Industry Activities 

Yow Chern Completes Factory Expansion

by Tanya Shih, Fastener World Inc.

“There is always a surprise in every visit!” Within only 5 years from summer 2010 through spring 2015, Yow Chern Co., Ltd, well-known in the field of construction and automotive fasteners, completed the 3-phase expansion of its current factory. The investment this time included the rightward and leftward expansion of its Alian, Kaohsiung-based factory, with addition of the new CNC machining facilities for auto parts and secondary processing. “The spacious manufacturing site helps make a more streamlined production flow and any adjustment will be reflected upon the competitiveness of the company. My next step is to  a new packaging plant in Gangshan area, and after that, a smaller but stronger company can be created,” said President George Hsu.

Small Construction Screw and Automotive Screw- Two Cash Cows of Yow Chern

President George Hsu, General Manager Don Wu, and other 3 employees founded Yow Chern in 1990 with the capital of NTD 5 million. 12 sets of small screw machines installed in the 496 sq. m factory launched the fastener business of Yow Chern.

Yow Chern is now a company with the annual revenue of NTD0.9 billion and is also a very competitive manufacturer of construction screws (ASTER ^®) and automotive fasteners (special parts and assembly parts). It has been certified by ISO 9001, QS 9000, ISO/TS 16949, TAF, EN 14566, EN 14592, and ETA.

Pride of Yow Chern— ASTER ^® SCREW

A Taiwanese Designed and Produced Product with Brisk Sales Around the World 

“I had inadequate capital at that time, so I started my small screw business with low entry barriers,” said President Hsu.

Before the establishment of Yow Chern, President Hsu had spent many years in learning manufacturing technology and factory management as well as establishing interpersonal relationship. As a result, during the past 20 years, Yow Chern dedicated all its efforts to the R&D of manufacturing technology and development of products and continued the development of nearly 10 new items per month. Yow Chern aims at the market of “patented screws” including small construction screws. The ASTER ^® SCREW in its product range has been patented in Taiwan, the EU, USA, and Canada, and has once received “The Best Quality Award” in Germany. This product is marketed through importers and manufacturers in many countries and is well received in the market, successfully increasing the brand awareness of Yow Chern around the world. The ASTER ^® series represent a great portion of Yow Chern’s total revenue, which cannot be undervalued.

Change of Yow Chern: The Difficult Part of Manufacturing Auto Parts Is Not Technology But Well-organized Systems

President Hsu said that it took about 6 years for Yow Chern to have its presence in the automotive market and the total investment reached nearly NTD0.25 billion. “10 years ago, many Taiwanese fastener companies started to move westward to China while the manufacturing industry in China also kept progressing day after day, so we did need changes, too,” added President Hsu. Nowadays, Yow Chern’s production value from auto parts has represented 50% of the company’s total revenue. These products supplied to the automotive industry include brake shafts as safety parts or non-safety parts for interior assembly. Yow Chern has the ability to develop molds and manufacturing processes and it even cooperated with U.S. Simpson Strong-Tie to develop the direct cold forging of stainless steel wedge anchors.

President Hsu added, “The most difficult part of tapping into the automotive fastener market is not technology but the establishment of well-organized systems. In order to fulfill requirements of TS 16949 into every manufacturing process (especially the documentation of PPAP), every employee has to be trained continuously and internalize what they have learned as routine works which range from buying wires to the final packaging and shipment. I’m proud that I have a team of talented workers and I also have confidence in my products.”

Who says that the construction screw market has almost no space left for newcomers? Yow Chern made its presence by patented products. Who says that it is hard to enter the auto fastener market? Yow Chern has had its own system to overcome the blind spot. Dedicated to inventing new patented products, President Hsu pointed to the facilities and said, “Our multifunctional forging machines can produce screws and nuts.” Construction screws and automotive screws are currently two cash cows of Yow Chern. So, what is its next step? We believe in the following 5 years Yow Chern will have another surprise for us!

Company profile

Employees: 115

Headquarters area: 8,925 sq. m

Packaging plant area: 4,958 sq. m

Gangshan plant area: 19,834 sq. m (currently for warehousing only and is not yet completed).

Companies with some shares held by Yow Chern

Inch & Metric Marketing Sdn Bhd (Location: Malaysia. Factory area: 13,222 sq. m. Employees: 65. Annual revenue: USD10 million. Percentage of shares held by Yow Chern: 32%.) 

King Jui Enterprise Co., Ltd (Location: Gangshan, Kaohsiung. Factory area: 9,917 sq. m. Employees: 30. Percentage of shares held by Yow Chern: 30%)

Te Hung En Enterprise Co., Ltd. (Location: Gangshan, Kaohsiung. Employees: 30. Percentage of shares held by Yow Chern: 20%.)