Taiwanese Exhibitors Highlight Innovation At IFFS 2005

The Taiwan pavilion at the International Furniture Fair Singapore (IFFS) 2005 was this year once again dominated by glass-metal furniture products that impressed buyers with their innovative design, advanced functions, new materials, and sophisticated manufacturing technology.

Sixty Taiwanese furniture companies joined the fair, which was held at Singapore Expo, an exhibition complex located close to Changi International Airport, on March 1-5. They made up the fourth-largest exhibition group, after China with 90 exhibitors (including Hong Kong), Indonesia with 72, and Singapore with 70. The fifth-largest group was from Vietnam, reflecting the rapid development of that country's furniture industry in recent years. All told, the 470 exhibitors from 34 countries who participated in the fair occupied a total space of 55, 000 square meters.

As they did last year, many of the Taiwanese exhibitors displayed the glass-metal furniture products in which they are still strongly competitive thanks to the domestic supply of quality materials, the producers' sophisticated manufacturing technology, and the existence of a complete network of supporting industries (such as electroplating plants) in Taiwan.

Most of the Taiwanese companies at the fair highlighted new products featuring innovative designs and new functions, materials, or technologies. The island's suppliers of other types of furniture followed the same strategy, explaining that they have no other way to alleviate the headache of soaring materials costs.



Rapid Progress



Sing Bee Enterprise Co., Ltd. Showcased glass-metal computer desks and TV/stereo stands with modernist designs. Tsai Chi-cheng, the company's chairman, said that he aimed for the products to impress buyers with the firm's design capabilities, and thereby pave the way for mass-market models. Furniture with metal bases and chipboard tops was also on show.

Sing Bee moved into metal household furniture only about three years ago in response to the saturation of the market for its original line of office furniture. Household metal furniture now accounts for 35% of the company's revenues, which were estimated at NT$500 million (US$16.1 million at NT$31:US$1). Shipments go to Japan (70%) and the United States (the remaining 30%). Tsai believes that the ratio of metal household furniture will grow to 60% within two or three years.

Among the company's displays was also a study desk/chair set for children, the desk featuring a chipboard top capable of being slanted and the chair furnished with a patented mechanism, licensed from a German manufacturer, that allows the adjustment of the height of the seat and position of the back.

These products are results of the efforts of Sing Bee's eight-member design team, led by Tsai himself. The chairman says that 4% of his revenue goes for design and mold-building work.



A Touch of Glass--and Metal



Chyi Cheng Co. Ltd. Displayed a glass-metal computer desk, following the enthusiastic response that the product elicited at the International Furniture Fair Tokyo last November. The desk has a patented mechanism that allows its keyboard shelf to move sideways smoothly and quietly, as well as embedded jacks and wire ducts. It is tagged at US$180 FOB.

The company also highlighted a glass-metal desk with extendable supplementary section that can be turned through a wide angle. Another desk on show had legs with automobile coating, the first time such a technology has been used for furniture in Taiwan. In addition to better quality, this technology requires only a single coating (compared with two coatings using traditional technology), thus saving on production cost. The desk is priced at US$135 FOB.

Chyi Cheng's chairman, Lai Kuo-ping, said that his company typically introduces four or five new models a year, spending approximately NT$4 million (US$130, 000) on development. (As a result, it now owns 36 patents.) The company takes in an estimated NT$360 million (US$11.6 million) in revenue annually.



High-Tech Shoe Closets



The booth manned by Shuter Enterprise Co., Ltd. At the fair showcased metal closets with drawers (either transparent or opaque) made of AS (acrylonitrile styrene) and having ozone generators against germs and odors. The closets are produced by injection molding; the molds are highly expensive, costing NT$1 million (US$30, 000) per set. The closets are sold mainly to high-tech firms for use as shoe closets; if necessary, they can be equipped with locks. The company also displayed household storage shelves made of square modules of reinforced PP (polypropylene). The modules fasten together with dovetail-like devices and can be arranged flexibly. Each can withstand at least 110 kilograms.

The company's products are turned out at a 200-worker factory in Taiwan's central Taichung County, where automated machines run around the clock. Revenues for 2004 are estimated to reach NT$500 million (US$16.1 million).



Su-Su Never Just So-So



Su-su Furniture Corp. introduced a wicker chair with a mechanism for changing it into a recliner. It carries a price tag of US$160 to US$200 FOB, depending on model. Also featured in the firm's exhibit was a wicker chair with curved legs capable of handling 200 kilograms of weight. The firm's general manager, Stanley Weng, commented that the wicker products feature innovative design, lively colors, and combined materials; they show a modernist flavor, popular with Europeans.

