Taiwan Makers Transform Operations For High-End Market

With support from a powerful electronics industry, Taiwan has become one of the world's leading suppliers of electronic transformers. As electronic models have come to the forefront of the local industry, manufacturers are moving production of their lower margin conventional products to mainland China and other developing nations in Southeast Asia.

Over the past several years, Taiwanese manufacturers in this line have been aggressively upgrading their production to turn out electronic and toroidal transformers. Taiwan, they say, is an ideal place to produce toroidal transformers because it has ample access to the high-end electronic materials and experts needed in this field.

Such advantages have enabled Taiwan to stay competitive against mainland Chinese rivals, which are fast muscling into lower-end markets. Some mainland producers are also turning out toroidal transformers, but they are still a long stretch from Taiwan in terms of quality.

In their ongoing game of one-upmanship with mainland rivals, some Taiwanese manufacturers are incorporating their toroidal transformers into high-quality power supplies used in halogen lamps.

Lighting the Way

One such company is Art Electronics Lighting Co., established in 1988 in Taipei County. A specialist manufacturer of electronic transformers for halogen lamps and linear lighting systems, Art Electronic applies advanced technology to enhance the safety of its products.

Art Electronics' electronic transformers are designed for 50W-100W low-voltage halogen lamps. The company's product lines also include electronic ballasts for fluorescent lamps, electronic converters for halogen lamps, uninterrupted power lighting, under-cabinet lighting, and emergency lighting.

In 2001, Art Electronics began shifting part of its production to Zhongshan in Guangdong Province, mainland China. Its affiliate there, Kart Electronics Lighting Co., is in charge of mainland production and marketing.

The Guangdong plant concentrates on the mass-produced products, while the parent plant in Taiwan focuses on small-batch production of specialty items, says Chen Yen-pin, president of the company.

The ISO-9002 certified company has obtained such international safety standards as UL, CE, CSA, TUV, S, Fl, N, D, EMC, FCC, SAA, and CS, among others. Many product items are patented in Taiwan and the mainland.

Over the past year, Art has developed linear lighting systems using its own patented electronic transformers for the DIY market. The company plans to incorporate its transformers into other kinds of lighting system in the next few years.

Most of the company's products are sold on original equipment/design manufacturing (OEM/ODM) terms and exported to New Zealand, Australia, the Middle East and South Africa, Chen says.

Confident of the quality and durability of its products, Art offers a 15-month guaranty on all its products. "We employ a strict inspection procedure in our plants, both in Taiwan and mainland, " explains Chen. "All our products have to pass the inspection procedure before leaving the factory."

Bright Ideas for Dimmers

Jing Neng Technology Co., a Taiwanese owned company headed by Lai Jung-mo, began manufacturing operations in Guangdong Province, mainland China in 1999. After years of development, the company is capable of rolling out electronic transformers, toroidal transformers, electronic ballasts, electronic converters, dimmers, chokes and coils, and on/off switches.

Although the company has steadily expanded its product line, transformers and dimmers account for half of its overall output. Most of the company's products are shipped to the U.S., Canada and Europe. The company boasts its products have won the approval of such international safety standards as UL and TUV. At the end of last year, the company was certified with the ISO 9001:2000 international quality assurance system.

Jing Neng is testing new dimmable electronic ballasts and expects the new products to hit the market by the end of this year. The company is also speeding up development of dimmable electronic transformers. "We have a strong R&D team that will continue to develop new products in the coming years, " Lai says.

Future in LED

Rayuan Company Ltd., established in 1986 in Taiwan, specializes in highly safe electronic transformers for low-voltage halogen lamps. Over the past few years the company has been developing sophisticated products incorporating advanced materials and electronic devices to add value to its products.

In March this year, Rayuan introduced light emitting diode (LED) light bulbs in sizes similar to MR-16 and GU-10 bulbs. So far, the company has developed four types of LED light bulbs--the EN04, EN10, EN103 and EN104.

Company president Lin E-chang is confident that demand for LED light bulbs will begin to skyrocket by 2010. "That's why we have started to develop LED light bulbs to add to our original product line of transformers, " he says.

To ensure the quality of the LED light bulbs, Rayuan uses imported integrated circuit chips from the U.S. and Japan. "Our electronic transformers are suitable for use with 12V LED light bulbs and come with a warranty of 50, 000 hours of use."

The company says its products are developed and tested with state-of-the-art inspection tools. An ISO-9001 certified manufacturer, the company produces electronic transformers and other products in conformity with the European quality assurance standard.

About 70% of the company's production are shipped to Europe. The U.S. commands 15% of the company's total exports, with Southeast Asia absorbing 10%. "We offer prompt delivery services and we also provide fast services for engineering support, " says Lin.

Currently the company is capable of rolling out 120, 000 electronic transformers per month and can make deliveries in 30 to 40 days after receiving orders.

Rayuan won OEM orders from China Electric Mfg. Co., a joint venture with Japan's Mitsubishi Electric, in 1987. Soon thereafter, the company earned UL, CSA, and TUV certifications on its products.

Most of the company's transformers provide output of 12V, though some are capable of 24V output. The company also produces emergency lighting fixture which have been used by Taipei Transit Rapid System and will be used on the Taiwan High-Speed Railway.

Expanding and Moving Up

Established in 1979, Kin Word Industrial Co., Ltd. Has upgraded its production from conventional transformers to include coils, adapters, ballasts, and other advanced items. Major items in its coil line include stirring coils, electric magnetic valve coils, waterproof valve coils, water control coils, and high frequency coils.

The company's newly developed 110V-series ballasts are suitable for use in MH, NH, and HID lighting fixtures.

About 10 years ago, Kin Word debuted its toroidal transformers. Since then, the company has developed various types of toroidal transformers to meet customer demand.

Although the company has successfully expanded product lines, it still concentrates on the production of transformers. At present, transformers account for over half of its overall output.

"Over the past few years, we have invested heavily in developing high-value-added products to elevate our competitiveness in the highly competitive global marketplace, " says Hsieh Ming-tse, president of the company.

About four years ago, teamed up with a domestic partner to expand production in mainland China. The company has since moved all of its production across the Taiwan Strait, except for the production of toroidal transformers. The mainland plant has enabled the company to develop a wider range of new products at cheaper prices.

"We have to keep our production of toroidal transformers in Taiwan in order to access the high-end materials needed to make such products, " says Hsieh. "We found we couldn't find high-quality materials to produce this item in the mainland."

Over the past few years, Kin Word has been upgrading its technologies to facilitate the production of high-end products, such as power supplies.

Kin Word boasts it has begun producing power supplies for halogen lamps equipped with its own toroidal transformers for two years. The company's power supplies are mainly sold to the U.S. and Latin America.

The company imports silicon steel coils from Japan to assemble the power supplies. "Our power supplies are 20% to 30% more expensive than those made by rival companies because we adopt multiple protection mechanisms to ensure safe use, " says Hsieh. "Halogen lamps using our power supplies will automatically switch off if they overheat."