The Thai Chi Enterprise Co.- Printing, surface Treatment & finishing materials

The Thai Chi Enterprise Co., a leading provider of printing & surface finishing materials and related processes, has gained a solid reputation for high quality products and prompt after-sales service.

The company was set up in southern Taiwan in 1995 and, like many of Taiwan's small and medium-sized enterprises, had a difficult time in the beginning but overcame the problems to grow into a leader in its field.

Challenging Beginning

"Thai Chi was set up by my father about 13 years ago," recalls Hsu Hung-shen, now the company's vice chairman and general manager. "He went through all kinds of problems to establish the company all by himself. He traveled abroad alone to explore overseas markets, and faced a lot of frustrations. But after years of hard work he finally had a stable pool of clients and his company rested on a solid foundation. This has made it easy for us to carry on the business."

The company specializes in wood-grain printing and special finishes, mainly for furnishings, building materials, interior decorations, kitchen fixtures, ceiling slats, and speaker boxes. Its laminate strips and other finishing materials are made mostly of paper, PVC, PP, etc. Its monthly output currently consists of about 4.5 million square meters of paper-made products, 700,000 square meters of PVC products, and 100,000 square meters of PP products.

"Another vital material for the success of finishing products is printing ink," Hsu notes. "It's not easy to mix the printing ink with the right color for a perfect result, so we have to choose experienced professional workers to handle the mixing of ink. In addition, precision measurement devices are also indispensable."

Strong Marketing

Today about 20% of Thai Chi's products are marketed in Taiwan and the rest are exported, mainly to Japan, the United States, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

"I've been deeply involved in the development of the Japanese market ever since I went there to study in 1995," Hsu reports." During my stay in Japan I contacted many Japanese enterprises and built up good relationships with them, so today quite a few leading Japanese brand manufacturers are our clients. These include DENON, JVC, SHARP, SONY, PANASONIC, YAMAHA, PIONEER, KENWOOD, ROLAND, and ONKYO. We supply high-quality finishing materials for their electric and electronic products, mostly speaker boxes, electronic pianos, and related items."

Meeting Japanese and World Standards

Thai Chi has had to work hard to meet the high standards of its Japanese customers, taking great care with the selection of materials and making premium-grade printing ink. "To keep up with world trends we started using eco-friendly materials in 2003," reports Hsu, "and two years later our products won SONY's 'Green Partner' certification. No other Taiwanese company has yet earned this honor."

The firm's efforts to improve technology, upgrade quality, and enhance operating efficiency were recognized by its acquisition of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification in 2005. So, Hsu stresses, "Our products meet not only the standards of Japan but the world, such as RoHS. They are free of toxic substances as lead, hexavalent chromium, and mercury, and this has made them ever more welcome in the increasingly environment-oriented global market. We're going to make ourselves even more eco-friendly by using only water-based printing ink, despite the higher cost of such ink." Currently the company is actively applying for 'green' building material mark and 'environmental protection' certificates both at home and abroad.

Concerted Efforts

"My father turned the operation of the company over to me and my brother this year," Hsu reports. I'm in charge of management and marketing, and my brother-Hsu Hung-ju, who is also the vice general manager, takes care of manufacturing and R&D." With the concerted efforts of the two brothers, the company has been running very smoothly.

Thai Chi is firmly convinced that it should keep its roots at home in Taiwan, and firmly denies any intention of moving overseas in search of lower production costs. Hsu is confident that the company can prosper with this strategy.

Complete Automation

The company's work force numbers only 70 to 80 people because, Hsu explains, "We don't need too many workers because our production lines have been fully equipped and computerized. Our plant runs 24 hours a day, thanks to its complete automation."

To keep his business expanding, Hsu says, "We constantly commit ourselves to being the leader of the industry, and we continuously develop new products and offer better services to our customers. That's why the customers are so faithful to us."

In the future, the company will develop sophisticated mirror-coating technology to use with high-end items such as speaker boxes, TV stands, etc.

Besides continuing to cultivate its existing markets, Thai Chi also plans to develop markets in Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. "We want to export to more and more countries all over the world," Hsu says. "We hope to become one of the world's major suppliers of surface treatment and finishing materials."