Global Demand Back on Track

After a punishing downturn in 2003, track-lighting manufacturers in Taiwan are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, with orders this year riding high on the wave of global economic recovery. The turnaround is welcome news to the producers, who have been struggling to hold onto market share against low-cost rivals in mainland China.

Taiwan's success in this cross-strait contest has come through a combination of cost-cutting--mainly by moving plants from labor-dear Taiwan to mainland China--and developing higher-added-value products with innovative designs and new functions.

The past few years has brought the rollout of a series of advanced new products by domestic manufacturers in this line. The new offerings include models with goosenecks, quick jacks, swivels, canopies, and other eye-catching designs.

In developing new products, domestic manufacturers have also been paying more attention to market conditions. One local company says that it decided to speed up development of a new soft-track lighting model after its market monitoring revealed demand for such items was heating up.

Other producers are turning out commercial-use three-circuit track lights that can accommodate various kinds of lighting sources to maximize illumination.

Cross-Strait Division of Labor

Tons Enterprise Co., established 13 years ago, is one of Taiwan's leading manufacturers of low- and high-voltage track lights and downlights. The company expects sales to boom next year because of its successful integration of product lines and production facilities in Taiwan and mainland China this year.

While spotlights have been the mainstay of Tons' offerings, the company has spent the last few years expanding into the production of downlights and track lights. The company says it began producing one-circuit track-light system about three years ago and has acquired patents for such products in Europe.

At present, the company is developing a three-circuit track light. The new product is scheduled to hit the market by June this year. "Over the past few years, we have been working hard to develop more innovative track lights, " says Tom Tang, president of the company.

The three-circuit track light can accommodate three different lighting sources and has three separate switches to meet different lighting requirements.

In order to handle a growing backlog of orders, Tons purchased a mainland China lighting manufacturer, Titan Lighting Co., three years ago. The company also erected two factories in Guangdong Province--one specializing in track lights, spotlights, and pendant lights and the other in metal wire and hardware.

With the inauguration of its mainland production facilities, Tons now makes over half of its products in the mainland, leaving its Taiwan operations to focus on product development and production of newer models. The mainland plants concentrate on making mature and large-volume items, Tang says.

Tons can supply a wide variety of lighting fixtures thanks to its flexible production system and sophisticated computerized components-management system, on which it spent more than NT$600, 000 (US$18, 200 at US$1:NT$32.9).

Tons currently operates two major production lines for original-design products and devotes another two lines to OEM orders. Tang says his company can adjust these lines more than ten times a day, if needed, to meet urgent orders. This flexible system allows Tons to make up to 40 different kinds of lighting fixture per day.

The company claims that its products have a 90% local-content rate, enabled by the installation of sophisticated production equipment at its plants. For instance, the company uses four CNC (computerized numerically controlled) machine tools in the mainland to make high-precision production molds.

The company has seen a surge in orders from Europe since the second half of last year. By the end of this year, the company will apply for UL-standard certification to enter the U.S. market.

Tons expects sales to grow by 70% this year and double next year if it can successfully enter the massive U.S. market.

In addition to producing lighting fixtures for commercial use, Tons has also developed high-voltage track lights for household use. Household models are fitted with GU10 and G9 bulbs in place of the MR16 and JC-type bulbs used in its commercial-use line.

To meet the emergence of environment-protection awareness worldwide, Tons has recently increased the production of HID lamps. Tang boasts a 70-watt HID lamp is as bright as five 70-watt halogen lamps. Tang says HID bulbs are getting cheaper as production methods mature, and his company will produce the energy-saving products in large volumes over the next few years."

The company also claims to be one of only a handful of producers in the world to develop a quick-jack system for spotlights. The system is compatible with all of the spotlight models made by Tons over the past few years, says Tang.

Tons' R&D department is capable of designing lights to meet the specific needs of customers worldwide. The company has registered over 30 patents in Taiwan, more than 20 in Hong Kong and mainland China, and about 10 in both Germany and the U.S. One of its more whimsical products is the CT-SP112 spotlight, fashioned after the popular Japanese cartoon character Ultraman.

In addition to making self-designed products, the company accepts contract orders. Tons exports nearly all of its output to more than 30 nations, mainly in Western Europe and North America.

