Chang Loon Builds ProRatchet® into Globally-recognizable Brand

Thinner, lighter wrenches differentiate the line among rivals

Unsatisfied to rest on its laurels as Taiwan's largest supplier of ratchet wrenches by annual export volume, Chang Loon Industrial Co., Ltd. has been focusing on R&D, aiming to build new growth with its ProRatchet® brand.

Since its founding in 1978 in the central Taiwan county of Changhwa, Chang Loon has specialized in making wrenches meeting GeprUfte Sicherheit (GS) standards for over three decades, having become one of the most experienced makers in the sector on the island, providing mainly on an original equipment manufacturing (OEM) basis two major product lines: ratchet wrenches and bolt cutters.

Customer-oriented Services
Unlike most of its peers who are struggling with global economic doldrums, Chang Loon is optimistic about attaining 20%-plus growth in revenue for 2012, compared to around NT$700 million in 2011, mostly due to surging orders from chain store operators and wholesalers in the U.S., according to Alice Chen, the senior merchandiser, who confirmed that orders are in the pipeline from Home Depot, Autozone and other big-box wholesalers in the U.S., setting a bright future for 2013.

The current promising performance is attributable to the company's decades-long concentration on customer-oriented services, noted Chen. “Customers tend to order more frequently than before to minimize inventories to cope with market uncertainty in the U.S. and Europe over the past years. “We meet such a trend by enhancing warehousing capacity and production flexibility as a guaranteed service, which cost considerably earlier but has paid off to sustain growth,” said Chen.

Another notable service Chang Loon provides is to help customers enhance added-value of products by designing innovative packaging, for seasoned retailers knows capturing consumer attention is critical. So Chang Loon develops catchy packaging that effectively raises visibility of products in massive aisles at big-box outlets such as Walmart, Home Depot or B&Q.

Chen said the company willingly designs eye-catching packaging according to customers' demand. For instance, customers order ready-to-display packaging due to rising cost of raw materials as well as the need for cutting labor input to enable delivery of pre-packaged goods to retailers. Chen also introduced an end-cap packaging that holds wrenches in impact-resistant cushion to enable display on cashier counters, which enhances sales.

It is unusual for hand tool makers to fuss over packaging, but Chang Loon is not only an experienced manufacturer but also a savvy marketer, which draws clients to place orders to take advantage of Chang Loon's made-to-order packaging design service.

Commitment to Quality
Emphasizing product quality, Chang Loon turns out wrenches featuring higher torque rating and stronger structure than competing models and meeting international standards as ANSI and DIN, a feat realized by the company's effective production system and rigid quality control, Chen said.

To secure quality-dependable raw materials, Chang Loon adopts steel only from Taiwanese suppliers, and pays special attention to heat treatment, which is key to achieving sturdy structure and prolonged service life. Also, the company employs advanced testing instruments, including precision projectors and tension testers, in house to uphold quality control.

“Customers are all satisfied with our manufacturing and quality control after evaluation. We have never had claims and returns caused by poor quality, which shows Chang Loon's consistent devotion to quality,” Chen stressed. To be retained on customers ' supplier list, the company is periodically evaluated yearly, so is obliged to improve and maintain quality control and instruments in line with customers' criteria.

R&D
Devotion to R&D is also part of the formula that enables Chang Loon to cope with underselling by competitors from emerging countries over the years to successfully survive and prosper.

The company's management and supervisory staff form part of the R&D team, taking active roles in every R&D decision to make sure the R&D process is properly carried out and in line with current information and market trends, said Chen.

Also Chang Loon's successful R&D program is partly due to the company providing newly-developed hand tools to users on a trial basis, and then, based on feedback, rounding out any rough edges. Such process may be costly but enables Chang Loon to fine-tune products before launch.

Chang Loon has a so-called standard operating procedure for R&D. Besides inviting clients to be part of drafting of blueprints, Chang Loon also has an advanced 3D prototyping machine, which is fully computerized with high degrees of precision to ensure prototypes match drawings. Such interactive R&D process allows Chang Loon to sharpen competitive edge in developing new products quickly with differing variety and functionality.

Brand Recognition
The abovementioned efforts provide Chang Loon a sound basis to develop its ProRatchet® brand into a world-caliber line. Unlike other peers focusing mostly on shipment volume, Chang Loon aims to achieve instant recognition globally on a par with Stanley and Snap-on with innovation that differs from others.

One way Chang Loon builds brand recognition is via product differentiation, by making the heads of its ratchet wrenches thinner than competing models', as well as lighter.

Another patented, considerate design on its ratchet wrenches is the colored ring embossed on the head that clearly shows wrench size in Imperial or metric units, which facilitates easy identification to minimize time to search for wrenches.

Red-colored rings denote Imperial units, and blue for metric units, which are sought-after in the U.S., where both systems are used. Besides, colored rings can also be applied in enterprise identification, so have been adopted by some OEM customers in Europe to build recognizable links between wrenches they sell and company names.

Meanwhile, to fuel brand sales and satisfy OEM customers, the company has also been making more versatile wrenches to enhance functionality. One example is a professional-caliber gear wrench with a two-way socket, which was originally developed according to a Japanese customer's need to repair Daikin air conditioners. This tool is derived from Chang Loon's hot-selling combination wrench, and improved with the two-way socket on the closed end to handle bolts of three different sizes and is ideal for turning fasteners deep inside air conditioners, Chen said.

Chang Loon still has a long way to go in branding, but will steadily work on it to achieve sustainable development. Development of hand tool functionality has hit ceiling, but Chang Loon will continue to engage in R&D to build value-added packaging, form and functions into such products, according to Chen.