Over the last three decades Taiwan's office- furniture makers have come a long way from simply copying the designs of foreign competitors and delivering products at bargain prices. Today innovation, rather than price, is driving the local industry's growth as producers turn their focus to high-quality patented products and give their rivals a run for their money.

Today, Taiwan supplies office furniture in a wide range of materials, from natural and artificial wood to plastics, glass and metal tubing. Most of the wood desks and chairs are produced in mainland China, where labor costs are low, while items composed primarily of metal tubes, glass, and plastics are crafted in Taiwan.

Multifunctional computer desks, particularly those suitable for small-office and home-office (SOHO) users, are also among the new products rolling off the lines in Taiwan, including desks designed for use with TFT-LCD (thin film transistor-liquid crystal display) monitors. These innovations have helped local producers steadily expand their share in the computer-desk market, which has traditionally been dominated by a few foreign brands.

Buzzing Along

Sing Bee Enterprise Co., Ltd., a major office- system furniture manufacturer in Taiwan, is stepping up its transformation into the computer- furniture segment and plans to introduce its first own-brand models in the segment this year.

When the company was founded in 1988, it specialized in the production of office-partition units. Today it operates two plants in Nantou County, central Taiwan and has diversified into new product lines, including office desks, file cabinets, and executive desks that can be flexibly arranged to make the most efficient use of office space.

In 1993, Sing Bee won the "It's Very Well Made in Taiwan" award, which is presented by the Ministry of Economic Affairs in recognition of superior product quality, and later garnered the "Innovative Design Prize" presented by the China External Trade Development Council. In 1996 the firm obtained its ISO9002 certification.

Sing Bee currently exports 30% of its output to Japan, Germany, the U.S., Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines; the majority is still sold into the domestic market. Company chairman Charles Tsai expects Japan and the U.S. to be Sing Bee's fastest growing markets in the years ahead--a product of the firm's success in turning out the high-end products demanded by quality-conscious consumers in those markets.

In the past three years, Sing Bee has posted annual revenue of between NT$45 million (US$1.28 million at US$1:NT$34.9) and NT$50 million (US$1.43 million).

Tsai says that computer desks will be a major line in driving his company's growth. "The growing popularity of TFT-LCD monitors has given us a great opportunity to develop ergonomically designed computer furniture suited for use with small, light monitors," he notes. "TFT-LCD monitors will bring about revolutionary changes in computer desks over the next two or three years, since they allow for more flexibility in design."

Jumping into the forefront of this revolution, Sing Bee began designing innovative computer desks about one-and-a-half years ago. Tsai says these new products feature avant-garde designs and are suitable for either home or office use.

Sing Bee sells its new multifunctional computer desks under its "Multimode" brand. "There are many well-known brands in the office-system furniture market, but there are no well-established brands for computer desks," Tsai notes. "I plan to make Multimode a brand that is synonymous with computer desks."

Sing Bee's Multimode computer desks have a modularized design to accommodate computer peripherals, CD racks, printers, and phone racks, enabling consumers to configure the desks according to their needs. They also have a modern space-age look, including legs that look like the landing gear of a lunar-landing module. The sleek colored legs are made of combinations of plastics, steel pipes and glass.

Tsai says that his company will apply the modular-design concept to other kinds of furniture, such as dining and conference tables.

Staying Competitive in Taiwan

Established in 1997, Dig Jet International Co., is a professional manufacturer of OA furniture that has recently expanded into living- and dining- room furniture. To increase its competitive edge, the company has made all-out efforts to pare costs by standardizing production procedures and streamlining its management system.

As part of a recent corporate overhaul, Dig Jet recently moved its administrative, warehouse and showroom facilities to a new 25,000-square-foot site, leaving its existing factory to focus on production. "The separation of administrative and manufacturing functions has boosted our production efficiency," says company president Henry Wang. The move has also freed up manufacturing space at the plant for making the company's new home-furniture series, Wang adds.

Other changes afoot at Dig Jet include experimentation with new cost-competitive materials in response to the spike in steel and iron prices over the past half-year. "If domestic steel suppliers don't reduce their prices, a lot of metal- furniture makers in Taiwan could move their production facilities to somewhere else," Wang warns.

An ISO9002-certified company, Dig Jet supplies tables, chairs, file cabinets, partition systems, computer desks and other related items. The company has many skilled workers able to produce furniture made of compound materials, such as wood combined with metal.

"Taiwan has a big pool of talented and skilled workers, so we have no plans to move our production facilities overseas," Wang says. "Taiwan also has a strong hardware industry to support our development of high-quality furniture." Wang notes that instead of seeking cheaper labor to boost its international competitiveness, his company will hone its manufacturing skills and strengthen management systems."

In the second half of 2001, the company began selling its computer desks in Taiwan through major wholesale markets, including RT Mart and Makro. At present the company mainly sells knock-down (K/D) computer desks through such outlets on an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) basis.

Currently Dig Jet sells 60% of its output to the domestic market, with the remainder going to foreign markets, namely North America, Latin America, the Middle East and South Africa.

"We are targeting some new export outlets in Europe and Southeast Asia. That's why we participated in an international furniture show held in London in 2001 for the first time ever," Dawn Wen, export manager of the company, notes.

At a furniture show in Malaysia in March this year, a German buyer showed strong interest in the company's HT-9001 multifunctional K/D computer desk, which can also be used as an office desk and is designed to meet the demands of SOHO users.

Dig Jet has in the past focused on the production of high-end furniture. But the economic recession over the past year has forced the company to add lower-priced products. The new products are also aimed at the budget-minded consumers that shop at wholesale markets, says Wen.

Despite the lower price, says Wen, Dig Jet does not compromise on the quality or functions of its products. This has proven to be a winning combination. Wen says that the company once sold 5,000 PVC-covered particleboard K/D computer desks in two weeks through local wholesale markets.

Dig Jet hopes to export its successful experience in the domestic wholesale market to similar outlets abroad. "We are preparing to sell our products to overseas on an OEM basis," says Wen, adding that her company is now in talks with a British wholesale market chain.

In order to make its products more competitive in overseas markets, Dig Jet has been computerizing its design procedures and automating production. Wen says that automated machines for particleboard cutting produce far less waste materials than manual board cutting.

Dig Jet may also consider adding solid wood furniture to its product line if the government lifts the ban on imports of needed raw materials from mainland China, says Wen.

Tried and True

Chueng Shine Co., Ltd., established in 1981, specializes in K/D office chairs, parts and accessories. With a production facility in Chiayi County, southern Taiwan, staffed with a 100- person team, the company is capable of rolling out between 70,000 and 80,000 chairs per month.

Since its establishment, the company has focused on the production of high-quality products for upper-end consumers. To assure the highest in quality, the company has installed several high- precision machines at its plant to test chair-back strength and durability, frame strength, frame compression and fatigue, and armrest strength.

Chueng Shines' nylon-chair bases meet ANSI/BIFMA standards and can support loads of at least 2,500 pounds, says Lu Wu-chin, president of the company.

The company's office chairs also have pneumatic gas lifts approved by TUV Rheinland of Germany. "All of our parts meet international standards to ensure they measure up to the requirement of the international high-end furniture market," says Lu.