Page 40 - Taiwan Transportation Equipment Guide (TTG) - 2019-09 Edition - CENS.com
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Supplier News                                                                                                                                                                                                  Supplier News





                    which usually produce spare parts manually with little                                                                 The Highlights This Year                          With the social structure changing, many traditional
                    of machinery involved, predicable delivery date, quality                                                                                                                 cultures and folk customs were gradually lost under
                    consistency and good order fulfi llment.                                                                                  Tradition Collides with Contemporary Crafts to   the impact of modern civilization. These valuable
                       The problem of local workshops is that they                                                                         Spark New Inspiration                             heritages left by ancestors should be well preserved
                    heavily rely on technicians to perform operation that                                                                                                                    by its descendants. Through painted, fierce faces
                    can be done better and more efficient by machine.                                                                         As LC Fuel Tank gained a reputation around     of the Guan Jiang Shou, the troupes and distinctive
                    For instance, the welding process will be much more                                                                    the world, aside from continuing to innovate and   choreographed performances, LC Fuel Tank hopes
                    effi cient if use welding machine to do the work.                                                                      improving product quality, the firm now combines both   they can demonstrate the traditional culture in Taiwan.
                       This drags them down, making them unable to fulfi ll                                                                its branding and Taiwanese traditional arts together
                    order with effi ciency, and the quality of operation won’t                                                             for greater exposure to the world. This year, the
                    be consistent since it’s performed manually. Quality                                                                   firm chose to paint their fuel tanks with imagery
                    of work varies with technicians. LC Fuel Tank is able                                                                  from traditional Taiwanese craftmanship called
                    to offer faster delivery time thanks to automation and                                                                 “Guan Jiang Shou,” or literally translated as “Lead
                    machinery.                                                                                                             Generals.” Guan Jiang Shou is a traditional folk-
                                                                                                                                           religion culture originating from Taiwan, considered
                       Chan said the quantity can be an issue. The                                                                         the best example of Taiwan’s combination of religious
                    European companies are willing to purchase less                                                                        ceremonies, traditional drama and musical theatre
                    quantity at higher price. That’s very different from USA   The painted fuel tanks are expected to receive the          arts, martial arts, traditional instruments, and arts.
                                                                      limelight at shows, attracting attention from foreign buyers
                    customers, who are willing to order more quantity in   and promote Taiwan’s traditional culture worldwide.
                    order to negotiate a better price. As manufacture, the   (photo courtesy of LC Fuel Tank)                                 China is famous for its distinctive cheongsam
                    economies of scale arise from greater the quantity                                                                     while Taiwan’s northern neighbor Japan has its iconic
                    of output produced. ‘‘Lower quantity and variety of                                                                    geisha tradition. However, Taiwan lacks concrete
                    products offering’’ is key for them to secure more   The Challenges This Year                                          and exclusive cultural images that allow foreigners
                    business in Europe.                                                                                                    to associate with Taiwan instantly, Chan said.
                                                                         When mentioning the presumably positive effects
                       Attending more European classic car shows is   brought on by the China-U.S. trade tensions, Chan
                    currently LC Fuel Tank’s main strategy to expand their   remains pessimistic. Even though it is a definite fact
                    market share in the region. Having done their research   that a number of American clients have shifted some
                    and attending two prestigious shows last year, they will   of its imports from China to Taiwan, Chan believes
                    be returning to Essen this April.                 that it was only a short-term effect, and it may not be
                                                                      the best correlation between orders and profi t. Clients
                                                                      forced to switch to import from Taiwan would possibly                                                                 This is the exterior of LC Fuel Tank’s new plant which are
                                                                      already have that intention in mind, compared to                                                                      being constructed in Xiluo Township. (photo courtesy of LC
                                                                      buying at the cost level of China, yet getting the Made                                                               Fuel Tank)
                                                                      in Taiwan quality. Over in the long term, customer will
                                                                      turn to who can provide the lowest prices.

                                                                         Taiwanese manufactures do great jobs on the
 40                                                                   lowers their competition compared with countries with
                                                                      spades, Chan says, but the increasing cost of labor

                                                                      less stringent labor laws. This is the difficulty many
                                                                      developed countries are facing.

                                                                         Also, the increase labor cost is harmful to
                                                                      production volume, Chan states. To address the
                                                                      issue, LC is building a new facility. The new plant will
                                                                      equip its production lines with 6-Axisrobot arms and
                                                                      integrate with the labor workforce, to not only eliminate
                                                                      possible human errors, but also double production
                                                                      capacity at least. He expects that the new building will
                                                                      be completed by the end this year.

                                                                         Despite the unfavorable challenges, the general
                                                                      manager is optimistic and expect
                                                                         this year to be fruitful. ‘‘We look forward to
                                                                      increasing presence in European classic cars markets,
                    LC Fuel Tank Manufacture Co. aims for European classic   and make a name for our company as the best fuel
                    car market with its quality auto parts. (Photo Courtesy of   tank manufacture for classic cars.’’
                    LC Fuel)                                                                                                                  Traditional culture,Guan Jiang Shou, collides with modern fuel tank technology. (photo courtesy of LC Fuel Tank)
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