Industry Activities
Ching Chan Optical New HQ Inauguration
Off to a Start in Forming Machine Business with a Plan to Register on Emerging Stock Board by Q4 2015
by Tanya Shih, Fastener World Inc.
Ching Chan Optical Technology Co., Ltd., a world-leading fastener sorting machine manufacturer, started business late but showed fastest growth as compared to other similar competitors. Almost every year we hear Ching Chan’s good news regarding global expansion, new machine release, acquisition of certificates or awards from the government. Its business range in the beginning of 1992 included the sale of vibrating feeders and was further expanded to include R&D of sorting machines in 1999. When the 1st generation of sorting machine was successfully developed in 2000, its sorting business officially took off. It then continued to develop new machine models and has upgraded them to the 4th generation. In 2004, it started selling CCM screw/nut sorting machines and within just 11 years the machines have been successfully sold to over 30 countries. Its customers include many world-leading fastener manufacturers and total sale thus far has accumulated to 1,700 sets (50% to China, 15% to Taiwan, and 35% to other countries). In the current phase, Ching Chan mainly produces fastener image sorting machines and offers sorting business service. Its customers are from a broad range of industries such as automobiles, aerospace, electronics, 3C, and medical treatment. It also plans to broaden the range of its testing equipment to include the use with powder metallurgy, grease seal, etc.
New Taiwanese HQ to be Operational on Jan. 24
Quality and Service Are Critical to Sorting Machine Business
Ching Chan has bases in Taiwan (Kaohsiung, Taichung, and Taoyuan) and China (Kunshan, Dongguan, Chongqing, Wenzhou, and Ningbo). 5 Years after the inauguration of its Taiwan-based office in 2009, it invested NTD 0.37 billion in another new 13,223 sqm HQ (on the 9,917 sqm net floor) in Taiwan, whose production lines are already operational with Taiwanese employees deployed. The inauguration and new machine release ceremony is scheduled to take place on Jan. 24. “Such a success not only demonstrates the maturity of Ching Chan’s sorting machine business accumulating over the past 15 years, but also signifies the official entry of the company to a milestone for fastener forming machines,” says president Alex Wu.
Against the fad of cost control in global manufacturing, Ching Chan did exactly the opposite, which is the very key to Ching Chan’s victory. Wu adds, “At the time when we started out producing vibrating plates, as I recall, demand for quality was not very stringent, and that resulted in bad sales and cumbersome problems in aftersales. I’d like to stress the significance of quality, as in the long run you pay for whatever you’re given and the cost is reflected on the quality you can give. The cheapest products, to one’s surprise, turn out to be the most expensive. As a result, the current team of Ching Chan solely targets quality breakthrough and customer satisfaction beyond expectations.” Different from other companies, Ching Chan hires a team with strong R&D capability and frequently releases new machine models and applies for at least 20 patents every year. It was awarded Taiwan SMEs Innovation Award twice by Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and was also awarded Chinese High-Tech Enterprise in China.
Its sale grew 30% annually in the past 3 years and even climbed to 60% in 2014, the best record in the past 5 years with the revenue at NTD 0.56 billion. Wu says frankly, “Trust among employees is the core value that helps achieve the success of Ching Chan and is the momentum for building the new plant. In addition to necessary benefits, prizes, and decision making power, offering a comfortable working place to all employees is definitely my responsibility.”
Expanding Business to “Former Machine” and Controlling Quality from the Very Beginning
The First Company in the World Offering “Forming Machine + Process Monitoring”
“How can a company sustain without improving quality?” Wu said this when he visited Germany 3 years ago and saw a 32-aged operator still using a sorting machine which had been used for 36 years. Testing has basically become commonplace in Germany and other European/American countries. Process Monitoring is even considered a standard auxiliary to multi-stage fastener forming machines, enabling inspection during forming process. In Taiwan, however, only less than 1% of users use Process Monitoring, much less quality control. Wu says, “I’m very pleased to see the joining of Ching Chan, which has become the largest added value for Taiwanese fastener industry.”
Ching Chan’s entry to the manufacturing of fastener forming machines resulted from the mature development of Taiwanese forming machine industry. It has hired 50 staff with over 10 years of technical experience and the team is expected to grow to 100 staff. Wu says, “The use of sorting machine is a necessary procedure before fasteners delivery. Effective cost control of production and testing as well as quality guarantee can only be achieved from the very beginning of manufacturing.” Through years of global deployment for the sale of its sorting machines, Wu is confident that the combination of “Forming Machine + Sorting Machine” can be the best and most efficient choice for entering the global market.
Ching Chan, with the capital of NTD 0.218 billion, has signed a contract with a brokerage firm for initial public offer in stock market. It plans to register on Emerging Stock Board by Nov. 2015 and be listed on GTSM General Stock Board soon after Q3 2016.
