, easy to operate, and high functional, with extras like a patented safety lock that can prevent users from accidentally changing the torque-index during operation.
Chiang hopes to lead William Tools to become the world's No. 1 torque-wrench supplier in terms of quality and model range. "We have the full capability to develop and produce all kinds of mechanisms (such as koken, Stanley, gearless, one-paw, round-head, etc.) for different markets and requirements. We hope to achieve this goal over the next 10 years."
Durability and functionality are the top-priority concerns for professional/industrial torque-wrench buyers, Chiang says. William Tools outperforms Japanese counterparts on both counts, he claims.
Many Patents
Among the many local socket makers in Taiwan, Smoos Tool Co., Ltd. stands out through its dedication to developing newer, innovative, and better designed products—a focus that has helped it gain market share worldwide.
Smoos supplies many types of patented tools. At 2010 Automechanika, the firm showcased its patented socket with special surface-treatment that enables engraved letters and numbers to be easily identified. Small innovations like this have helped to make the company's socket popular with professional and industrial users.
Smoos' interchangeable wrench socket set is another innovation. A double-end ratchet wrench serves as you complete wrench set in conjunction with the company's patented interchangeable ratchet-teeth sockets, handling bolts and nuts of myriad specs. The ratchet wrench in the set can be used for bits, deep bit sockets, sockets, and deep sockets.
Smoos also supplies a patented spark plug holder socket under the marketing slogan, "No more slipping spark plugs with patented nonmagnetic mechanism." The specially designed socket can be used to screw in or out spark plugs. It has an extended working life and is easier and cheaper to use than competing products.
According to Peng, Smoos' products are innovative, high-quality, and priced only a bit higher than general counterparts. Another competitive edge of Smoos, and of many Taiwanese tool makers, Peng says, is integrity and trustworthiness.