Minchen Gear Co.

Spiral bevel gears, hypoid gears, straight bevel gears, zero bevel gears etc.

Established more than 40 years ago, Minchen Gear Co., Ltd. may be the most experienced, specialized developer and manufacturer of bevel gears in Taiwan. Judging from its ownership of the most comprehensive gear-making and -processing equipment supplied by Gleason Corp. of the United States, a global leader in gear production technology, Minchen seems to be unmatched in terms of manufacturing clout in Taiwan.

Besides being ISO 9001- and TS 16949-certified, Minchen also supplies wide- ranging products, including spiral bevel gears, straight bevel gears, hypoid gears, and all kinds of made-to-order gears.

Minchen's high-quality and precision gears are widely adopted in agricultural machines, automobiles, all terrain vehicles (ATVs), speed reducers, machine tools, watercrafts etc., as well as applications requiring high precision and durability.

Ready to Expand

"After more than 40 years of cultivation and building superior capabilities in gear design, development, manufacturing and quality control," proudly says Ken Yang, general manager of Minchen, "our company is fully ready to leap significantly ahead in business expansion-instead of turning out specialized, customized bevel and hypoid gears, we're poised to become a versatile supplier in the gear industry by offering total solutions."

Minchen's ambitious expansion project is based on its core competitiveness: design and development skills, as well as having a fully-integrated supply chain backed by well-established partnerships of subcontractors specializing in different fields. "With reliable support from long-term partners, with whom we have achieved consensus and mutual understanding, we are fully ready to design, manufacture and assemble gears into systems or finished products."

"Minchen is totally knowledgeable about gears, and our expertise is not book-based but built on in-house R&D led by two doctorates with ample experience and know-how."

Milestone Year

This year is another key milestone for Minchen, when the maker has formally kicked off expansion projects, including diversification of product, application and material, whereby Minchen is turning out forged gears, powder metallurgy gears, die-cast gears, and even plastic-injected gears.

"Forged gears is a key focus," says Dr. Tsai Ming-fang, special assistant to general manager and the R&D head. "Such products are 140% harder than machine-cut gears, while the production time is much shorter, which effectively cuts manufacturing cost. We are very confident to succeed in forged gears, because most forged-parts makers lack the needed knowledge in gear design, while we can do both forging and gear development and manufacturing."

Minchen, in fact, has successfully developed forged straight bevel gears, and the company will soon turn out forged hypoid and face gears, all of which are within its expansion plan.

Another major leap is that the company is ready to offer final-assembly service according to customers' need. "We are ready to assemble gears into systems or modules, and projects under evaluation include gear reducers and vehicle differentials," Yang says. "We feel prepared with our integrated production and seasoned know-how, and will set up a new assembly plant accordingly."

Total-solution Provider

To upgrade into a total-solution provider has many advantages, one of which is achieving improved competitiveness.

But a maker needs a considerable portfolio of skills and equipment to fill the role of a total-solution provider, a qualification which Minchen has, according to Yang. The 40-year veteran has an impressive set of gear-making equipment supplied by Gleason: more than 50 sets of machines such as rigid hobbers, hypoid generators, hypoid lappers, gear finishing machines etc., as well as analytical and inspection instruments as cutter inspection machines, hypoid testers, single flank tester, gear measuring center, C.M.M., horizontal beam optical analyzer, Rockwell type hardness tester etc.

One can't deny that Minchen may be the best all-round gear supplier in Taiwan based on its in-house manufacturing and processing capacities, as well as its design and development skills.

The maker's in-house R&D team is led by two doctorates with ample experience and know-how, who are known for pursuing optimal, efficient, cost-effective solutions, as well as the highest quality and durability in gear products.

Another advantage at Minchen is the company's technical capability, enabling it to turn out modules from MP1 to MP15, gears with 10mm to 600mm diameter, and in 1:1 to 10:1 ratios.

Meeting High Standards

Minchen's in-house lapping machines, in the hands of its skilled operators, can achieve surface smoothness matching the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) Class 3 (equal to American Gear Manufacturers Association's Class 11), with its forged gears meeting JIS class 4 (AGMA class 10) or higher.

Furthermore, Minchen is backed by a big group of specialized satellite plants, enabling the maker to achieve flexible and efficient production, regardless of type of item, volume, or diversity. Such well-connected supply chain can effectively shorten lead times and meet different demands. Currently, Minchen operates a factory in Taichung, the citadel of gear production in central Taiwan.

Overriding Advantage

For many customers, Minchen's overriding advantage is its willingness, ability to fill small-batch, large-variety orders. With recognized efficiency and flexibility in development and manufacturing, Minchen says that it does not turn away customers but always tries to provide the best products and services according to needs, willing to supply one piece or tens of thousands. "We have evolved into perhaps the most flexible gear maker in Taiwan or even worldwide," Yang says. "We offer the most sought-after feature of small and medium enterprises in Taiwan: speed and efficiency in business management and production."

Big suppliers of high-precision gears in industrially advanced nations do exist, but their minimum order has to be sizable. For small volume, big variety orders, Minchen is likely the best, most reliable, experienced gear supplier in Taiwan who is willing and capable.

Already a key supplier to many international makers of agricultural equipment, machinery, and transportation vehicles, especially in developed nations in Europe, the United States, Japan etc., Minchen is aggressively eyeing a broader global market, aiming to serve more applications with quality, precision gears.

Minchen Gear Co., Ltd.

No. 101-1, Ren Hua Rd., Ta Li City, Taichung Hsien, Taiwan

Tel: 886-4-2491-2511

Fax: 886-4-2491-2524

E-mail: minchen.gear@msa.hinet.net

http://www.minchen.com.tw