Competitors on the Run, Taiwan's Auto Parts Makers Turn Sights to Expansion.

(From Taiwan Economic News)

By QUINCY LIANG Taiwan's aftermaket (AM) auto-parts industry has succeeded in keeping global competitors at bay, especially those from South Korea and mainland China, through its advantages in price, product choice, product-development speed, and international sales channels, according to many industry leaders participating at the recent 2004 Taipei Int'l Auto/Motorcycle Parts & Accessories Show (Taipei AMPA 2004)

During the event the AM parts makers also announced ambitious business-expansion projects to meet anticipated growth in demand. Most of the firms in question have evolved from AM parts makers into original equipment (OE), or tier-one, parts suppliers to many international automakers

Many of the top AM parts manufacturers in Taiwan started as small-scale producers, most over 20 years ago. Their businesses began to take off in the 1990s, when they all but shut their Italian rivals out of the global market. The industry then entered a period of fierce price competition in major overseas markets, especially the U.S. and Europe. This contest whittled out many weaker firms, but those that survived are today in prime fighting condition and able, the industry leaders say, to take on almost anyone, anywhere. Largest Die/Mold Plant in Taiwan Among the survivors is Pro Fortune Industry Co., Ltd., the world's second-biggest plastic auto body-parts maker, which has a global reputation for strong mold and die development capability. The company also rivals the industry's No. 1 player--Tong Yang Industrial Co., Ltd.--in terms of product selection

At Taipei AMPA 2004, Pro Fortune chairman Webber Lee announced that his company would soon set up Taiwan's largest mold plant for plastic auto parts, with a total investment of over NT$300 million (US$8.93 million at US$1:NT$33.6)

Lee says that Pro Fortune completed a share-swap with Tong Yang about three years ago and now is like a "tiger with a pair of wings." As partners, the two companies are well poised to expand their share of the global AM market through cooperative mold and die development, Lee says

Pro Fortune has over 500 sets of molds and dies, mainly for bumper and grill products, and the company develops around 40 new grill and 20 bumper models per year at an investment outlay of about NT$150 million to NT$200 million (US$4.5 million to US$6 million). After the establishment of the new mold and die plant, according to Lee, his company and Tong Yang will respectively pour about NT$300 million (US$8.93 million) into product development per year and share each other's product lines

Lee says that Pro Fortune's …