TIFS Returns to International Stage With Brilliant Presence

After an absence of six years, the Taipei International Furniture Show (TIFS) regained its strength on the international stage with its Mar. 15-18, 2006 expo held at the Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC). The show was believed to be the most significant event this year by many Taiwanese furniture manufacturers in Taiwan, mainland China, and Southeast Asia.

TIFS 2006, jointly organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and Taiwan Furniture Manufacturers' Association (TFMA), boasted a total of 211 exhibitors occupying about 1, 300 booths. With an enthusiastic response from the Taiwanese furniture sector, TIFS rose like a phoenix from the ashes, Fredrich Chen, chairman of TFMA, remarks. "This was the right time for us to revive TIFS, because Taiwanese furniture makers, whether operating on the island or overseas, have in recent years regained their strength in the global arena and need to make that fact known to global buyers through TIFS, " Chen says.

Other than Taiwanese furniture exhibitors, major international enterprises such as Solmet from Italy, Pan Home Furniture from Saudi Arabia, San Wan from South Korea, Novena Furniture from Singapore, and Hanada from Japan graced the event with their presence.

The products displayed on the show included OA, living room, dining room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, outdoor, K/D, and study furniture. Show attendees also saw furniture hardware, furniture parts and accessories, home furnishings, and building materials. Special areas of the show included the "Glasswork Pavilion, " "Traditional Tomorrow Collection, " "Image Pavilion, " and "Furniture Design Award-winning Products Area."

Chen indicates that the three focal points for TIFS 2006 were "design, comfort, and value, " which were customer-oriented concepts that won positive responses among visitors and buyers at the show. "TIFS offers a brand-new style to exhibitors and buyers alike, and satisfies them with many innovative high-quality products, " Chen says.

"TIFS 2006 has helped rebuild the international image of Taiwan' s furniture industry and helped local furniture manufacturers gain confidence as well, " Chen affirms. "Foreign buyers have said they were happy to have been in the show and have promised to come back next year."

According to statistics compiled by TFMA, Taiwanese furniture manufacturers currently export US$1.7 billion worth of their products from Taiwan, US$2.8 billion worth from mainland China, and US$500 million worth from Southeast Asia every year. For the most part, the island' s furniture manufacturers mostly make high-value-added products in Taiwan, while they make lower-value products elsewhere.

"It' s great to see Taiwan has been evolving into a center for furniture design and innovation, with an increasing number of companies doing their own design and developing their own brands, " Chen emphasizes. "Playing a role as a B2B platform for manufacturers and buyers, TIFS 2006 is a purely export-oriented show that will become a more and more important arena for the world furniture industry."

International Manufacturers, Taiwan Links

Invited by TAITRA, Solmet, Italy' s prestigious furniture manufacturer and furniture brand, displayed its products in Taipei for the first time at the show. "This is our first time to attend TIFS, although we have sold our products to the market in Taiwan for about 10 years, " indicates company export manager Domenico Sagnella. "We hope that we can further explore the market here since the number of upscale consumers is increasing in Taiwan."

Solmet Co. was founded in 1976 to produce furniture products of high quality and style, Sagnella emphasizes. "At the beginning we produced mainly brass beds, but later on expanded to other bedroom furniture products, bathroom furniture, and related accessories, " he notes.

Solmet products are mostly made of high-end metal materials, including brass, aluminum, and stainless steel. "To respect the characteristics of the metals, each component of our metal furniture products is mechanically assembled with no welding, and their brilliant finish does not change with the time, " Sagnella proudly says.

"Our products are perfectly resistant to humidity, salinity, ultraviolet rays, and ageing. Our various collections are characterized by exceptional manufacturing that is careful about both mechanical quality and finishing. This kind of unique manufacturing has become the widely known characteristic of the 'Solmet' trade mark, " he adds.

Today, Solmet' s products are sold not only in Europe, but also in many other countries around the world. All of Solmet' s items are made in Italy and sold in upscale markets. The company tapped the market in Asia about 10 years ago, and has an agent in Hong Kong to manage the company' s business in the greater Chinese community.

