Giant to set up new bicycle plant in Chengdu, mainland China

Taipei, Feb. 6, 2004 (CENS)--Giant Manufacturing Co., Ltd., the largest bicycle maker in Taiwan, recently said that has won approval from the Investment Commission under the Ministry of Economic Affairs to set up a new bicycle plant in mainland China.

Giant has dispatched a senior official at Giant China, its mainland Chinese subsidiary, to be responsible for the new project.

Giant chairman King Liu said that the firm will set up a new bicycle plant in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, mainland China and establish a sound integrated production/sales system there. The new plant is scheduled to begin mass production by the end of the year, with its production mode to be totally different from the traditional production-and-sales mode.

In a bid to further consolidate the brand image of Giant bicycles in the huge mainland market, Giant said that it will invest some US$12 million in several stages to tap the western China market. Giant will be the first Taiwan bicycle maker to tap the western China market, and future development of the project is expected to draw much attention from the bicycle industry.

Giant's scheduled Chengdu plant will be the Taiwan company's third bike plant in mainland China, following one in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province and another in Shanghai there. The new plant will supply bicycle products to western China to serve a total population of 300 million. Giant expects that the project might help to extend its major sales area from the eastern coastal cities in the past years to also major cities in the Big-West, thus further consolidating its leading brand image.

Liu said that there would be big challenges ahead for the new Chengdu plant to achieve its operation goal, as the plant is designed to operate in a totally different way from traditional one. Liu said that his company would integrate all available resources to help prod the new-plant construction works, including construction schedule arrangement, information technology and manufacturing/marketing systems etc.

Citing an example of the Wal-Mart of the United States, Liu said that his company has been trying to more effectively grasp the market development trend, monitor non-stop inventory stock, and secure more reasonable management/logistic systems.

Initially, the annual capacity at the Chengdu bicycle plant will be set at 400,000 units, but the actual production volume will be decided by the market demand. The new plant would focus on the production of higher-end bikes.