Bathroom Equipment Taiwan Taps ODM Market

In recent years Taiwan's bathroom equipment manufacturing sector has been shifting away from contract manufacturing to original design manufacturing (ODM). Many of the domestic manufacturers in this line are capable of designing innovative products to meet the special requirements of customers from around the world.

The innovative products developed by domestic manufacturers in this line highlight the characteristics of streamlined design, convenience, and environmentally friendly manufacturing.

The greater attention to innovation and original design comes as the prices of iron, steel, and other major materials for the production of kitchen and bathroom accessories are rising. These cost increases are becoming harder to pass on to consumers as producers in mainland China and other developing nations are keeping their prices low.

To avoid price pressure from the mainland, some Taiwanese manufacturers have moved their production facilities across the Taiwan Straits to take advantage of the low production costs there. Some, however, have remained competitive in Taiwan, keeping their factories here and upgrading their manufacturing skill to focus on high value-added and multifunctional product lines.

Transformation

After making state-of-the-art bicycle parts for more than 20 years, Shang Yuan Enterprise Co. recently transformed itself into a specialist manufacturer of indoor metal furniture, especially bathroom fittings. The company boasts a strong, well-established R&D unit to facilitate production of high-end furniture products.

The company says its transformation was triggered by the relocation of domestic bicycle manufacturers to mainland China and Vietnam over the past decade. "Our business came from domestic bicycle manufacturers before, " explains Wu Cheng-chuan, founder and president of the company. "After they moved out, we found it would be necessary for us to make a transformation to survive in the production arena. After cautious and deliberate discussion, we decided to apply our well-established manufacturing skill in the metal-furniture market."

"With more than two decades of experience manufacturing bicycle parts, it has been easy for us to tap the metal furniture arena, " explains Wu. "But we decided to concentrate on the production of high-end furniture to avoid price competition from rivals in mainland China."

Shang Yuan boasts it uses the state-of-the-art production equipment originally employed for manufacturing bicycle parts to make bathroom fittings today. Many components and parts used in the company's bathroom fittings are processed with CNC (computerized numerically controlled) lathes.

At present the company mainly uses iron pipes and plates to roll out exquisite and stylish bathroom fittings. A small portion of its products are made of stainless steel. The company's products can be electroplated or enameled.

The company's major product lines currently include S-shaped 360-degree rotating swing-arm towel stands, brush caddies, umbrella stands, L-shaped tissue paper roll stands, wooden-leg-based toilet brush caddies, four-tiered etageres with casters, five-tiered etageres, and towel stands with mirrors. So far, the company has obtained six patents in Taiwan and Germany.

Recently, the company has added other indoor furniture items to its line, such as coffee tables and racks. Nevertheless, bathroom fittings still account for more than half of its total output.

At present the company exports all of its products mainly to Europe. "We chose Europe as our major export destination because consumers there prefer the kind of high-end, uniquely designed products that we specialize in, " Wu notes.

Although the company designs its own products, it also welcomes original ideas or graphics from customers. "We can handle everything from the design stage through production, based on customer product concepts, " says Wu.

Production Expansion

Sancio Enterprise Co., Ltd., established in 1978 in Taiwan, moved its main production facility to mainland China in 1990 in order to expand its production capacity and reduce manufacturing costs. The company currently operates a plant in Dongguan, Guangdong Province.

Since its establishment, the company has accumulated a great deal of expertise in processing brass and steel parts. At present, the company focuses on the production of stylish bathroom accessories, kitchenware, house ware, and glass.

Sancio boasts its products have to pass strict in-house inspection procedures before they are shipped. All of the company's products comply with the ISO 9001 standard.

The company's plant in Dongguan specializes in processing steel and brass parts for furniture manufacturers located in southern China. Recently the plant has also begun making polymer parts.

"We keep a close eye on industry trends and add new products based on what we see, " notes Clare Wang, sales manager for Sancio. "The use of new materials has been a focal point in the bathroom accessory sector worldwide over the past two years."

Based on its expertise in processing metal parts for furniture manufacturers, Sancio began producing bathroom equipment this past March with the inauguration of a second plant in Huiyang, Guangdong Province, mainland China.

At present, the Huiyang plant makes bathroom shelves, clothes stands, mirrors, toilet collections, towel holders, towel rails, trolleys, cabinets, laundry baskets, robe hooks, soap dishes, toothbrush and tumbler holders, dispenser holders, glass shelves, toilet paper holders, toilet brush holders, kitchen storage carts, hampers, and other products.

The U.S. is currently Sancio's largest export outlet for bathroom equipment. "As we already have laid a solid foundation in the U.S. marketplace, we are now making all-out efforts to expand our sales to Europe, " says Wang. "Customers from Europe are very different from those in the U.S. because they prefer high-end products with special designs."

