Strong Components Co., Ltd. Was established in 1985 to make film capacitors and now turns out 50 million of the devices every month. The capacitors are produced at factories in Taiwan and mainland China in a variety of types, including inductive polyester film/foil, non-inductive polyester film/foil, and dipped metallized polyester film.

Like numerous other Taiwanese manufacturers in the line, Strong Components has always relied on its own production technology. In recent years it has unveiled devices that can resist temperatures up to 105 degrees Celsius and have film coverings only 2.2 microns thick. The company is now developing high-margin products that come in power specifications of over 2,000 volts.

The firm's main factory is in Taiwan, for which overseas orders account for 80% of total revenue. That percentage is expected to grow as more and more Taiwanese manufacturers move offshore. Ultimately, it is likely that the Taiwan facility will focus only on R&D, sales, and procurement.

Strong Components' mainland Chinese factory has 400 employees and now contributes half of the company's overall revenues, which have averaged around NT$200 million (US$5.7 million) annually over the past few years. All of the mainland factory's output is sold on the domestic market there.

Major buyers of the company's products include computer manufacturers, makers of asymmetric subscriber line devices, and producers of electronic ballasts. In the computer industry, it numbers BenQ Corp. and Compal Electronics Inc. among its heavyweight clients.

To remain competitive in the face of strong rivalry from mainland Chinese suppliers, Strong Components now accepts orders for as few as 1,000 capacitors and guarantees delivery within seven days of receiving an order. In the past, the minimum order was 10,000 and delivery time was 10 days.

The company takes care to point out, however, that speed does not mean undue haste. "We never compromise on quality," stresses Celin Chen, a company sales representative, noting that its products are guaranteed to be 100% defect free. The company has won the 2000 version of ISO-9001 and ISO-9001 certification, as well as quality approval from eight different countries.

Management at Strong Components feel that numbers of international capacitor buyers are starting to shift their orders from Japan to Taiwan. Most of the orders shifted to the island, Chen reports, are for small volumes of products and for urgent delivery. "Usually, she explains, "Japanese suppliers are reluctant to take orders that are not big enough to keep their production lines running at an economic scale, or that require a short delivery time."

For more information, contact Strong Components' main office in Taiwan at: No. 21, Lane 560, Mintsu 1st Rd., Sanmin Dist., Kaohsiung, Taiwan 807; tel: 886-7-389-6750; Fax: 886-7-384-4716 or 886-7-383-3200; E-mail: scc@scc-cap.com.tw.