Stylution International Corp., a professional mattress manufacturer, caught a great amount of public attention with the ergonomic high-end mattress it displayed at the show. Established in 1973 in Taiwan, Stylution was originally named "Restonic Furniture Int' l Corp." and mainly turned out mattresses for both the domestic and overseas markets. In 1983, the company was licensed by Restonic USA to sell Restonic-branded mattresses in the Asia Pacific area. Five years later, the company also obtained agency rights from Musterring of Germany to market the latter' s mattresses in Asia.

As a professional mattress manufacturer, the company has built up a good reputation in the world' s mattress market. In 2004, the company was renamed Stylution and started to turn out mattresses under that name, in addition to producing mattresses for international brands on an OEM basis.

In 1996, the company began to expand its operations to mainland China by establishing a plant in Dongguan of Guangdong Province, and has since been operating very profitably there. To meet the growing market demand, the company set up one more plant in Dongguan in 2003 with an area of 100, 000 square meters to operate a full furniture production line.

Last year Stylution set up a branch in the U.S. in charge of marketing there. "To own marketing channels is the best way to control the market, " Jack Chen, chairman of the company, believes. "We cooperated with our U.S. partner to set up Stylution USA to penetrate the market in North America."

Today the company has manufacturing plants in both Taiwan and mainland China. "Taking advantage of our ability to manufacture on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, we can efficiently and economically generate furniture products to meet market needs. Taiwanese furniture manufacturers should globally deploy their operations if they intend to keep their strength in the international arena, " Chen says.

Stylution' s major plant in Dongguan, mainland China has three production lines, making mattresses, sofas and related seating products, and general furniture products, respectively. In the area of mattresses, for instance, the plant produces around 3, 000 to 4, 000 units each day. Today "Stylution" has squeezed into the top-five, so-called "S" mattress brands in the U.S.; the other four are Simmons, Sealy, Spring Air, and Serta, according to Huang Song-pin, senior manager of the company.

"Other than the major markets in the U.S. and Japan, Stylution has some 30 sales outlets in the mainland, which are mostly located in Beijing, Shanghai, and Xiamen. Today "Stylution" is the No. 1 mattress brand in the mainland, " Huang says.

"TIFS has attracted many overseas Taiwanese furniture makers to participate in the show, and is trying hard to regain its strength. We hope that the Taipei show can distinguish itself from those in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and mainland China by creating some unique characteristics that are difficult to imitate, " Huang says.

Creative Material Use Sets Furniture Makers Apart

Formosa Furniture Design & Marketing Co. is one of the few leading wooden furniture manufacturers that still keep their operations in Taiwan. Established in 1981, Formosa has spared no efforts upgrading its manufacturing technique, product quality, and after-sales service. Having deeply explored the domestic market, Formosa has in recent years extended its reach to overseas markets, aiming at high-end and middle-tier consumers. Currently Formosa focuses on the markets in Japan and France, which are noted for their elevated living standards and their strict demands for product quality.

"We create not only products, but also a kind of culture and living taste, " Jensen Chen, chairman of the company, remarks. "The company' s inclination is to deeply explore a market and produce furniture products to meet the individual demand of the consumers there."

To enhance its products, Formosa cooperated with a Japanese firm in 1999 to jointly develop anti-bacterial natural wood furniture, and in 2000 allied with a French company to create the "Forosa" furniture brand, which currently markets furniture products in Europe. About three years ago, the company began cooperating with a local high-tech company to apply nano and far infrared ray (FIR) technologies to fabricate health-oriented furniture products.

"As a furniture manufacturer, Formosa has been working very hard to survive in Taiwan, where traditional manufacturers have difficulty running their operations due to the operating environment, " Chen complains. "Compared to counterparts in neighboring countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and mainland China, manufacturers in Taiwan have faced much higher manufacturing cost due to higher labor and industrial land costs."

Nevertheless, those manufacturers staying in Taiwan have so far proven strong enough to brave all the difficulties. "To survive, we must reinforce operating strength, design capability, and corporate strategies, " Chen insists. "In addition, we have to study more diligently about market trends to find suitable market niches. Furthermore, we must build up own brands."

PT. Aneka Mahkota Furindo, a Taiwanese-owned furniture company in Indonesia, decorated its booth at TIFS with a tropical style. "The purpose for us to come back to participate in the show is that we intend to see how the furniture industry is developing in Taiwan today and to exchange industrial concepts and ideas with furniture manufacturing designers here, " Lee Yao-wu, president of the company, states.

