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Taiwan's Innovative OA Chair Makers Remain Competitive in World Market

2012/01/02 | By Judy Li

The ergonomic bungee cord chairs recently developed by Chia Chi Ya come in a variety of designs and colors.
The ergonomic bungee cord chairs recently developed by Chia Chi Ya come in a variety of designs and colors.
Despite the downsizing of Taiwan's furniture industry resulting from the massive outflow of production capacity to China and Vietnam, a significant number of office furniture manufacturers have chosen to keep their production in Taiwan. The main reason for them to stay on the island is that they feel comfortable operating at home, where they have access to a highly efficient, comprehensive network of subcontractors and satellite plants that supply virtually all of the parts needed for high-end office furniture items.

Market observers say that Taiwan's OA furniture makers can maintain their competitiveness in the world arena partly because of their hard work and partly because of the presence of well-developed supporting industries such as petrochemicals, basic metals, hardware, machinery, and electronics.

Today, most OA furniture makers in Taiwan focus on office chairs and related parts, and they rely on quality-assured products as their best tool for carving out niches in the global market. To expand their customer base, some of them have diversified into children's furniture and/or medical-care furniture.

One of the top manufacturers in the line is the Chia Chi Ya Enterprise Co., located in southern Taiwan, which turns out a variety of office chairs including leather executive chairs, mesh high-back or low-back chairs, fabric chairs, visitor chairs, and massage chairs. The company also makes PC station chairs, leisure chairs, dining chairs, and bar stools.

“Chia Chi Ya was founded in 1987 and has since experienced ups and downs in the global market,” comments Shannon Chang, a specialist in the company's sales department. “In its early years the company turned out mainly metal tubes for local producers of beach chairs, dining chairs, fitness equipment, and medical equipment. Not until 1997 did it transform into a developer and manufacturer of office chairs.”

Buying Local

The angle and height of the headrest and armrests of Iou Jia’s mesh office chairs can be adjusted to the position the user needs.
The angle and height of the headrest and armrests of Iou Jia’s mesh office chairs can be adjusted to the position the user needs.
“Thanks to the support of the well-established satellite plants in Taiwan where we can get all the quality parts we need, we purchase most of our parts from local suppliers and carry out only the welding and assembling processes at own plant. We now have nearly 30 suppliers, which have been carefully chosen,” Chang comments.

“We make products mainly on the ODM basis, and this is why we have established a strong R&D team that is responsible for designing new models of our chairs. Sometimes our clients provide their designs for our reference, and we will discuss the designs with them if we want to make changes,” she continues.

Children’s chairs produced by Iou Jia are popular in the kids’ furniture market.
Children’s chairs produced by Iou Jia are popular in the kids’ furniture market.
To win the market with health-enhancing products, the company has recently developed a series of ergonomic OA chairs whose seats and backs are made of plastic bungee cords that are breathable and enable users to feel comfortable and relax. These chairs have been granted international BIFMA and SGS certification, and are patented in the United States, Japan, China, and Taiwan.

Under the impact of the global economic downturn resulting from the financial tsunami that struck in the second half of 2008, Chia Chi Ya suffered sluggish sales in the ensuing years. Orders fell 20%-30% in 2010; but the downturn seems to have bottomed out at the beginning of 2011, and orders have come back.

Currently the company ships about 4-5 40-foot containers of products a month, with 30% going to the domestic market and 70% overseas. The United States is the major export outlet, absorbing 60% of total shipments, while Europe takes 20% and Asia the remaining 10%.

Founded in 1979, the Iou Jia Industrial Co. initially engaged in the manufacture of machinery parts, mainly chassis, and established a chassis plant in Chiayi in southern Taiwan. In 1981 the company expanded its product line to cover metal mechanism items and then moved into the production to office chairs.

“Taiwan's economy grew rapidly in the early 1980s, and a burgeoning demand for offices emerged as many new enterprises sprouted up,” recalls chairman Lin Yu-jen. “We foresaw a niche for office furniture in the domestic market, and decided to set up a new plant in Kaohsiung, farther south than Chiayi, to turn out office chairs. Initially we sold the office chairs under our own brand—‘Lien Mei'—to the local market, where we gained popularity.”

In 1989 Iou Jia began computerizing its operating systems and streamlining its manufacturing processes; and a year later it established own corporate identification system (CIS). In 1991 it won certification in Taiwan as a grade-A CNS (Chinese National Standards) manufacturer grade-A factory.

Avoiding the Chinese

Office chairs from OASYSchair are made of a variety of materials including nylon, leather, and fabrics.
Office chairs from OASYSchair are made of a variety of materials including nylon, leather, and fabrics.
The company was also granted ISO-9002 certification in 1998 and began to export that same year. Today Iou Jia sells half of its products at home and half to nearly 20 overseas markets, including Japan, Europe, Singapore, and the United States. “To avoid price competition from suppliers China,” reports chairman Lin, “we fabricate mostly value-added high-end products with various patterns in small volumes. So our major export outlets are Japan and Europe, which demand higher quality.”

To keep rolling out innovative products, Iou Jia places strong emphasis on R&D; in 2002, it won ISO 9001 certification. In recent years the company has come up with a variety of multifunctional chairs such as mesh office chairs, children chairs, and even pet chairs.

“Recently,” says Lin, “we have developed a stylish ergonomic mesh chair with headrest and armrests that have adjustable angles and heights to whatever position the user needs. And we have just unveiled a series of pet chairs to cater to the growing population of pet owners. These chairs are easy to carry and can be put in almost any vehicle so that the owners can take their pets out with them.”

