Established back in 1969, Hsiang Lun Industrial Corp. is today one of Taiwan's most experienced makers of engine gaskets and overhaul kits. A comprehensive corporate- restructuring project carried out over the past four years has turned the company, which has won ISO9001 (2000 version) and QS9000 certification, into an even more competitive player in the global aftermarket.

One of the firm's marketing managers, Anthony Chen, claims that Hsiang Lun is the most comprehensive supplier of aftermarket automobile-engine gaskets in Taiwan, and maybe the whole world. Its gaskets can be used with 98% of all Japanese car and light- truck engines up to 5,000cc in size (up to the 2002 model year), over 75% of all Japanese truck and bus engines over 5,000cc, about 85% of all Korean car engines, and a growing percentage of European and American car and truck engines. The company is also the Taiwanese manufacturer with the widest range of engine gaskets for agricultural-use machines, boats, generators, motorcycles, and recreational vehicles such as snowmobiles and jet-skis.

Chen says that his company pours about US$1 million into the development of 30 to 40 new gasket models a year--more, he claims, than any other manufacturer in the business. It is also working in line with the upgrading of the auto industry by developing the advanced gaskets with integrated electronic sensors that are used on some new cars.

Hsiang Lun's product line covers all non- asbestos (industrial-paper) gaskets, graphite gaskets, and the latest multi-layer steel (MLS) gaskets.

One Hundred Percent

Chen claims that his company makes every effort necessary to ensure that its products meet the specifications and quality requirements--"100%"--of original equipment (OE) parts. To that end it exclusively uses the same materials from the same sources as OE gasket makers, does all production in-house and, according to the marketing manager, boasts Taiwan's most comprehensive quality laboratory.

"We insist on 100% in-house production to assure that every step in production--for even the tiniest parts--meets OE standards 100%," says Albert Wu, another marketing manager. "Companies that outsource products and then assemble them cannot match our level of quality."

Chen states that while there is always a conflict between high quality and low cost, these two factors coexist in Hsiang Lun's products. He also claims that the company has greatly reduced the time required for delivery, speeded up its speed of development, and streamlined its work force. These changes, he says, keep the veteran producer "young and vigorous," and give it momentum for continued growth.

Following a comprehensive upgrading of its management, materials inventory, and manufacturing systems, he continues, the company now has unmatched competitiveness in small-batch, large-variety production. "Few makers anywhere in the world are as flexible and efficient as we are," he claims. "For example, we can take an order for 100 gaskets and deliver them within 30 days."

"This flexibility is essential for gasket makers now," Wu explains. "As more and more customers have in recent years reduced their inventories to prevent capital from being tied up, the number of rush orders has greatly increased."

Cutting Delivery Times

The company has greatly reduced its operating costs by downsizing its work force to about 80, while shortening its delivery time to as little as 21 days for special orders. This rapid-response capability, of course, allows customers to reduce their inventory to a minimum. For the standard supplier, delivery can take up to four months.

Hsiang Lun's R&D team works all out to find new materials and production techniques that can improve gasket functions. Unlike some other aftermarket suppliers who look for new methods and substitute materials simply to reduce costs, Wu says, his company concentrates on achieving better-than-OE quality and the utmost in customer and user satisfaction. "We're the only company in the global aftermarket that dares to offer a 15,000- mile guarantee on our products," he states.

These advantages enable the company to establish and maintain long-term partnerships with leading international aftermarket-parts brands, many of which have chosen the Taiwan manufacturer as their sole supplier of aftermarket gasket and overhaul kits for Japanese and Korean cars. More and more brands are also relying on it to supply parts for European and American cars.

Robust marketing complements the company's strong manufacturing capability. With its rich store of experience, Hsiang Lun's trading department plays an important role in sourcing other top-quality Taiwan-made engine parts for major European and American aftermarket brands, especially those that supply parts for Japanese cars.

The firm's engine-parts supply business has expanded rapidly in recent years, attracting more and more one-stop shoppers looking for reliable parts. The development of this area of operations has actually been going on for a long time; Hsiang Lun was, in fact, the first Taiwan-based gasket maker to set up a warehouse in the United States, back in 1981.

"Hsiang Lun is getting stronger and stronger," Chen states, "and more and more foreign orders have been coming to us because of quality problems with products made in mainland China. We are confident that we can provide our customers with the highest degree of satisfaction in our product and service quality."