Taiwan's manufacturers of office furniture and parts are battling with the soaring cost of materials, such as iron, steel and plastics, which account for almost one-third of their production expense. To relieve the problem, they are using more alternative materials, such as glass and wood plate.

Some say the adoption of alternative materials will help them reduce production costs and enhance their position in upscale markets where consumers prefer modern-style furniture.
A domestic manufacturer of metal office furniture says the price surge in raw materials has been triggered by demand for such materials in mainland China. In addition to higher material costs, domestic manufacturers face intensifying price competition from developing nations, especially mainland China. Furniture manufacturers in the mainland are increasingly using their production advantages to roll out price-competitive products to compete with rival producers in industrialized nations.

In face of price competition from developing nations, Taiwan manufacturers of office furniture are shifting to high-quality product lines, with an emphasis on sophisticated designs that appeal to young consumers.

A veteran furniture producer says Taiwan is an ideal place to make high-end office furniture and parts because of the strong supporting peripheral industries, such as metal parts.

Ergonomic OA Chairs
Tech & Q Furniture Ltd. Is a professional manufacturer of stacking chairs, office chairs, public-seating chairs, and chair parts. The company has particularly concentrated on the development of ergonomics office chairs.

The company operates a modern manufacturing plant in Fangyuan, Changhua County of central Taiwan. Each chair it produces is crafted with precision and great craftsmanship, with attention paid to aesthetic and ergonomic qualities. All of the company's products are tested according to the ANSI/IFMA standards.

Stacking chairs with electroplated frames and high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) or ethylenevinyl acetate (EVA)-foamed seating and backs account for 90% of the company's total output. All of Tech & Q's products are manufactured to high standards of ergonomics, practicality, and convenience.

Tech & Q recently debuted the Dynaflex series of ergonomics chairs. The company says the Dynaflex chairs are designed in accord with osteopath-approved ergonomic functions.

Tech & Q notes its Dynaflex-series product lines are designed to provide full support for the lumbar and overall comfort in a product that is highly affordable.

"To design a perfectly ergonomic chair, we must carefully look at how the body moves, " says Liu Huang-chang, president of the company. "Most of the time, sitting is a dynamic state, as people frequently shift, move, stretch, and twist when sitting down. Few hold the same sitting position for a long period of time. This is a drawback of the traditional ergonomic chair that we want to eliminate. Our Dynaflex-series product line is a kind of chair that dynamically supports the lower back of the human body. It can offer support from any angle and position."

"Ergonomics is the science of human at work. So the ergonomics furniture means the development of new ideas and technologies is to improve workers' working conditions, efficiency, and productivity, " says Liu.

"I developed the innovative products with an idea to relieve human back pains resulting from long-time sitting on the chairs, especially in the offices, " explains Liu. "Poised in this computer age, people spent more time working in front of computer desks to search for requested, interested data and surf on the Internet for regular work and fun. So it's very important for the computer users to use an ergonomics chair which can alleviate the pressure on the back bone."

Liu says he has long observed that office workers are prone to headaches and back pains. To alleviate these problems, he designed a dynamic seat controlled by a specially designed fastener, drawing insights from his consultation with an osteopath. "The osteopath has certified that our Dynaflex-series chairs can effectively relieve back pain."

The Dynaflex-series chairs were debuted at the Tokyo International Furniture Show last October. "We drew a lot of attention from Japanese buyers and received several big-ticket orders on the spot, " says Liu. "We will promote the products at the Orgatec Show, one of the most prominent international furniture shows, to be held in October this year."

Tech & Q says its Dynamic-series chair is patented in Japan, its main market for the series. The company is now looking to expand sales to other markets, including Europe.

Liu says that the Dynaflex-series chairs are suitable for office workers around the world, though the company can also design chairs for specific markets."

The company develops sophisticated molds for the production of its ergonomics chairs in order to fully meet the specifications of the original design, " says Liu.

Over the past year and a half, the company has spent NT$300, 000 (US$9, 230 at US$1:NT$32.5) to modify molds for the Dynaflex chairs.

"I'm not so much worried about my return on investment as I am about the well being of people, " says Liu. "I'm dedicated to developing products that can help workers relieve back pain and boost productivity."

Customized, Innovative Products
Welltrust Industries Co., Ltd., one of Taiwan's leading manufacturers of office furniture, is establishing an international headquarters at the Tainan Technology Industrial Park to handle R&D, production and marketing of customized and innovative products.

Charly Lin, managing director of Welltrust, says the center is the company's response to drastic change in the global furniture market. "In the past, domestic manufacturers of furniture could make profits by just focusing on production and export of finished products, " Lin explains. "Over the past several years, many domestic manufacturers in this line have been scrambling to move production facilities to nations with cheap labor to retain price-sensitive customers and keep costs down. But some big buyers are still looking for high-quality and innovative products in Taiwan. What they need are products with new styles and innovative designs. In this situation, I believe domestic manufacturers need to focus on the high-end market."

