Taiwanese Hand Tool Manufacturers Take Center Stage at AMPA 2012

Four top makers size up their prospects for the year

The high-profile products of Taiwanese hand tool manufacturers attracted the attention of professional buyers in the 2012 Taipei International Auto Parts and Accessories Show (AMPA) that ran from April 11 to April 14.

Four prominent Taiwanese manufacturers, Proxene Tools Co., Ltd., Honiton Industries Inc., Machan International Co., Ltd. and Hands tool Industrial Co., Ltd., which showcased their newest products at the show, talked about their businesses and shared their outlooks on the market for 2012 in interviews with CENS.

FasWrench II
At the show, Proxene unveiled the eye-catching FasWrech II ratcheting adjustable wrench that features both high torque performance and top functionality handle design. It is a winner of the iF Design Award 2012.

This wrench is the newest model of the company's RW ratchet wrench family. It is made of high-quality chrome vanadium steel, requires special heat treatment for enhanced tension, and offers great precision due to its improved gear design, said Proxene sales specialist Chiao Chen. "The wrench has been tested to generate 130% stronger torque than ASME requires and exceeds most international standards, including ISO 6787-1982, BS 6333-1995, DIN 3117-1988, JIS B.107.8-2010 Heavy Duty, SABS 1211-1984 Heavy Duty, and CNS," she said.

Chen said that the wrench includes the so-called "Magic Button" that allows users to switch with a single finger the multifunctional tool to a ratchet or regular mode, depending on the purpose. The wrench also has a wide jaw opening that allows an easier grip on bolts and screws of different sizes, especially in narrow spaces. In addition, the ergonomic handle offers users a comfortable and anti-slip grip.

"The adjustable wrench has been distributed in Australia, Europe and the United States, mainly for use in workshops and professional purposes," Chen said. She also said this tool will help to boost the company's presence in the auto repair tools market.

Proxene also unveiled its newest RQ series combination wrenches at AMPA 2012 that feature improved jaw opening for easier push-in and lift-off of hexagonal bolts and 130% stronger torque performance than what is required in ANSI torque specifications. Chen said the wrenches' most important feature is the special arc design alongside the neck that provides both enhanced rotation without deviation of angles and anti-slip safety, enabling the tool to serve as a ratchet model.

A Regular Winner of Global Design Awards
Founded in 1984 in Taichung County in central Taiwan, Proxene has been committed to R&D consistently and is one of the industry's regular winners of global design awards. Its first-edition FasWrench was developed in 2006, featured user-friendly functions and compact exterior design, and won the iF and Japan's G-Mark awards in 2008.

Initially, the company made hardware and ordinary adjustable wrenches and handled OEM (original equipment manufacturing) and ODM (original design manufacturing) services, Chen said. In recent years it has achieved sustainable growth by tapping into the auto repair tools market. Currently, the company supplies a variety of high-end, professional adjustable wrenches not just for auto repair, but also for construction, mining, plumbing and vessel and machinery maintenance. Some of these wrenches are sold under its own brand Fulco.

Over the past two years, the company has increased its market share due to its commitment to R&D and its participation in global auto parts trade fairs, including AAPEX and Automechinka. "Proxene is on its way to becoming a top supplier of auto repair tools," Chen said and implied that the company has a promising outlook for 2012.

MIS Series Roller Cabinet
Another popular exhibit in the repair tool exhibition area of AMPA 2012 was the MIS (mechanical interlock system) Series roller cabinet sold by BOXO, a brand of Machan, one of Taiwan's largest suppliers of roller cabinets and tool storage solutions.

BOXO's sales representative May Chen said the series is available in 4, 7 and 8 drawer trolley models and in a 3-drawer add-on chest. According to Chen, these roller cabinets incorporate the MIS, which allows only one drawer to open at a time and provides a centralized locking system with folding keys for improved security. Moreover, two of the four wheels are swivel models with durable brake function while the others are fixed. Chen said this wheel design helps the trolleys to roll smoothly, making mobility easy.

The compact, dual-toned exterior design includes rounded corners and an integrated worktop of high-resistance ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) that add value to the series, Chen said. Chen also said that the series comes with an option of different combinations of tools in serving trays that include socket sets, plier sets, precision screwdrivers and mini plier sets, circlip plier sets, punch and chisel sets, steel file sets, combination wrench sets, flexible head flare nut wrench sets, offset ring wrench sets, measuring tool sets, T-shape handle hex key sets and torque wrenches with air tool sets.

The tool combinations the company offers are for repairing European cars. Machan has adopted this strategy to assure the product's marketability since it focuses mainly on the European market. Also, all trolley handles in the series are made of composite materials that allow for a comfortable grip.

"Since the series debuted in May 2011, it has attracted much attention both for its functionality and tool assortment varieties," Chen said. "The series has been successful in Western Europe and will become BOXO's major sales winner in 2012."

A Growing OBM
Machan was founded in Taichung City, central Taiwan, in 1975. In 1985, after years of making OA (office automation) metal furniture, the company diversified into the production of its current product lines. Partly due to its R&D ability of turning down-to-earth tool chests into something fashionable, it quickly became successful in the market. All of Machan's chests and roller cabinets feature a captivating exterior design and attractive functions.

