Hwang Yu Sets up OE

Quality AM Brake Caliper Production

Already a major supplier of high-quality aftermarket (AM) automotive steering and suspension parts globally and the leader in Taiwan, Hwang Yu Inc. recently saw its green strategy pay off, which the company considers productive in the long-term. The maker has been ISO 14001 approved, the well-known global standard marking corporate eco-friendliness, and is the first to do so in Taiwan.

Hwang Yu has been earnest in its green effort, especially to instill such concept into the minds of the 120 employees in Taiwan. Plus, the company has voluntarily joined a program executed by the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration (SMEA) to help local enterprises set up their own eco-management systems according to the world's most advanced and updated guidelines such as the European Union's Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directives and the EU End of Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive, limiting use of substances in manufacturing new vehicles and automotive components. The on-the-job training and courses teach all of Hwang Yu's employees to stringently follow all the green directives.

“The ISO 14001 approval confirms our efforts to become an eco-friendly enterprise, and introducing the ELV and RoHS directive into our company shows commitment to being responsible for sustainable global eco-friendliness, while our efforts bring customers more added-value,” claims Hwang Yu's vice president S.H. Fong.

AM Caliper Production
Equally important is Hwang Yu's product diversification: Fong claims that his company kicked off a vital product diversification in 2009 by venturing into AM automotive brake calipers.

For an investment exceeding NT$120 million (US$4 million), Hwang Yu set up a brand-new facility near its factory in central Taiwan's Taichung City, including fully automated OE caliper makers as well as various testing, measuring, and inspection equipment and self-developed, dedicated jigs to produce high quality brake calipers.

Hwang Yu has also cooperated with Taiwan's Automotive Research & Testing Center (ARTC) to develop dedicated dust-proof rubber boots for calipers, as well as test for dust-proofing.

In less than a year, Hwang Yu has developed 20 caliper models mainly for Japanese makes, which have been displayed at major international auto-parts exhibitions as the Taipei Int'l Auto Parts & Accessories Show (Taipei AMPA) 2010 and 2010 Automechanika Frankfurt (the world's largest aftermarket parts fair), winning positive response from global customers.

“After intensive road tests, we can claim that our brake calipers perform better than their OE counterparts, including braking force, response, precision etc. We want to revolutionize the global AM brake-caliper market by offering calipers cheaper than OE or original equipment supplied (OES) counterparts but with better performance,” says Fong.

With modern, integrated production, strong product-development capability, and seasoned R&D staff, Hwang Yu aims to lead the AM caliper business, planning to initially develop at least 20 caliper models per year mainly for Japanese cars, and then gradually diversify into European makes.

The next goal is to move into high-end, multi-piston (four to six pistons) racing calipers. “We are confident that Hwang Yu has the capacity to produce racing calipers for having R&D, testing, inspection, and manufacturing capabilities that are stronger than those of most makers of such products. We will target popular models favored by younger enthusiasts as Honda Civic, Ford Focus, and we are confident that the high-performance brake caliper segment will grow if drivers can get such parts at more affordable prices,” notes Fong.

Leading Player

Since its founding in 1972, Hwang Yu Inc. has been the largest supplier of high-quality AM automotive steering and suspension components in Taiwan, as well as a leading player worldwide, offering several major products: ball joints, tie rod ends, rack ends, control arms etc.

The TS16949-certified company, according to Fong, invests an average of NT$50 million (US$1.5 million) in product development annually.

Fong claims that as of the end of 2010, the maker supplies about 4,700 items including 135 new items developed in 2010, adding that some 140 to 150 new items to be added in 2011.

Already a significant supplier of parts for Japanese and American cars, the company is eyeing high-end European cars. In 2010, Fong says that 35 items have been developed for European cars Mercedes, BMW, Volkswagen, Audi, Opel, and the number will increase to over 50 in 2011.

Hwang Yu distributes most of its steering parts globally under its own "Three Five" and "Three Star" labels, with the rest supplied as OEM parts to many global brands. Over 40% of Hwang Yu's parts are shipped to the U.S., 30%-40% to Latin America, about 10% to Europe, and the rest to other markets.