Building Value

Another domestic manufacturer of track lights is G. Li. Light Enterprise Co., Ltd. Which has successfully transformed into a specialized manufacturer of halogen lamps. The company also makes down lights, wall lamps, floor lamps and chandeliers.

In order to avoid direct price competition with rivals in mainland China and Southeast Asia, G. Li. Has switched to the production of added-value products over the past few years. The company currently concentrates on low-voltage halogen spotlights, downlights, and track lights.

G. Li. Designs its products in Taiwan and ships low-priced items from mainland China and Hong Kong. It works with a Taiwanese-invested manufacturer in the mainland to produce a wider variety of models.

Company general manager George Huang claims that the mainland is incapable of turning out high-quality electroplated aluminum-alloy housing for track lights, so all such components used by the company are made in Taiwan.

Huang says his company concentrates sales on Europe and Australia, rather than the North America preferred by domestic producers. "Since our establishment, we have been focusing on European market because consumers there prefer to order track lights in a variety of different styles, which our production model is geared to, " notes Huang.

Huang claims that his company currently has a dozen patents registered in Taiwan and mainland China. At the beginning of this year, the company introduced a patented low-voltage sliding track light with bulbs that can be individually moved and allow 360-degree rotation. The new product can accommodate one, two or three lights.

"The spotlight on the track is fixed by conductive magnets and can be freely moved to achieve different lighting effects, " Huang says. "In addition, the magnet is concealed inside the track so the track light is very compact."

Over the past few years, G. Li. Has increased its sales by an average of 10% a year, and it expects sales to continue to rise with increased exports from the mainland.

Commercial Lighting

Chian Lih Lighting Co., Ltd., a 16-year-old integrated lighting manufacturer, has been expanding from its core business of high- and low-voltage halogen track lights to spotlight and fluorescent track lamps.

The company introduced its first fluorescent lamps just six months ago. The fluorescent lamps, unlike those used in common offices, are wall mounted and have slant reflectors.

The company has operated a factory in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province of mainland China for three years, but it continues to develop innovative lighting products in Taiwan.

Chian Lih president Chiu Hsiu-hsien says his company has accumulated much experience in developing commercial lighting fixtures by using different lighting sources such as halogen and HQI lamps.

"Thanks to our long-term development efforts, we deeply understand the nature of various kinds of lighting sources, and this helps us to design commercial lights with optimal illumination effects."

The company relies on market surveys to set the direction of product development work and ensure the results meet customer and consumer needs. Such surveys prompted the company to speed up development of soft-track lights that can be configured in curved and round shapes.

Every new item undergoes illumination testing before it enters production.

Chiu says his company has obtained many patents in Taiwan. In the foreseeable future, the company will apply for mainland patents to protect its products from copycats there. "Newly developed track lights are vulnerable to copying in the mainland, " he laments. "That's why we have to adopted a more cautious strategy for developing the mainland market. For the past several years, many domestic manufacturers of track lights have been hurt by rampant copying by mainland rivals, forcing them to continually produce new products there."

At present, Chian Lih only makes semi-finished products in the mainland and ships them back to Taiwan for final assembly. "Although most of our products are shipped from Taiwan, we can also ship some products from the mainland if needed."

The company says 70% of its output is exported to the U.S., Europe and Australia with the remainder going to the domestic market.


Contact information on companies covered by the article:

1.

G. Li Light Enterprise Co.

Address: No. 70, Jenai Rd., Pali Hsiang, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan.

Tel: 886-2-2610-1491

Fax: 886-2-2610-1492

Website://www.glite.com.tw

E-mail: glite@ms15.hinet.net

2.

Tons Enterprise Co.

Address: No. 222-1, Chungcheng Rd., Shulin, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan.

Tel: 886-2-2675-6633

Fax: 886-2-2675-9191

E-mail: tons@ms46.hinet.net

3.

Chian Lih Lighting Co.

Address: No. 215, Lane 181, Sanho Rd., Sec. 4, Sanchung, Taipei, Hsien, Taiwan.

Tel: 886-2-2287-2846

Fax: 886-2-2287-3678

E-mail: b1433b@ms62.hinet.net