R.P.M. Succeeds Through Constant Upgrading

Motor-scooter tuning parts maker aims to become world leader

The R.P.M. Co., a major Taiwanese maker of powered two-wheeler (PTW) tuning parts, is celebrating its 24th anniversary this year. It moved into a new integrated office-factory complex in Taipei about two years ago as part of its effort to go global.

R.P.M. has been the leader of Taiwan's PTW tuning-parts industry for most of its history. It began expanding internationally after its high-quality, innovative products attracted the attention of foreign buyers, especially in Japan and Europe.

For years the company's "RPM" and "Doubler" brands have epitomized quality and performance along with reasonable price. R.P.M. also supplies international brands on an OEM/ODM basis.

The firm's core products are shock absorbers; its catalog also includes brake systems and parts, suspension systems and parts, wheels and parts, tires, wheel covers, mufflers, and other metal parts, 90% of which are designed and developed in-house.

Over the years, R.P.M. has watched the motor scooter evolve from a workhorse and commuter tool into a recreational vehicle and, for some youngsters, a sports vehicle to express personal freedom and individuality.

The company's management team is proud of its constantly improving product development, manufacturing, and marketing capabilities. Managers say that the challenging market has always forced them to upgrade product design, innovation, and quality as it searched for its niche as a supplier of top-end shock absorbers. Every PTW must have shock absorbers, and replacing them instantly makes a difference in performance.

Overcoming Problems
R.P.M. is proud of its ability to overcome all kinds of technical problems and enter the ranks of world-class suppliers. "R.P.M. turns out top-end shock absorbers with quality and precision parallel with those made by the best-known nameplates in Japan and Italy," claims a company executive, "but our prices are much more competitive. With state-of-the-art styling and superior performance, our shock absorbers, like many famous counterpart brands, are the targets of copycats in China, where only about two out of 10 "RPM" shocks are genuine."

R.P.M. offers products needed by major buyers in Europe and Japan, such as top-end brake calipers, brake disks, and computer numeric control (CNC) machined parts, and more and more international PTW brands in those markets are placing OEM/ODM orders.

The company's business has grown steadily over the past 20 years, partly because of the internationally patented products that it has developed in-house. "That's a key factor that enables us to earn higher profit margins," a manager explains, "and that, in turn, gives us the resources we need to engage in R&D projects to develop better, newer products. That's how-at least in my opinion-we've been successful in the high-end tuning business."

In the years to come, R.P.M. plans to tackle its major Italian and Japanese competitors head-on in the top end of the market, while continuing to expand its product range.

The company claims that all of its products feature the highest level of quality, durability, precision, and safety. Sometimes they initiate market trends, and even set new quality and performance standards for the upper end of the market, claim company executives.