“We were given a subsidy of NT$1 million (US$33,333) by the government in April of 2011 because of our efforts in developing innovative items. We attribute this accomplishment to our hardworking employees, who are our most treasured resource. We now have a workforce of over 40 persons, most of whom have been with us for over 10 years. We respect them and treat them as friends,” Lin continues.

With a history of almost two decades, the OASYSChair Co. is a dynamic Taiwanese manufacturer that operates on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. “Our company was founded in the early 1980s in southern Taiwan,” notes president Douglas Pan, “and expanded to China in 2003.

“Our Taiwan plant is located in Guiren, Tainan City, and has a work force of more than 120 persons turning out products on an OEM and ODM basis,” Pan says. “We also have two plants in China, in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, with a total of over 200 employees, that focus on processes that need more manpower, such as die casting and polishing.”

“Before becoming involved in the manufacture of office chairs, I was a telecoms engineer and had little knowledge of furniture. It was not easy for a new hand like me to join the furniture industry at the beginning; I once even tried to quit, but was finally persuaded to stay,” Pan says.

Need for R&D

Well Run offers twin-back chairs in various patterns.
Well Run offers twin-back chairs in various patterns.
“The production of chairs is not as simple as it looks. Compared to other furniture items, chairs are more complicated in structure, not to mention the safety, comfort, and ergonomic factors that have to be considered. To be competitive, a company has to lay more emphasis on R&D. Designers are important, because the success of a newly-developed chair depends on quality and attractive design. However, it's hard for us to find qualified 3D industrial designers here, so we have to cooperate with the U.S. and Japan on a case-by-case basis—and those two countries are our major export markets.”

Today OASYSChair exports 98% of its products, mainly to the U.S., Japan, and Latin America. “In our product mix, 90% are office chairs and the remaining 10% are stacking chairs, foldable conference tables, and training tables,” Pan adds.

“The major materials used in our chairs,” he continues, “are metal, plastics, leather, nylon, and various fabrics; the rising prices of those materials over the past few years have made our operations more difficult—and the situation was worsened even more by the global financial tsunami that occurred in the second half of 2008. The global economic climate seemed to have turned for the better at the beginning of 2011, but it was hit again by the deteriorating European and U.S. debt crises in the second half. So we have to work even harder than before to maintain our strength in the global market.”

With the advent of the ballooning ‘silver hair' market, OASYSChair intends to develop medical chairs, slip-proof chairs, and wheelchairs. “We are planning to tap the potential ‘silver hair' market, since the population of seniors is growing rapidly around the world,” Pan says.

Another prominent supplier of office chairs, the Well Run Technology Co., was established in southern Taiwan in 1976 and, for a long time, focused on the production of furniture parts. About 15 years ago it expanded into the production of office furniture, turning out mostly executive chairs, staff chairs, and guest chairs.

Going for Mesh
“About 15 years ago we imported elastic fabric from the United States and developed Taiwan's first mesh office chair,” reports Tony Yang, the company's chairman. “The chair attracted a lot of attention in the domestic market, and prompted many local manufacturers to follow suit. Today mesh chairs have become one of the most popular types of OA chairs in the global market.”

Mesh chairs are popular items in Well Run’s product lineup.
Mesh chairs are popular items in Well Run’s product lineup.
To avoid cut-throat competition from Chinese rivals and keep ahead of its counterparts, Well Run has spared no effort to develop innovative chair models. “Whenever we develop a new chair,” Yang comments, “we always take safety, comfort, and health into consideration. Most of our products have passed SGS testing and have been patented in Taiwan as well as in most of our overseas markets, including the United States, Japan, the EU, and China.”

Today the company offers a variety of breathable mesh chairs featuring multi-lock positioning and adjustable seats, backs, and armrests, as well as recyclable materials.

“Large amounts of foam are used in most traditional office chairs,” Yang points out. “While this keeps prices low, it is more or less harmful to humans and nature. To protect humans and nature, Well Run concentrates on developing multi-function high-tech and environmentally friendly ‘health chairs.'”

“We use an innovative compound elastomeric mesh instead of the conventional foam upholstery. The mesh allows ventilation, eliminates bad odors, and is germproof. Furthermore, its tensile strength and stretchability are much higher than traditional mesh fabric; so it does not deform, and is much more durable and comfortable.”

Unlike many other companies that have moved production overseas, Well Run insists on keeping its production base in Taiwan. “We are a professional and dynamic office chair manufacturer, and we have developed very well in Taiwan,” Yang says. “We feel comfortable operating in Taiwan because we can find skilled workers, experienced mechanists, and qualified satellite plants here. These are the major factors that keep us on the island.”

Well Run exported 100% of its products until about eight years ago, when it started to explore the domestic market. Today, about 10% of its products are sold in Taiwan.

Well Run’s newly developed electric twin-back unit features a massage function and optional slip cover.
Well Run’s newly developed electric twin-back unit features a massage function and optional slip cover.
To keep upgrading its products, the company spends about NT$2 million (US$66,666) on R&D annually. A few years ago it brought in the concept of spine care and has since developed twin-back chairs, which are made of polypropylene (PP) with more than 150 ventilation holes that can let air through and comfortably support the back and the lumbar of the user.

“We've also developed a separate twin-back unit that can be installed in any chair with a back, such as an office chair, arm chair, wheel chair, and car seat,” Yang adds. “Moreover, in 2011 we gave the twin-back unit a massage function by adding an electric device. This has made the unit even more popular. A slip cover can be put on the unit; it provides extra warmth, and is easy to take off for cleaning.”

Yang reveals that Well Run may cooperate with a leading Taiwanese electric vehicle manufacturer to put the twin-back units in the carmaker's vehicles and jointly explore the international market.