Wide Range of Products

Another manufacturer in this line is Feng Kuen Co., Ltd., which specializes in the production of aluminum bathroom, kitchen and living room fittings. The company is a research-oriented manufacturer and commissions domestic traders to handle its sales operations.

Established in 1989 by Chiu Hsuan-an, Feng Kuen began operations as a subcontractor for domestic manufacturers of lighting reflectors and artistic lamps. Not long after its establishment, the company began to design and produce metal clocks. After years of development, the company has shifted from being a simple subcontractor to an experienced manufacturer, and is now eager to cooperate with trading companies for export ventures.

Since its establishment, Feng Kuen has been focusing on developing innovative products. "Domestic manufacturers of metal furniture like us have to cultivate their design ability and focus on special designs to survive the ever-changing global market, " says Li Wu-hsieh, head of the company's research and development department.

Li says his company is capable of producing exquisitely designed products with the support of its well-established R&D department. "All of the manufacturing technologies employed in our plant are self-developed, " says Li. "Our expertise in this field helps us to differentiate our products from those made by others."

At present the company's product line includes coat and hat racks, L-type mirrors, lotion bottles, toothbrush holders, soap trays, toilet brushes, laundry baskets, multipurpose storage boxes, knock-down upholstered shelves, and aluminum clocks. Bathroom equipment accounts for half of the company's total output.

Despite its expertise in aluminum products, Feng Kuen is gradually increasing its output of items made of other materials, such as glass and iron wire, says Li.

Li says the adoption of complex materials can reduce production costs, as aluminum is more expensive than glass and iron wire. "To cope with the increased demand for less expensive bathroom equipment, we are making an all-out effort to re-design our products to use less costly materials, " says Li.

The company says that many of its product lines have designs patented in Taiwan. "Based on our well-established R&D ability, we are capable of rolling out bathroom equipment with unique designs, " states Li. This focus on innovation, Li surmises, has helped the company to sidestep direct competition with other producers in the international marketplace. "We realize that our major competition comes from Taiwan, " he says, "So we have to be able to quickly create innovative products."

At present the company exports all of its output, though it plans to tap the Taiwan market as well. "Over the past few years our products have received a warm welcome from domestic consumers, " says Li.

Innovation

One of Taiwan's professional manufacturers of metal parts, Young Brigham Enterprise Co. currently specializes in the production of iron parts and components for bathroom equipment.

With a factory in the village of Hsiushui in Changhua County, central Taiwan, Young Brigham is capable of making iron parts based on customer designs. Over the past several years, the company has started producing bathroom equipment made from its own iron parts.

Young Brigham notes that the demand for high-end bathroom equipment is rising worldwide. To meet this trend, the company has established an R&D department to develop innovative products.

Although the company designs its own items, it also welcomes cooperation from export factories and trading companies for developing new items in this line.

High-Grade Materials, Sophisticated Machines

Another firm that concentrates on design innovation is Chang Fu Precision Co. The company says that it has developed a special mechanism that allows the easy assembly of products. It uses semi-automated machinery and numerically controlled (NC) machine tools such as lathes and pressing machines to make kitchen and bathroom accessories from stainless steel, iron wire, and iron plate.

"Since our establishment in 1995 we have never cut back on the use of high-grade materials to save production costs, " says company president Joe Huang. "The price of iron and steel has been rising for a long time, but we still use only top-quality materials to ensure quality. I am totally convinced that manufactures in Taiwan should stick to the production of high-end kitchen and bathroom accessories to counter competition from emerging rivals in mainland China, who pay more attention to low cost than to quality."

Chang Fu's three veteran in-house designers can develop 20 to 30 new models of kitchen and bathroom accessories per year. Thirty percent of the company's output is based on its own designs, while the remaining 70% is produced according to customer designs.

"We have a high enough capacity to meet the production requirements of customers from all over the world while also ensuring prompt delivery, " says Huang.

Chang Fu's main export market is Europe, but the company plans to begin pursuing the huge U.S. market by the end of this year. "In the past we concentrated strictly on the European market, and now we have a solid foundation there, " Huang notes. "Based on this successful experience, I believe that we can easily sell our products to the U.S. market by tailoring our products to meet American tastes."

Early this year the company began promoting a new and creative combination cabinet for use in both bathrooms and kitchens. Huang says that the structure and appearance of the cabinet can easily be modified for use in offices. Made of stainless steel or coated iron sheet, the cabinet has a special mechanism for rapid assembly. It is patent pending in Taiwan, Germany, and the U.K.