Thanks to the strong support of the domestic metal and textile industries, Taiwan has become one of the world's leading suppliers of home furnishings, from curtain rods and accessories to a wide range of upholstery fabrics. Local manufacturers are now building on this achievement by beefing up their design capacity to turn out innovative and high-added-value products for global markets.

Manufacturers are also hungrily eying the emerging mainland Chinese market. Some home- furnishing makers have moved production facilities across the Taiwan Strait to mainland China in recent years in order to be closer to customers there. The mainland market, they predict, will rapidly expand as officials there open once-closed markets to meet World Trade Organization obligations.

In other markets, Taiwanese furnishing suppliers are also making steady inroads due to the attractive combination of high quality, wide selection, and reasonable pricing that they can offer.

For example, Taiwan now supplies a broad range of curtain rods and accessories made of iron, plastic, wood, and light alloys, as well as intricate and innovative textile accessories to add to the value to their offerings.

Hot Seller

Chili Tubes Enterprise Co., Ltd., established a decade ago, specializes in the production of artistic curtain rods made of wood, iron, zinc alloy, aluminum alloy and glass, as well as combinations of these materials.

"In the early stage of our establishment, we concentrated on products made of a single material," says Wu Ming-huang, president of the company. "But in recent years, more and more customers have asked for products made of multiple materials and we have responded to meet their demands."

Chili has long exported curtain rods to Japan, and in recent years it has expanded into the European and U.S. markets. Today the U.S. absorbs 90% of its total output.

According to Wu, Chili has been supplying rods to the top five home-furnishing wholesalers in the U.S. for about five years. "U.S. consumers prefer curtain rods made of multiple materials, so we have increased production of such products over the past year."

Chili designs its own products based on its own market studies and feedback from customers. "This helps us stay on top of international trends," Wu says.

Three years ago Chili formed cooperative ties with a wood-materials manufacturer in Vietnam to ensure a sufficient supply of wood materials for its production in Taiwan. Earlier this year the company stepped up its presence in Vietnam with the opening of a factory there, Wu Says. At present the factory ships raw materials back to Taiwan for final processing, but as its Vietnamese staff acquires the necessary skills, Chili plans to process and export its products directly from Vietnam.

Although Chili plans to manufacture wood curtain rods in Vietnam, Wu says that his company's metal rods will continue to be made in Taiwan, where its operations are supported by a strong hardware industry. The company's parent factory in Taiwan has also been substantively automated, reducing the attractions of moving production to low-wage countries.

One-Stop Shop

Uni-Soleil Ent. Co., Ltd. Has positioned itself as a one-stop supplier of curtain and blind components and accessories as well as related production equipment.

Major products supplied by the company in its curtain-blind line include components and parts for Venetian/vertical blinds, components for roller blinds and Roman shades, and vertical and Venetian blind-making machines and equipment.

The company's curtain components and accessories are made of plastic, iron, aluminum, and wood. In addition to self-designed models, Uni-Soleil can fill orders for custom-designed items, says Uni-Soleil sales manager P.Y. Wang.

Wang says her company has implemented a strict quality-control system to ensure top-notch results.

The rollout of several new products last year helped push up Uni-Soleil's revenue in the period despite the weak global economy. "In recent years, we have made great strides in attracting new customers around the world. We will continue to expand our sales to new markets by developing some niche products this year," Wang says.

Environment-Friendly Fabrics

Established in 1989, Yison Interior Textiles Co., Ltd. Manufacturers a wide range of functional textile fabrics, including recyclable and biodegradable upholstery fabrics made of olefin fibers.

Yison boasts that its functional upholstery fabrics have successfully undergone testing by some of the world's leading certification bodies, including SGS (Societe Generale de Surveillance) and DEKRA-ITS (Intertek Testing Services).

The company's upholstery fabrics can be used in office furniture, partitions, sofas, and other items. The company says it can also develop fabrics for new applications based on buyers' individual needs.

Yison has an in-house design department to develop products according to the latest international fashions. Company designers pay much attention to color and material trends in the industry when dreaming up new fabrics, and they are able to turn out a new fabric series each month.

According to company president Bill Chung, Yison is currently focusing its R&D resources on developing environmentally friendly products, such as the biodegradable olefin fabrics. The company also recently introduced infrared upholstery fabrics that used in chairs can increase the blood circulation of users, Chung says.

As part of its international expansion, Yison has invested more than NT$100 million (US$2.9 million) over the past five years to establish a 72,000-square-foot production facility with an automated storage and retrieval system, which can speed up the delivery process.