"We used to be a rattan furniture manufacturer in Taiwan and moved the production lines to Indonesia about 20 years ago, when most countries in Southeast Asia prohibited exports of rattan, " Lee explains. "At that time Aneka was one of a few pioneering Taiwanese furniture companies in Indonesia. We have been running very well there except for encountering some labor problems. In our beginning years, we hired around 600-800 local workers, but today we have cut the number of employees by almost half to reduce possible labor-related operating risks."

About 10 years ago, there were a total of some 300 Taiwanese furniture makers in Indonesia, but the number has since sharply declined to about 100. "The unstable political situation and comparatively untamed labor market in Indonesia have frustrated foreign manufacturers there. Some Taiwanese furniture makers have therefore closed their plants in the country and some moved to mainland China, " Lee points out.

Today Aneka has three plants in Indonesia—one for rattan furniture, one for wooden furniture, and one for bamboo furniture. All of them are located in Jakarta. However, the company is also operating in Singapore and has its show room and R & D center there. "Indonesia has abundant natural forests that provide various kinds of botanical materials for making furniture products. We process coconuts, banana roots, bamboo, and rattan to make useful furniture materials, " Lee says.

The company' s furniture products are 100% exported and Europe is its major export outlet. "Our products, featuring unique materials, stylish designs, and classic elegance, have gained a good reputation among consumers in Europe, particularly in France, where exotic furniture products are more acceptable, " Lee says. Other than Europe, Aneka plans to explore the market in Japan in the near future.

Lee hopes that TIFS can play a role as a common platform for Taiwanese furniture manufacturers, industrial associations, and the government to develop the island into an R&D center to help upgrade the industry and the quality of its furniture products.

Overseas Taiwanese Manufacturers Thriving

Bao Cuu Phong Co., a Taiwanese-invested company that makes boards for furniture in Vietnam, had a presence at the TIFS exhibition to attract more clients. "We started investments in Vietnam about seven years ago, and have become involved in the production of furniture boards to supply the market in Vietnam and neighboring Cambodia, " Shih Hsin-hsing, general director of the company, states.

"Our boards are made of different kinds of materials, including wood, petrochemical fibers, and plastics. The boards are mostly used as the shelves of bookcases, television sets, cabinets, and as partitions for household and office rooms. "Since more and more Taiwanese furniture manufacturers have moved and are moving to Vietnam, our planks and boards mainly have been supplied to them in recent years, " Shih discloses.

"In the beginning years, I felt living in Vietnam to be quite inconvenient, but now I have gotten used to it since the country has improved a lot, " Shih says. "Although the wages for labor in Vietnam are relatively lower, we have to spend more time to train the workers there, compared to those in the mainland and Taiwan."

To reduce manufacturing costs, Bao Cuu Phong has slashed its workforce to some 80 persons this year from last year' s more than 130 persons. "The process of making boards depends mostly on machines, so we don' t need so many workers. Since the profits of producing plain boards are quite thin, so we decided to expand the production lines to other furniture products, " Shih confirms.

Forward Win Enterprise Co. was established in Dongguan of Guangdong Province by a Taiwanese furniture maker in 1994. "More than 10 years ago a dozen Taiwanese furniture manufacturers braved all the difficulties to build up their footholds together in Dongguan, hoping to create a furniture industrial zone there, " notes Kenneth Chao, sales manager for Forward Win.

With a decade' s efforts, Taiwanese furniture makers in Dongguan have been growing very rapidly and Forward Win has become one of the successful operators there. "We now have a total workforce of some 1, 000 persons at two plants in Dongguan, which generate around 230 or so 40-foot containers furniture products per month. Most of our products consist of traditional wooden bedroom furniture, dining room furniture, and occasional furniture products, " Chao discloses.

Forward Win exports 100% of its products, mainly to North America. "The market in North America is quite competitive and local furniture manufacturers in the mainland are becoming our major rivals, not to mention Taiwanese counterparts, " Chao indicates. "To efficiently operate the company, we have adopted an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to manage orders, materials, manufacturing processes, inventories, shipments, and finances."

"With increasing competition from both Taiwanese-owned and local counterparts in the mainland, we have felt increasing operating pressure there. We have to put more and more effort into upgrading our products to maintain our strength in the market. The rise of China in the world market is a strong tide that can' t be stopped and shouldn' t be neglected. Taiwan should follow the steps of Hong Kong to make itself a trading center to help Taiwanese manufacturers explore the world market, " Chao comments.

