Taiwan Makers Showcase Innovation, Target the Japanese Niche Market at IFFT2004

A firm emphasis on research and development work enabled Taiwanese exhibitors at the recent International Furniture Fair Tokyo (IFFT) 2004 to display numerous innovative products featuring new technologies, new materials, and new functions. They were aiming at Japanese niche markets, hoping to replace the traditional low-end markets where they have lost price competitiveness.

One manufacturer, for example, transformed low-cost rubber wood into faux high-class wood by printing the grain of high-class wood on the material and then subjecting it to a special finishing process.

Another exhibitor applied environment-friendly powder-coating technology to its wooden furniture products, giving them more design variety and making them more difficult to scratch at the same time. This new technology represents a major breakthrough, since powder coating was previously limited to metal products.

Other manufacturers used polyurethane (PU) to coat their wooden products, giving them a lustrous and hard surface, similar to that of a piano. Those manufacturers have invested large amounts of funds to set up the necessary clean-room facilities.

One company at IFFT displayed one-piece acrylic chairs with metal-tube bases. The chairs come in a wide variety of colors and have a modernistic flair. The company is using acrylic to make chairs because its traditional bent-plywood products have lost competitiveness to rivals from less-developed countries.

Another exhibitor showed sofas utilizing imitation fur made of acrylic and polyester, which are popular in Western markets. Many booths featured glass computer desks and TV stands, which are expected to come into vogue because they match the increasingly popular LCD monitors and TVs.


Patented Products


Some exhibits highlighted patented structures or functions. One, for instance, was a foldable glass computer desk, designed for convenient storage and transportation.

Another exhibitor showed off pet furniture, designed by a Japanese and expected to be popular there because of Japan's large population of pet lovers.

These innovative products underscore the strenuous efforts that Taiwanese furniture companies are making to maintain a viable presence in the Japanese market. Taiwan was once the top supplier of Japan's imported furniture, but slipped to third place in 2003. The island's furniture shipments to that country declined 14% in the first half of 2004, to 16 billion Japanese yen (US$160 million at Y100:US$1). At the same time, shipments from mainland China, Japan's largest supplier of imported furniture, rose 17% to 75 billion yen (US$750 million). Overall furniture imports slipped 1%, to 199 billion yen (US$1.99 billion), during the period.

Many of the products on display at the fair's Taiwan pavilion were actually manufactured by Taiwanese companies in Vietnam. The firms report that their Vietnamese factories are running at full capacity in an effort to meet a surge in demand following the imposition by the United States of anti-dumping tariffs of Chinese-made wooden bedroom furniture. Many of the producers have plans to expand their capacity in Vietnam, where they are bringing in technicians from mainland China to make up for a shortage of domestic workers.

Fifty-three Taiwanese exhibitors took part in the fair, which was held on Nov. 24-27 at the sprawling Tokyo Big Sight exhibition complex, giving Taiwan the largest overseas group there. China and Italy followed with 38 exhibitors each. The total number of exhibitors was 523, 260 of them from overseas, and they occupied 1, 506 booths with an overall area of 34, 360 square meters.

Following are some highlights from the Taiwanese exhibitions:


Faux Class


GHP International (Vietnam) Co. exhibited dining-table sets featuring faux high-class wood actually made from cheap rubber wood. The firm's president, Henry Chen, claimed that common people cannot tell the difference between his products and other products made of genuine oak, teakwood, cherry, and fir. A set of one table and four chairs is priced at US$200 FOB, 30% to 40% less than similar items of genuine wood.

The products are made at the company's 200-worker Vietnamese factory, where some of the technicians are brought in from mainland China. Thanks to an influx of orders from the U.S., the plant is running at full capacity and has a three-month order backlog. Expansion plans are being worked out. The company also operates a 30-worker plant in Taiwan, mainly for the production of higher-end items. Most of the products are exported to the U.S. and Japan; revenue is predicted to reach US$5 million in 2004 and grow further in 2005, to US$6 million.

Saint Friend Furniture Mfg. Corp. displayed a coffee table featuring a medium-density fiberboard (MDF) top with powder coating, the technology for which is licensed from a British firm. The tabletop is highly resistant to scratching and comes in various designs made possible by the ability of powder coating to reach into obscure corners, giving it a major advantage over traditional coatings. Another advantage is that the powder coating process does not produce waste water. Company official Kelly Huang claims that Saint Friend is the only company in Taiwan to apply powder coating to wooden furniture.

Also highlighting the company's display in Tokyo were wooden TV stands and bookshelves with golden-spotted paint, the technology for which was also licensed from the British firm-and also was previously applied only to metal. The company's 11-worker factory in Taichung, central Taiwan, turned out an estimated US$2 million worth of furniture in 2004, all of which was sold to Japan.

