Re-Dai Precision is Dedicated to Building “Friendly” Tools for Professionals

It's obvious that the management and CEO S.C. Yu at Re-Dai Precision Tools Co., Ltd. believe that the socket tool business need not be all steely-hard serious-everybody's business cards are printed with the catchword "Happy Torque Torque." Those who are pun-savvy would know right away that somebody spun the commonplace conversational phrase, more often taken for granted in Taiwan than likely elsewhere, from "happy talk talk." On a less-than-obvious note, CEO Yu would like to, via the witty phrase, tell all those interested that his firm is dedicated to making "friendly" tools for professional applications.

"Friendly design is seen in all our 500 items," stresses Yu. One recent case is a patented design enabling slip-free sockets to easily loosen fasteners whose heads are 85% stripped. "Usually, dealing with such damaged fasteners takes great pains because slip-free sockets now available on the market do not grip the fasteners as tightly as ours," Yu touts. The firm's highly practical design is already patent protected in Germany and the United States.

Maximized Contact is Key

The industrial-management graduate points out that super-tight grip of stripped fasteners is a result of a design that realizes major-surface contact between socket interiors and damaged fastener heads, instead of minimal, pointed contact as is the case with most other sockets. "As a result, the torque force can evenly spread all over the heads, making the turning labor-saving," he explains.

A special forging methodology also makes the company's tools pleasing users. The company forges the housing structure of all of its sockets in one direction from one open end of the tools, compared with most of its industry peers forging the structure in head-on-head directions from both ends. "When you forge in one direction in this case, you get a precise concentricity in the center of socket. But when you use head-on-head forging technique, well, you will heavily depend on luck for a precise concentricity," Yu says.

An imprecise concentricity, Yu stresses, makes socket working on a fastener a very hard work and tend to cause damage to the tool and the fastener as a result of excessive force. "Vibration occurs when using the imprecise socket especially connected to impact tool. Even working with ratchet wrenches, the imprecise socket usually gives users an unpleasant experience because of loosen contact of the socket housing with fasteners," Yu adds.

The Re-Dai's top executive concedes that the special forging methodology is costly for its complicate process. "It's worthy when you see high praises from customers keep swarming in," he says.

The company's ratchet wrenches also feature smooth finish. Inside the ratchet mechanism is a forged gear, on which all holes are turned synchronously by CNC machine, so as to get the precise diameter. "Forged piece is more durable than pieces made of powder metallurgy technique and synchronous turning increase precision of operation," he analyzes. The metal lid for capping on the mechanism to protect the component is heat treated and ground so that the surface of the mechanism looks and feels pleasantly smooth.

The company's magnetic series sockets are edge tools for reaching dangerous and narrow places like a deep spot behind a heating car engine. "Sockets for spark plugs and sockets for special purposes are of magnetic type, magnetic spark plugs eliminate the need for car technicians to reach their hands to hot spots and special purpose socket is designed to magnet screw or nut firmly so that screw can easily nail on th target or loosen the nut when using the air gun in a distant spot," Yu says. By firmly connected to magnetic sockets, lockable extension rods prevent the sockets at work from dropping, Yu adds.

Other friendly products include angled pipe wrench whose curved arms can be pierced through so that sockets can easily turn lengthy nuts. The company's products are friendly not only to users but also ecologically for their green packaging.

Patented for Functionality

So far, the company has won 50-60 patents for unique designs. "None of these designs is for good look, but for practical mechanical structures concealed under plain looks, just like Mr. Yu's no-nonsense style," comments Candy Yu, a marketing manager at the company.

Indeed, Yu is usually clad in plain dress, which makes him look more like a pure engineer than a business proprietor. "I always told my customers that if they break our tools under normal operation situation, I will compensate them 10 tools for each broken one," he adamantly says, trying to impress his visitors the quality of his company's products.

Yu made up his mind to make quality tools right from the outset, when he went into business in 1984. "So, since the beginning we have clung to the root as a manufacturer of top-notch tools for professional users," he says. However, the company had a bumpy start. "At least in the first three years we were struggling very hard for orders because we were a startup and we did not have any track record. The situation began changing after we won German VPA approval, the most stringent European validation system, around the fourth year. The approval made me believe that we were capable of making quality products," he recalls.

Since then, the company has continued to measure up to global standards-being ISO9001 and GS certified so far and designing products to DIN and ANSI standards.

Huge Product Variety

Today, Re-Dai puts out 80,000 sockets sorted into six categories-hand tool, impact tool, auto-repairing tool, construction tool, stainless tool and insulation tool. Europe and the United States each absorb 60% of the company's exports, with Japan, Australia, Brazil, India, Russia and others buying the rest; while the tools are generally used by factory workers, tradesmen and garages.

In the face of underselling competition from emerging economies like mainland China, Yu's suggestion is that Taiwanese manufacturers must be more innovative. "Domestic manufacturers should focus on OEM and ODM operations and reinforce their innovation capability to make profit. Such strategy is the consequence of conceding to the reality that most of the island's manufacturers can hardly afford the other business models, such as engaging in costly brand-name marketing and dealer distribution networks," says Yu.

Innovation Uniquely Defined

The former councilor of the Taiwan Hand Tools Manufacturers' Association, which represents around 400 Taiwanese tool makers, has his own definition of innovation, coming up with the notion of four different degrees of innovation. "First degree requires the simplest change. Changing colors on tools is the case. Second degree highlights a little hard efforts in not only color but also design change. Third degree features combination of various resources into a tool. For instance, digital tools combine micro-electronics technology with mechanics technology to complete. Fourth degree is akin to invention, developing a design completely from scratch. Taiwanese tool makers have made an impressive splash in the first three degrees of innovation," Yu says.

The CEO always resorts to showing his company's 50 to 60 patents as proof of Taiwan's success in innovation. "Now, local manufacturers simply need to tweak their cost and service efficiencies so that they can add more profit to operation," Yu says.

Addressing service and cost, Yu's company has taken some aggressive measures. "I ask my staff to come up with solutions to customers' complaints in seven days," he says. For cost efficiency, the company has set up computerized warehouse management. "We would have faced bottleneck in cost management if we had not had started computerized warehousing management. We have over 500 socket wrenches in over 10,000 specifications to manage," Yu says. His company began computerization around eight years ago and now enters orders into its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system after receipt.

One tour of the warehouse would tell of the obvious success of Re-Dai Precision-as there are tools contracted by world-leading suppliers, including many of the most important in Europe.

Before shipment, the tools are closely inspected by an array of pricy instruments, including a US$62,500 (US$1:NT$32) automatic system for measuring precision, and one for testing surface coarseness. Quality and innovation helped the company's sales rise 15% year on year in 2007, and are projected to help push such figure up at least 10% in the bearish 2008. "

Re-Dai is still attractive to big-name suppliers today not only because of its innovation, quality but also its capability to make rare-specification items. People should not forget that we are the first manufacturer in Taiwan to introduce H-grip wrenches conforming to professional standards set for various industrial, commercial applications. That's why we have been able to kept growing," Yu boasts.

RE-DAI PRECISION TOOLS Co., Ltd.

No. 51-1, Lane 162, Sec. 1, Chung-San Rd., Taiping, Taichung Taiwan

Tel:886-4-2270-9006, 2278-0180

Fax:886-4-2278-1747

E-mail:redai@ms16.hinet.net

http://www.redai.com.tw