Metal Furniture Manufacturers Still Competitive in Taiwan

With a history of more than 40 years, Tung Tai Polytechnical Co. is one of the minority Taiwanese furniture makers that have insisted on keeping all of its operations in Taiwan. "We started up our business as a jewelry-box maker in our beginning years and later on expanded to make rattan furniture products. Since the source of rattan materials shrank rapidly due to increasing environmental protection, we decided some 15 years ago to produce metal furniture instead, " states Jerry Lin, company manager.

"Taiwan' s manufacturing environment began deteriorating in the early 1990s due to soaring wages and industrial land costs, " Lin laments. "From then on, Taiwan has witnessed several waves of enterprises depart the island, mostly to mainland China, and foreign buyers have therefore turned to the mainland for purchases as well. Our clients have shrunk in recent years, and we have reduced operations. Compared to a decade ago, the company' s production volume today has dropped by two thirds."

Currently Tung Tai turns out about 10 or so 40-foot containers of mid- and high-end metal furniture products per month, which are mostly exported to Europe and the U.S. "Taiwan' s enterprises are good at manufacturing technology and management and are suited to turning out mid- and high-end products for the markets with higher-living-standard consumers, " Lin analyzes.

"To maintain the strength of Taiwan' s furniture industry, the government here should strongly support and assist furniture makers that are deeply rooted in Taiwan, and offer them with as many incentives as possible, including tax deductions, financial assistance with international exhibitions, and subsidies for furniture contest winners, " Lin suggests.

Established in 1987, Sing Bee Enterprise Co. produced mainly office partitions in its early years of operations and later on expanded to make other office furniture products. Today the company also includes home entertainment furniture in its products pool.

Unlike many Taiwan furniture makers that have moved their operations overseas, Sing Bee has chosen to stay in Taiwan and been operating very well. "The main reason for us to stay at home is that we are familiar and feel comfortable with the manufacturing environment here. Frankly speaking, if we move the production lines to the mainland, we are not sure whether we can control the quality of both materials and labor there, " Charles Tsai, chairman of the company, candidly states.

Sing Bee turns out mostly glass and metal furniture, which Taiwan is still very competitive at producing. "Our R&D team is quite strong and can develop innovative and design-oriented products to meet the special needs of our customers. The company' s R&D talents are the masterminds of its products and their intelligence is an invaluable treasure that can' t be copied, " Tsai remarks.

To meet market trends, Sing See now uses high-tech devices and advanced materials in its furniture products and has won popularity among consumers. Tsai discloses that Sing Bee spends a great amount of money every year to make molds to develop high-tech furniture products, such as multifunctional and adjustable metal stands, shelves, and cabinets for computers, TV sets, and media devices.

Currently the company provides 30% of its products to the Taiwanese market and exports the remaining 70% to Japan, the U. S., Europe, and the Middle East. "We have many faithful clients who love our innovative products. Some clients will inevitably search for similar products with cheaper prices in the mainland, but Taiwan has its own advantages in the metal furniture industry, and we will continue to stay here to make metal furniture," Lin affirms.

After nearly two decades in the furniture industry, Yang Teng-ko, chairman of Standing Office Furniture, has become a professional furniture manufacturer that produces office furniture on both an own-brand and OEM basis for local and international clients. To add younger workers to the company, Yang has invited his two sons to help him operate the company.

Last year, the company decided to develop its own brand of products for export instead of merely fabricating products on an OEM basis. "To explore the world market, we have decided to turn out customer-oriented products to meet special orders, and to also generate self-developed products to market under the Standing brand, because we hope to build up our own furniture brand in the world market in the future," says Yang Shun-mao, sales manager of the company and also the son of Yang Teng-ko.

With a young and dynamic R&D team, Standing has recently developed a series of outstanding office furniture products that won a great attention at TIFS. The company currently has a workforce of some 20 persons who are in charge of computerized designing, forming of molds, manufacturing processes, and final packaging.

"We have deeply devoted ourselves to the office furniture industry, and this is our first time to attend an international furniture show. We reaped some orders on the spot at the show, and hope to take in a harvest of follow-up purchases," the younger Yang says.