Nova Terre Co. displayed 15 models of acrylic chairs, each with a choice of 54 colors and metal bases equipped with gas-spring cylinders for height adjustment. The chairs carry an FOB price of US$50, 70% more than the traditional bent-plywood chairs in which the company is no longer competitive. Its 2004 sales, all in Japan, are estimated at US$4 million. The company operates a 15-worker factory in Taichung.


Patented Moving Shelves

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Glass computer desks, featuring a patented mechanism allowing monitor and keyboard shelves to move sidewise smoothly and quietly, were the focus of Chyi Cheng Co.'s display. The height of the desks can be adjusted simply by moving four screws. The desks have been welcomed enthusiastically since their introduction in early 2004, and shipments now total 9, 000 units a month-8, 000 to the U.S. and 1, 000 to Japan. The price is US$70 FOB. A number of on-the-spot orders were received at the fair, reported the company's chairman, Lai Kuo-ping.

Chyi Cheng also displayed a glass-top table with an extendable section, priced at US$80 FOB. These new products are the fruit of the company's heavy R&D spending, which amounts to NT$3 million (US$93, 000) annually. Sales for 2004 are estimated at US$5 million, half in the U.S. market..

The I Jang Group introduced a foldable glass computer table, priced at US$40 FOB, along with 20 models of storage cabinets for household and office use, also priced at US$40 FOB. The cabinets have shelves that are adjustable in height. Some of them have network fronts, allowing air to circulate but keeping the contents out of sight. Some also have translucent polypropylene (PP) panels with printed patterns and a wide color selection. These products were developed by I Jang's 19-member R&D team, which costs the company 5% of its annual revenue. Sales grew 30% in 2004, to US$15 million.

Como Furniture Enterprises Co. displayed kitchen and bathroom storage shelves carrying FOB price tags of US$60 to US$70 per set. A patented structural design enables the shelves to be adjusted in five different heights; knife holders can be attached to the side, and dish holders on the unit's ABS layers. The company also highlighted chairs made of reinforced PP by one-piece injection forming and featuring ergonomic designs. The chairs are priced at US$10 each FOB.

Cheng Wei Furniture Co., Ltd. Had a Japanese designer work up the pet and children's furniture which it showcased at IFFT. It also displayed a US$44 computer desk designed especially for an LCD monitor, with a smaller structure and fixed keyboard shelf. A 300-worker factory in Changhua, central Taiwan, turns out the products; Cheng Wei estimates its 2004 revenues at US$20 million, half of it coming from the Japanese market.


Beds for SOHO Workers and the Young


Aluminum beds were featured in the booth occupied by Founder Aluminum Co., Ltd. Its products are popular with SOHO (small office, home office) workers and young people, the company claims, because of their modern flair. At US$80 each, these beds are even cheaper than similar beds made in China (raw materials account for 80% to 90% of the total production cost, reducing the Chinese labor-cost advantage). Founder Aluminum also benefits from technological maturity, which is critical for aluminum-product manufacturers because of the high material cost of turning out defective products. The company projects revenues of US$20 million in 2004, with half coming from Europe and 30% from Japan.

Sage Furniture Co., Ltd. Showcased sofas with washable imitation fur made of 80% acrylic and 20% polyester. A sofa set goes for US$1, 290 FOB.

The centerpiece of the Bamboola D&C Shop display, which featured hand-crafted bamboo products, was a desk with a crescent-shaped top (giving it its model name, "Sunrise") and four square legs. The top is hollow and the legs are reinforced with iron bars. The top's surface is smooth as satin, testifying to the meticulous craftsmanship used. Each desk takes about a month to complete, and carries a retail price tag of NT$250, 000 (US$7, 600) in Taiwan. Its elegant design (by Vincent Chang, the company's technical creator) and exquisite craftsmanship won this desk an award from the Artistic Friendship Association of Asia in Japan in 2004.

Bamboola's display also featured other products made by hand from thick-sided Moso bamboo, all featuring fine craftsmanship. A mealbox, for example, is fastened shut with a built-in bamboo fastener.

Ever since the company was established 25 years ago, said its founder, Larry Liu, it has been dedicated to the production of the hand-crafted bamboo ware that best portrays the traditional Chinese spirit and culture. A dozen in-house craftsmen are aided by 20 other outside contract workers. The company has eight sales outlets in Taiwan (which together produced revenues of US$1 million in 2003), and participation in IFFT 2004 was its first attempt to market its products abroad.