Quality Control

Hwang Yu's sustained success is also due to, Fong claims, its unmatched quality control in Taiwan: the maker demands inspecting the first, last item as well as ones in between each batch, with quality engineers also spot checking and testing. High product quality is maintained via inspecting during manufacturing, not merely afterwards, a technique that Hwang Yu adopts faithfully and successfully.

Like most local counterparts, Hwang Yu also depends on the well-established satellite plant network for less critical subcontract manufacturing, including metal die-casting, forging as well as heat-treatment; but the firm insists on carrying out in-house all the key manufacturing and processing, such as computerized numerically controlled (CNC) machining, high-frequency surface-treatment, tapping, assembly etc., which assure the highest product quality.

Hwang Yu is the only AM steering-parts maker with in-house high-frequency processing equipment. “This shows our determination to deliver the best quality. We insist on doing tapping in-house, which often requires double the production time compared to outsourcing for we know even tiny defects cam damage quality and corporate image,” says Fong.

Hwang Yu always uses OE quality metals as SAE 1045 carbon steel and SAE 4140 alloy steel for making studs, as well as the highest-grade MOLYKOTE lubricants at seven or eight times the cost of other options.

Such perfectionist strategy helps to achieve world-leading quality that is field-tested, as well as highly praised by global customers. For example, a Hwang Yu ball joint is tested to withstand over seven metric tons of drag, exceeding the five-ton rating of ones made by another famous brand.

Exceeding World Standards
Operating a testing and inspection lab similar to that in a tech firm also helps Hwang Yu to turn out parts that exceed industry standards. The company has a test lab installed with top-end equipment such as advanced microscope and projector, three-dimensional (3D) gauges for measuring roundness, surface roughness, and hardness; computer-servo controlled material tester, impact-tester, fatigue tester, rotation-tension tester etc.

With a lab fully capable of SAE J193 Ball Stud and Socket Assembly-Test Procedures, according to Fong, the company produces a stud that withstands 30-degrees of distortion, exceeding the 10-degrees as required.

In 2010, the company renewed most software and hardware at its industry-leading test lab to uphold quality, which, according to Fong, also indicates his company's commitment to sustainable operation. Also, Hwang Yu upgraded the maximum impact force of a tester to 4,000 joules from 1,300, as well as added fatigue testing of muddy-waterproofing.

Division-of-Labor

Having set up two plants in Taiwan and another in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China also helps Hwang Yu to fill orders meeting requirements for quality, price, and shipment location.

Established in 1992, the 400-plus worker factory in China turns outs around 300,000 to 500,000 steering parts, brake discs and drums per month.

The plant in Taiwan turns out around 300,000 to 500,000 parts per month with about 110 to 120 workers, a modest number due to the sound satellite plant system on the island. Besides filling small-batch, large-variety orders, the Taiwan factory also develops new products and offers technical support to the Chinese plant.

Hwang Yu's China facilities perfectly complement its Taiwan counterpart, with the former handling big-volume orders, as well as ones to be shipped directly ex-China.

Smart Inventorying
Hwang Yu's years of experience enables it to keep adequate inventories of finished and semi-finished products, and materials to quickly fill urgent and small-batch, large-variety orders.

The Taiwan plant and two nearby warehouses keep thousands of popular items as well as semi-finished parts and raw materials. All but very big orders can be filled by tapping stock for delivery within 10-21 days, compared to on-average 45 days, says Fong.

“To succeed in the AM auto parts business is being able to fill small-batch, large-variety orders by smart inventorying, a technique we have mastered and another of our core strengths, one that comes with experience not financial clout nor tech know-how possibly possessed by newcomers,” concludes Fong. (QL)

HWANG YU AUTOMOBILE PARTS CO., LTD.

Office: No. 2, Alley 15, Lane 1, Chungking N. Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei, Taiwan 111

Factory: No. 486, Sec. 1, Zhongyang Rd., Wuqi Dist., Taichung City 435, Taiwan

Tel: 886-2-2812-9311

Fax: 886-2-2813-2183

E-mail: three5.hy@msa.hinet.net

http: www.hwangyu.com