In fact Europe now accounts for 40% of Su-Su's total sales, estimated at US$15 million last year, followed by the U.S. with 20% and Japan with 10%. The company's products are designed by a 20-person team and manufactured at a 1, 000-person factory in Shenzhen, China.



High-Class Coating



Chang Kuan Enterprise Co., Ltd. Showed off a glass-metal desk with a patented mechanism that allows its glass top to be fastened to the metal base with just four screws. The price of the desk is US$48 FOB.

Another highlight of the Chang Kuan exhibit was an iron barstool featuring a bent-wood seat and "blushed tin-plated coating" that gives a stainless-steel appearance. Only one Taiwanese firm is currently able to provide this kind of coating, which costs three times as much as traditional coatings. Its weight of 30kg makes the stool, which carries a unit price of US$90, extremely stable.



A Galaxy of Manufacturing Starlets



Chia Chi Ya Enterprise Co., Ltd. Showcased office chairs with seats and backs made of comfortable latex strips. Some had a massage device. One model had coverings of breathable fabric, another featured a mechanism for changing the chair into a recliner.

The company's president, Hsiao Yun-chien, lamented the emergence of competition from knockoffs made in mainland China, even though those products often lose elasticity (and comfort) after a few months of use because of the adoption of inferior materials. Chia Chi Ya's revenue for 2004 is estimated at NT$100 million (US$3.2 million), mainly from exports to the U.S. and Germany.

Show Each Industry Co., Ltd. Highlighted an iron end table with a glass top and blushed tin-plated coating, priced at US$32 FOB. One model had LED lamps under the glass top, capable of emitting light in seven rotating colors thanks to an embedded IC. The price is US$45 FOB. Another star of the Show Each display was an iron barstool with a one-piece, snake-shaped base and a 360-degree rotating seat that revolved on a bearing device. Also on display was a notebook-PC stand and a magazine rack, both of which are foldable for convenient transport. There was an iron CD rack with laser-printed faux wood grain as well.

These products are the fruits of efforts by the firm's three-member R&D team and its spending of millions of NT dollars on product development every year. The firm's factory, in the central Taiwan county of Taichung, employs 20-plus workers. Its main markets are Germany and Japan.

Valor International Corp. showed a glass-metal computer desk with aluminum legs in a boat-like shape and carbon-fiber covering, with an FOB price tag of US$165. Another model had a wooden top covered with synthetic leather-which, according to a company official, has become popular in recent years. The Valor International plant in the central Taiwan county of Changhua employs 50 workers and turns out products with a value estimated at US$7 million in 2004. Most of the products are shipped to the U.S. and Japan.

Iron Wood Furniture Group's contribution to the show consisted of tables and chairs of a plywood-like material developed in Italy and dubbed "man-made beech." The material has a beautiful grain and golden color. The tops of the tables are hollow and braced with wooden bars inside. A table goes for US$50 FOB.



Small Plant, Small Orders



New Style Enterprise Co.m Ltd. Displayed glass-metal tables with extendable supplementary sections that could be turned through a wide angle. The company's small-quantity, large-variety mode of production at its Taichung plant, which employs 10-odd workers, enables it to accept small orders.

Globe stands featuring rubber-wood bases and bent-wood frames were the highlight of the Hampton Castle Co. exhibit. The globe stands, which have bulbs inside, are priced at US$60 FOB. This product comes from the firm's small plant in Taichung, Taiwan, which is also responsible for product development. The company's main manufacturing base is a 600-worker factory in Zhongshan City in China's Guangdong Province, which turns out American-style classical furniture products of fiberboard, rubber wood, or solid oak. Most sales go to the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East.

Pro-Winnex Furniture Ind. Ltd. Exhibited glass-metal stands for LCD-TVs and stereos; according to the firm's executive general manager, Winnex Ku, the company's products excel in design thanks to his 40-person design team. The products are turned out at a 600-worker factory in Dongguan, mainland China. Sales topped US$20 million in 2004, half coming from the U.S. and the remainder from Germany (40%) and the U.K. (10%).

Giant Century Inc. showcased a two-person casual chair having a back with a micro-fiber covering and a US$60 FOB price tag. The company also displayed a dining-table set with tabletops, chair backs, and chair seats covered with recycled or PU leather. (Apr. 2005)