A few years ago the company created BOXO in hopes of achieving growth. According to Chen, it has consistently developed and improved its products in line with market trends for popular designs in North Europe. "Since it was the first market Machan exported to, we learn mainly from our northern European customers," Chen said. Years of hard work have enabled the company to successfully build partnerships with local distributors for BOXO-branded products in Finland, the U.K. and Poland. Machan has gradually become a growing OBM (original brand manufacturer).

The company participated in AMPA 2012 for the first time seeking business opportunities with customers from Southeast Asian countries to build overseas outlets, Chen said. "Our company knows the importance of these fast-growing markets." These markets are especially important considering that the EU debt crisis shouldn't ease until a few years from now, she said.

HoniDriver Socket and Wrench Sets
Hoping to attract new business opportunities, Honiton showcased its HoniDriver socket and wrench sets at this year's AMPA.

Company Chairman M.C. Cheng said that all of the sockets and wrenches in the series are of high-quality chrome vanadium steel and are thermal treated to achieve better structural durability than what is required by DIN standards. The single set is applicable for a wide range of bolts, including metric and imperial hex, bi-hexagonal (12-point), square four-point, E-Torx and Spline, and it can also remove partly stripped screws.

The universal socket has an additional feature, the special point design inside the open, which enables it to firmly hold a bolt by aligning sharp corners to the wall of the hexagon sides, avoiding stripping the bolt head when torque is applied. Cheng said the design, which has also been applied to the HoniDriver wrench, is an innovation in the industry and its patent is pending. The series features high-quality, dual-toned blow mould cases that have an improved locking mechanism provided by metal locks and strong hinges.

The veteran manufacturer also showcased its hot-selling box wrench series at the show, which was launched in mid 2010. These wrenches are made of high-graded chrome vanadium steel and finished to mirror surface. Since each wrench in the series can fit six different sizes of bolts and nuts, it meets the growing trends of multifunctional, lightweight tools. These wrenches meet DIN standards and have been successfully exported to Europe.

A Time-Tested Manufacturer
Not many industry insiders have as much experience as Honiton in manufacturing sockets, which was founded in Taichung City in 1979 and has produced this product ever since.

Cheng said the company's ability to focus on the practicability of auto repair tools has been a key part of its success. Each of Honiton's sockets is developed in complete compliance with international standards such as DIN, and based on the feedback of end users and its own expertise, the manufacturer repeatedly improves its sockets until they are ready to sell. The company's extensive knowledge of sockets makes such a repeated process feasible and effective.

"As a result of the negative impact of the faltering European market on our company's sales over the past year, we have expanded our participation in AMPA to attract new customers from Southeast Asian countries, Japan and Korea," Cheng said.

TTK Series Tool Sets
The TTK series tool sets launched by Hands tool provide customers a new way to increase their sales by offering a wide range of combinations of auto repair tools that are available with assortment trays fitted to easy-to-carry blow mold cases.

This series offers buyers a choice of over 50 combinations of various hand tools and three types of storage solutions, including roller cabinets, blow molded cases and cases coupled with gift boxes, said M.H. Chang, the company's international public relations director. Each tool combination consists of the company's TT series tool sets that have been well received by professional end users.

The inspiration for this series came from the fact that during periods of global economic uncertainty consumers tend to buy universal tool sets instead of specialty ones to repair their cars. This is the case in Europe where the governments' belt-tightening measures are expected to continue to suppress economic growth. Chang said this series both provides buyers with more flexible options for purchasing needed tools and enables distributors and retailers to promote it in more attractive combinations that include optional storage solutions.

"This series isn't about functional innovation or technology," Chang said. "It's about a new way of marketing traditional tool sets that allows customers more flexibility in retailing their products. We believe this will help our clients to increase their sales in a challenging market."

Brand Sales Continue to Increase
Hands tool successfully established its brand name "Hans" worldwide by focusing on improving its auto repair tools products.

Founded in 1973 in Taichung, Hands tool initially supplied hand tools as an OEM (original equipment manufacturer). Several decades ago it became involved in branding, at a time when few Taiwanese manufacturers considered it. Gradually, the company has developed its brand recognition with consumers in emerging countries both in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Its range of products includes a variety of spanner wrenches, hand sockets, impact sockets and accessories, air impact wrenches, hex key wrenches, screwdrivers and bits, screwdrivers, pliers, locking pliers, and roller chests and cabinets. Over 90% of these products go to overseas markets.

"Our brand sales continued trending upward in 2011 while the European market was shrinking, mainly due to strong shipments to new markets such as Bulgaria, which offset declines in advanced Western European countries," Chang said. The company has also tapped into Volkswagen Group's supply chain to secure stable growth momentum.

Unlike most of its Taiwanese counterparts that are focused primarily on aftermarket sales in the United States and Western Europe, Chang said his company prefers to explore niche markets such as second-hand cars to stimulate its brand sales. "Since market demand for auto repair services always exists in every corner of the world, Hans is committed not only to providing users with high-quality products, but also to creating new ways of helping customers achieve larger market share," he said.