Sun White Stays Ahead With Unique Design Capability

Sun White Industrial Co., LTD. Is a specialized manufacturer that uses basic materials in different combinations (glass and wood, wood and iron, iron and glass, and aluminum and glass) to turn out a variety of innovative furniture items designed by its own in-house research and development department.

The company was founded in 1990 in the central Taiwan county of Changhua to provide processing (coating, welding, surface treatment) for furniture parts. A few years later it began making complete furniture items of its own design, and today it boasts ISO-9001 certification. The design work emphasizes innovation and ergonomics.

Sun White currently specializes in knock-down (K/D) furniture; and, thanks to the rich experience of its dedicated technicians, the company is especially adept at making metal-tube and aluminum-alloy furniture.

Most of Sun Whit's products are sold to foreign buyers on an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) or ODM (original design manufacturer) basis. Of its total production, 90% uses the company's own designs and the remaining 10% is made on an OEM basis for Italian customers.

Company officials say that their R&D team can complete several brand-new designs each month to accommodate ever-changing customer tastes. The resulting products, featuring streamlined styling and unique finish, are highly popular with buyers everywhere.

Thanks to its design capabilities the firm is able to cooperate with world-famous brands, chain stores, and hypermarkets in the U.S. and Europe to promote its innovative products, including computer work stations, computer desks, SOHO (small office, home office) sets, coffee tables, TV stands, bookshelves, and other K/D racks.

Quality Workers

The company's president, Tseng A-ju, is proud of the quality of his workforce. "Two thirds of our workers have a university background," he comments. "As a manufacturer in a conventional industry, our hiring of such a high-quality workforce reflects our determination to make upscale furniture. In Taiwan, most well-educated people prefer to work in high-tech industries."

Two years ago, Sun White began cooperating with the National Yunlin University of Science and Technology in a joint industry/academia project for the development of human resources. The company plans to spend NT$1.5 million (US$47,900 at NT$31.3:US$1) on the cooperative project this year, an increase of 25% from spending in 2004.

"In Taiwan now, because of the intense competition from certain developing countries, only specialized manufacturers can survive in the international market," Tseng stresses. "The manufacturers have to focus on products with unique designs to differentiate them from the products made by rivals in developing nations. That's why we decided to cooperate with the National Yunlin University of Science and Technology to cultivate and train talented students-cum-workers."

Most furniture designers, Tseng says, are the products of vocational high schools and technical colleges, and "Talented designers are the most important engine behind the development of the upscale furniture industry."

While many manufacturers are moving away from Taiwan because of the island's high production costs, Tseng believes that furniture makers can stay put. "Manufacturers can boost the value of their products by launching R&D," he explains. "I haven't seen any massive exodus of manufacturers from the highly industrialized countries, which also have the problem of high production costs." But R&D costs; Sun White spends around NT$10 million (US$320,000) on it every year.

Training Workers to Explain

In addition to the training provided through cooperation with the university, Sun White also offers weekly in-house training courses that include cost analysis and material analysis. "I hope that this will help our workers explain, very specifically, the advantages of our products to our customers," Tseng comments. "And we're successful in this; an American customer who came to our plant recently to place OEM orders was amazed that we can offer such sophisticated items."

Customer approval also comes from the firm's strict quality-control procedures. "Many of our long-term customers say they don't need to look at our samples before they place orders," Tseng boasts. "We only need the graphics that our customers send us to complete production in-house. We are fully capable of rolling out products according to their demands."

Sun White recently set up a new branch in Taichung, central Taiwan, to handle its trade and boost its overseas sales.

Many of the company's products are protected by patents in Taiwan, mainland China, Germany, Japan, and the U.S. Patent applications cost the firm NT$4 million (US$128 million) last year.

One of the latest products under development at Sun White is a new type of computer desk equipped with an integrated socket to accommodate all of the cables needed for a computer, thereby helping offices to look tidy and neat and, stresses Tseng "meet the needs of modern life." A patent for the socket has been applied for in the U.S.