To ensure that all of its products meet high quality standards, the company has invested heavily in powerful design software systems and high-precision inspection instruments. The ISO-9001-certified OA furniture manufacturer has a quality-control team to inspect products at every stage of the manufacturing process, from raw materials to finished products.

Welltrust was founded 15 years ago as a trading company and transformed into a manufacturer in 1996. Currently the company concentrates on the production of OA furniture, especially office chairs/desks, workstations and computer chairs with innovative designs, and related components. The company is capable of rolling out OA furniture made of genuine and synthetic leather, fabric, wood, plastics and metal, depending on customers' requirements. It designs its molds in-house and contracts mold fabrication work to specialists.

To meet the demand of customers for price-competitive mass-market items, the company has established two joint-venture factories in mainland China. Nevertheless, the company still keeps some production lines and an R&D department in Taiwan for rolling out high-end products.

Lin says Taiwan is an ideal place to source materials and components for the production of OA office furniture. "Taiwan has strong peripheral industries to supply metal and plastic parts, " Lin comments. "Currently we source 90% of our materials in Taiwan, with the remaining 10% coming from Italy and mainland China."

To distinguish itself from other furniture manufacturers, Welltrust is constantly designing and patenting unique products, such as an adjustable office-chair armrest and a swivel-chair support structure, both of which are patented in mainland China.

Before founding Welltrust, Lin had worked in the R&D and procurement units of a U.S. manufacturer of leisure furniture and OA chairs in Taiwan for over four years. Based on that experience, Lin has a good grasp of the global furniture market and how to control production costs.

Although Welltrust has its own brand, international branding is not a focal area for the company at this point. Rather the company is putting its resources into enhancing pre- and after-sale services, believing that good quality will translate into a better brand image. Welltrust also accepts original-equipment manufacturer (OEM) orders.

The company introduces three new items each quarter. It also develops products based on customer specifications, generally within one to two weeks. The company has always been dedicated to providing high-quality products and top-notch after-sales services. Many of its innovative products are patented in both Taiwan and mainland China.

Lin says an OA furniture manufacturer has to cultivate flexible design ability so as to meet the fast-changing demands of SOHO workers.

Broad Selection of Office Chairs
Established in 1980, Iou Jia Industrial Co. currently has three major product lines: OA chairs, public-use chairs and staff chairs.

Its OA chairs include various kinds of leather chair and computer chairs. It also makes chair hardware and accessories.

Iou Jia has a factory in Taliao of Kaohsiung County, southern Taiwan. Its R&D department can develop products based on customer specifications.

The company is ISO9001 certified and its products meet Taiwan's Chinese National Standards.

In 1990 Iou Jia adopted a corporate identification system (CIS) to enhance its international visibility. Since that time, it has been developing high-quality, high-efficiency product lines.

The company exports most of its output, mainly to the U.S., and Japan.

Expanding Product Lines
Founded in 1997, Dig Jet International Co. makes OA furniture and has recently expanded into living- and dining room furniture. The company has sought to minimize production costs by standardizing production procedures and streamlining its management system.

As part of a corporate overhaul, some one year ago Dig Jet moved its administrative, warehouse and showroom facilities to a new 25, 000-square-foot site, leaving its existing factory to focus on production. "The separation of administrative and manufacturing functions has boosted our production efficiency, " says Henry Wang, president of the company.

The relocation has also freed up manufacturing space at the plant for producing new series of home furniture, adds Wang.

Dig Jet is also experimenting with new low-cost materials to replace increasingly dear steel and iron. "If domestic steel suppliers don't cut prices, a lot of metal-furniture makers in Taiwan could move production somewhere else, " Wang warns.

An ISO9002-certified company, Dig Jet supplies tables, chairs, file cabinets, partition systems, computer desks and other related items. The company's skilled workers make furniture from compound materials, such as wood and metal.

"Taiwan has a big pool of talented workers, so we have no plans to move our production facilities overseas, " Wang says. "Taiwan also has a strong hardware industry to support our development of high-quality furniture." Wang notes that instead of seeking cheaper labor to boost its international competitiveness, his company will hone its manufacturing skills and strengthen management systems.

In the second half of 2001, the company began selling computer desks in Taiwan through major wholesale markets, including RT Mart and Makro. At present the company mainly sells K/D computer desks through such outlets on an OEM basis.

The company sells 60% of its output to the domestic market, with the remainder going to foreign markets, namely North America, Latin America, the Middle East and South Africa.

In recent years, Dig Jet has added lower-priced products to its line for budget-conscious consumers.

The company says it never compromises on the quality or functions of its products.