IP Taillights Shine in European Market

The IP Import Export Co. entered the car- modification parts and accessories line last year, bringing strong design and mold-development capabilities as well as a rich store of accumulated know-how and experience. Following extensive market surveys and strategy studies, the company decided to concentrate on the development of replacement taillights and accessories such as door-trunk lid moldings, brake lights, side markers, and light trims, mainly for European cars.

P.J. Lu, the firm's general manager, claims that all of his tail-light products feature state-of- the-art design, the best functions, and the highest quality, meeting all ECE standards.

The company decided to develop the European rather than American market, Lu says, because competition in the latter area is too intense. It also decided to avoid the stiff competition in replacement parts for Japanese and American vehicles by developing products for European cars.

Of all exterior-use car parts, Lu says, taillights play the most important role and offer the best cost/performance ratio in improving a car's appearance, since they are the brightest part. People who want to customize their cars, therefore, will start with head- and taillights.

But function is just as important as appearance, Lu stresses, since it involves driving safety. For this reason, it is necessary for a manufacturer to possess professional know-how in regard to optical lens and reflector design and manufacturing.

The general manager comments that IP, as a specialized developer of plastic-injection molds, is well able to achieve the highest level of quality in its products. Most auto-lamp designers and small companies that supply their products mainly through the outsourcing of parts for final assembly, he says, cannot match his quality. Most of his taillight products, he claims, can pass the strictest air- and water-leak tests conducted using top-end in-house testing equipment.

Advanced Equipment for Top Quality

At IP's new plant in Tainan County, a team of skilled and experienced engineers use the most advanced computer-aided design/manufacturing (CAD/CAM) equipment to develop the high-precision molds needed to make all the parts of a tail light. To assure the best finishing, the company uses four-axis gluing-robot arms and top-end ultrasonic welding machines. The superior quality of all his processes, Lu says, is the secret weapon responsible for IP's rapid rise in the international market.

With an R&D team made up of talented professionals in different fields such as optics, industrial design, and fine art, IP has been able to outpace its major domestic--and even international--competitors. Thanks to the company's rapid development capability, it has been able to build up a comprehensive product line containing 50 to 60 taillight models over the past year and a half.

Lu emphasizes that the core competitive edge for makers of car-modification parts and accessories is quick response to market demand, and IP's strong R&D team enables it to take the lead in turning ideas into new products so as to lead the market instead of following it. More and more global buyers are turning to IP, Lu claims, because they know that it can develop a new item much faster than a big manufacturer and at lower cost and equal or even higher quality.

Another advantage claimed by IP is its insistence on developing molds and manufacturing lamps in Taiwan. After developing its own molds, the company contracts the actual production of auto-lamp parts to plastic-injection companies and then assembles the final products in-house. Its small-batch, large-variety mode of production, Lu says, is the best model for developing business in the car-modification parts and accessories market, which is always hungry for new items in small volumes.

The company has so far developed taillight models for almost all major European car brands, including Audi, BMW, Citroen, Open, Peugeot, Renault, Seat, and Volkswagen. The number of models is to continue increasing rapidly.

Quality is the lifeblood of IP, Lu says, and the company will keep its small-scale production model in place in order to maintain flexibility and rapid response to the ever-changing market. In the future, the general manager insists, the company will continue to upgrade its innovation capability so as to strengthen its competitiveness in the international market.