Tong Yang May Become World's No. 1 Plastic Bumper Maker by 2014
2013/11/18 | By Quincy LiangThe 10-year investment project to be completed by end of 2013
To further consolidate its foothold in the international automotive body parts market, Taiwan-based Tong Yang Industrial Co., Ltd. recently announced that it will complete a 10-year, NT$20 billion (US$666.7 million) investment project to develop business in Taiwan and China by the end of 2013, with 2014 capital spending to focus on mold/die development to further widen the gap from competitors.
Except Foshan Tong Yang in Guangdong Province of China that will kick off mass production in 2014 to supply parts to GAC Toyota and Dongfeng Nissan, new-factory construction and capacity-expansion projects will be completed and start production by the end of 2013, including a new factory operated by Changchun Faway Tong Yang in Foshan, a new factory of Xiangyang Tong Yang in Xiangyang, Hubei Province of China, the production-line expansion at Tong Yang's coating factory in northern Taiwan's Guanyin (supply OE parts to automakers), and a new die/mold development factory in Tong Yang's plant complex in southern Taiwan's Tainan. In 2014, Tong Yang said, 19 plants operated by subsidiaries and joint ventures in Taiwan and China are expected to jointly drive up revenues.
Over the past 10 years, the three brothers overseeing Tong Yang, including chairman Michael Wu, deputy chairman Raymond Wu and president Crispin Wu, have executed the decade-long plan to further upgrade Tong Yang's global lead, unfazed by several major disruptions, such as the Asian financial crisis and global recession, which could have deterred their achieving higher goals. The industry environment has gradually improved over the past few years to drive Tong Yang to complete the long-term plan by the end of the year.
Industry sources say that Tong Yang's major expansion plan includes adjustment of reinvestments in China, setting up new subsidiaries and/or joint ventures across the Taiwan Strait, fine-tuning production lines in Taiwan, and carrying out capacity expansion on the island.
Completion of the investment projects enables Tong Yang to achieve total annual AM automotive parts production of some 8.53 million plastic bumpers, 4.2 million sheet-metal body parts (door panels, engine hoods, fenders, trunk lids etc.), and 924,000 cooling system parts (radiators, evaporators etc.). Regarding OE-parts production, the company will have annual production capacity of 8.52 million bumpers, 390,000 instrument panels, and 360,000 radiator grilles by 2014. If things go smoothly, Tong Yang may become the world's largest maker of automotive plastic bumpers with annual production volume of 17.05 million units.
New Subsidiaries
Over the past three years, Tong Yang has set up three new subsidiaries and joint ventures in China, which will help boos the company's revenue over the next 10 years.
The establishment of the Changsha GACC Tong Yang, a joint venture with Chinese automaker Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC) in Changsha, Hunan Province in 2011, helps Tong Yang tap the supply chain of the sixth-largest automaker in China. The FAW Faway Tong Yang, a joint venture with Chinese automaker FAW, kicked off trial production in August at its new parts factory in Foshan, to take orders for parts for Audi and Volkswagen.
The fine-tuning of Tong Yang's production lines in Taiwan has elevated the production capacity and increased product categories for the company, as well as further consolidating the company's global lead in supplying AM automotive body parts. The installation of new coating lines at Tong Yang's OE-parts factory in Guanyin, according to the company, has helped to win more export orders from international customers and overcome limited demand in the relatively-small domestic market, in which some 350,000 to 400,000 new cars have been sold in recent years.
Over the next decade, Crispin says, his company will refocus on mold/die development to achieve even-higher product comprehensiveness to pull farther ahead of counterparts.
Tong Yang's Major Chinese Subsidiaries / Joint Venture & Customers | ||||
Company Name | Established | Location | Area Measures | Major Customers |
| 1994 | | 55,441 sqm (13.9 Acres) | Changan Suzuki, Changan Motor, Changduo Toyota |
| 2004 | | 68,000 sqm (17.0 Acres) | Chang Ford |
| 1995 | | 53,444 sqm (13.4 Acres) | Southeast Motor, Daimler, Aelous Motor |
Chang Chun Faway Tong Yang--Changchung | 2003 | | 88,466 sqm (22.1Acres) | First Auto Group |
Chang Chun Faway Tong Yang--Foshan | 2011 | | 50,400 sqm(12.5 Acres) | First Auto Group |
| 2007 | | 43,000 sqm (10.8 Acres) | Dongfeng Nissan, Dongfeng Honda, Zhengzhou Nissan |
| 2011 | | 44,568 sqm | GAIG-Fiat |
Xiangyang Tong Yang | 2012 | | 40,000 sqm (10.0 Acres) | Dongfeng Nissan, Chengzhou Nissan, GAIA-Mitsubishi |
Foshan Tong Yang | 2012 | | 232,910 sqm (58.2Acres) | FAW-VW, Dongfeng Nissan |
Source: Tong Yang. | ||||