Where Profits Are Evident In the Design

Over the past few years, computer-desk suppliers in Taiwan have proven adept in upgrading from being pure contract manufacturers to being providers of self-designed products. The move is buoying the industry's once-bottom-scraping margins and helping it sidestep price-undercutting competitors.

If the local industry has a mantra it is most probably "Keep It Simple, Stupid." Oversized multifunctional computer desks able to hold everything from a CD rack to a printer are falling out of favor as consumers look for more space-efficient solutions for their work needs. The rise of notebook computers as an alternative to desktop PCs is one of the factors driving this trend.

Innovative use of materials, high-quality materials in particular, is another trademark feature of the approach being taken by makers of the new breed of made-in-Taiwan computer desks. This renewed attention to quality comes as many Taiwanese suppliers are trying to brand their products for the market's upper tiers.



Goodbye to the Cable Rat's Nest

Sun White Industrial Co., Ltd. Has been making innovative computer desks since its establishment in 1990. This year, the company is promoting two new products--a desk equipped with light-emitting diode (LED) lamps that illuminate the desktop and sliding keyboard shelf, and a desk with jacket ports for holding computer-peripheral wires.

The design of the LED desk evolved from the company's LED stereo racks. On the desk, the lamps are embedded in aluminum pipes flanking the far left/right sides of the desktop. The desktop and keyboard stand are made of glass sheet.

Sun White's new desks have lamps of five to 15 lumens. Both 110V and 220V versions are available.

Desks with the jacket port feature provide a welcome solution to cable tangle while also making it possible to plug peripherals directly into the back of the desk.

The company spent around NT$10 million (US$295,000 at US$1:NT$34) and nearly one year to develop the two desk prototypes. Both are patented in the United States, Germany, Taiwan, mainland China, and Japan.

"Development of electric circuits for the desks' electrical devices is a particularly big challenge to furniture manufacturers like my company," says company president Tseng Ren-Ju. His company consulted with electricity experts at computer companies to overcome the obstacles it faced.

In both tables, Tseng says, function came before looks in the design process.

Already the new desks are turning heads and landing orders. According to Tseng, an American importer plans to spend around US$2 million to promote Sun White's LED desks. The jacket port desk is also in hot demand, including a recently bagged contract for 20 40-foot shipping containers of the model.

Tseng expects his company's revenue to increase by 30% to 40% next year thanks to the rollouts of the two new desks. Computer desks currently represent around 70% of the company's revenue. The ISO9001:2000-certified company has shipped most of its computer desks to the U.S., Europe, and Japan.

The company is now developing an ergonomic computer desk and chair set that makes it easy for users to stretch their limbs and reduce muscle tension. The desktop slides forward and backward and its keyboard stand can tilt down and return to normal position in relation to the user's posture.

Tseng says the new desks are aimed at consumers aged 25 to 35. They retail for between US$149 and US$399. "Demand is always there. But if you don't have attractive designs, your products won't move," he concludes.



Downsizing
Penny Pan, a sales representative at A & J Company Limited., couldn't agree more with Tseng's conclusion. She notes that competition in the market for generic computer desks is growing. Her company is responding by designing unique desks, with an ultimate goal of becoming an own-brand supplier.

This year, the company has been promoting its CA-08BK and CA-08BE computer stands, which it contacted some local specialists to design. The two Z-shaped stands are waist high for 170cm person and come with a metal desktop roughly the size of a notebook computer. There are sliding pads on the left and right sides for holding beverage containers and notebooks. Two short aluminum pipes jutting from behind the desktops serve as penholders. The stands weigh only six to seven kilograms and are patented in Japan and Europe.

What makes the stands so prominent is the Nike-shoe material that covers over the aluminum frame. "We shoes this material for its good elasticity and air penetration," Pan explains. The hand-sewn material is costly, she admits, adding to the price of this model. Her company offers replacement covers in various colors.

Pan points out that growing usage of notebook computers worldwide has inspired computer-desk suppliers to introduce desks with small tops. Such desks are particularly popular in Japan, where space is limited. Most Taiwanese manufacturers specializing in big computer desks have move production to mainland China or Southeast Asian nations to trim costs, she says.



Supersizing
One such company is Royce Enterprise Co., Ltd., which makes full-sized PC desks with plenty of peripheral-holding capacity.

Most of Royce's desks have a computer-storage cabinet, keyboard shelf, printer shelf, bookshelf, monitor case, and CD rack. Some models even come with a file cabinet. "Competition in this segment usually highlights low prices and products with functional designs for every peripheral," stresses Wendy Liu, the company's sales manager.

The company's computer desks retail for US$50 to US$100and are sold through trading companies. She says her company's computer desk shipments, which now represent one tenth of its total output, have increased 50% over the past two years combined. Europe is the company's major export destination.

The company began rolling out multifunctional computer desks last year, Liu says.

To pare costs, the company opened a factory in Vietnam to produce particleboard pieces for its computer desks and other furniture pieces.

The company has also developed computer desks for children, SOHO workers, and household consumers.



Modular Design
While some companies specialize in multifunctional desks and others in single-purpose models, Iron Wood Industrial Co., Ltd. Has planted a foot in both markets with its line of modular desks.

Iron Wood's products, according to company chairman Louis Lin, can be configured in a number of ways so that users get exactly what they need.

Computer desks account for around one-fifth of the company's revenue. All such items are simple in design and constructed to high quality standards. "All of the metal tubes used in our desks are processed in Taiwan and plated with at least a 15-micron-thick erosion-resistance coat. We use tempered-glass tops and New Zealand-made E1-class fiberboard tops."

Iron Wood's A and W families of computer desks consist of a monitor support, computer support, printer stand, and peripheral support that can either be joined together or can stand alone. All are made of metal-tube frames and tempered-glass tops.

Lin says his company began using higher-end materials on its furniture pieces, including computer desks, around two years ago. "We made the shift to distinguish our products from cheaper mainland Chinese goods," he says.