Garden Tools Taiwan Makers Compete With Performance, Design and Quality


Over the past years' more than 70% of Taiwanese garden-tool manufacturers have transplanted their operations to mainland China to escape the adverse operating environment at home. Those who remain on the island have been striving to carve out a niche in the market' mainly by constantly rolling out new products featuring strong performance' innovative structures and top quality.

Many Taiwanese makers' for instance' are turning out garden cutting tools that can be operated with little exertion through the use of leveraged gear mechanisms. Some garden-use saws also facilitate cutting with the aid of saw teeth with special tips. One maker offers pruners with a rotating handle that also makes operation much less strenuous. Another innovative feature is a mechanism allowing changes of cutting heads on a common handle.

Investing in the Future

Many of these products are made with self-developed patented technology--the fruits of heavy R&D investment by Taiwanese makers. Many local companies in the segment claim that they invest over 5% of their annual revenue in the development of new models every year.

Many Taiwanese makers of garden-use cutting tools use high-quality steel imported from Japan for their blades or saw teeth to improve performance.

This quality focus has paid off for several Taiwanese makers who have obtained major international certifications to back up their quality claims. Thanks to the combination of strong performance' good quality' and punctual delivery' Taiwan-made garden tools continue to be in strong demand' even though they are often priced 20% higher than their mainland Chinese counterparts.

Taiwan's garden-tool industry is concentrated in the central counties of Taichung and Changhua' where they also enjoy the support from a comprehensive network of satellite factories.

Major markets for Taiwan-made garden tools are the U.S. and Europe. They are mostly sold on an OEM (original equipment manufacturing) or ODM (original design manufacturing) basis. Major clients include leading international brands' chain stores such as Wal-Mart' and dedicated hardware outlets.

Easy Operation

Ho Chen Garden Tools' for instance' has rolled out shears and loppers that it claims require 50% less exertion thanks to the use of a patented gear mechanism. The head of the company's loppers can be easily removed and replaced with a saw or other attachments. Its tree pruner features a telescopic handle bar. Trowels are another major item made by the company.

Company manager Eric Huang notes that strong performance' innovation' and good quality are the major advantages of the company's products. They boast better cutting performance thanks to advanced treatment technology; and they have longer product life than China-made counterparts' their archrival on the international market. Aluminum is used on the product bodies' reducing weight. Many of the company's products have passed Germany's GUV certification.

The company has spared no effort in the development of new products. It spends around 10% of its revenue on R&D and maintains a seven-person product development team' according to Huang. The product development team also helps provide after-sales support.

Europe is Ho Chen's largest market' with a 55% share' followed by the U.S.' Japan' China' Australia' and Taiwan.

Located in Changhua County' the company's factory employs 150 workers and features highly integrated production' covering over 70% of the entire manufacturing process. The remaining 30%' such as aluminum forging' is farmed out to satellite factories.

Leveraging Convenience

Shang Gu Enterprise Co.' Ltd. Offers garden tools that are also easy to handle with the help of a patented mechanism delivering leveraged operation. The company's major products are tree pruners' lopping shears' hedge shears' flower shears and trowels. The company rolled seven new models this year' including two ergonomically designed flower shears.

Lucy Lin' Shang Gu's general manager' emphasizes the high quality of her company's products' which she attributes to high quality surface treatment on parts' the adoption of high-grade steel from China Steel Corp.' and rigorous quality control during the manufacturing process. Li says over 10 of the company's product models have passed the VPA GS certification of Germany' a certification standard for hand tools. Shang Gu is the only Taiwanese garden-tool maker with so many VPA-certified models' according to Lin. In addition' the company's products meet the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive) criteria of the European Union' thanks to changes in the use of their plastic materials' which boosted the company's materials costs by 10% to 50%.

In order to roll out new products constantly' the company typically spends 8% of its revenue on R&D annually and keeps a six-person R&D team' notes Lin.

The company's products are mainly provided to leading international brands and large sales outlets on an OEM or ODM basis' such as Spare & Jackson of the U.K. and Wal-Mart. In recent years' the company has started to establish its own brands--Flower for the Southeast Asian market and Sun Garten for other areas. Initially' those bearing the own brands will be newly developed products other than garden tools.

The company's revenue for 2005 is estimated at US$7.6 million' 10% more than 2004. Major markets include the U.K.' Germany' France' Italy' Holland' and the U.S.

The company just completed the expansion of its 60-worker factory at a cost of US$600'000 in November' which boosts its capacities for the production of tree pruners and lopping shears. In addition' it has spent US$14'000 to hire a consulting firm to help it enhance production efficiency by streamlining the operating process. As a result' Lin is confident that the company's revenue will grow at least 20% next year.

Pruning User Difficulty

King Jaws Metal Co.' Ltd. Rolled out over 10 new models of garden tool this year. They include pruning saws with easy-change saw blades. The products also have specially designed tips' which can cut the effort of operation in half. In addition' the company also offers tree pruners with telescopic handles that can extend up to 96 inches.

Chen You-heng' chairman' emphasizes the high quality of his company's products' noting that many of the company's products have passed GS certification. Some products feature patented designs or structures. He points out that the company utilizes high-end materials' such as high carbon steel imported from Japan' for blade manufacture. The company's products are priced at US$20 to US$100 FOB.

King Jaws invests about 5% of its revenue in R&D. "It costs a lot to develop new products. A single mold can cost as much as NT$60'000'" remarks Chen.

The company racked up revenue of USS$1.9 million in 2004' 40% of which came from garden tools and the remainder from professional handsaws. It sells its products mainly to importers and hypermarkets on an OEM basis in the U.S. and Europe (Germany' the U.K.' and France).

The company's factory in Changhua County' central Taiwan' has a staff of about 20 workers who handle 40% of the production work. The remainder is farmed out to supporting factories.

Reaching High

The new tree pruner of Winland Garden Tools is furnished with a clip' which can automatically hold the cut branch and a telescopic handle bar extendable up to three meters. The product is patented in Europe (Germany' the U.K.' and France)' the U.S.' and Japan. Another innovative product is a grass shear that users can operate from a standing position. It is available in two models' one with an extendable handle bar and the other with a fixed handle bar. The former can be extended to 1.2 meters' similar to the fixed length of the latter. The company rolled out over 20 new models in 2005.

One of the company's best sellers is a shear with a handle bar that can automatically revolve with the posture of the user's hand to cut operating strain. With a price tag of US$3.5-4 FOB' it was rolled out about five years ago.

The company's revenue is estimated at US$9 million in 2005' higher than 2004's US$8 million. Its products are sold to major international brands and hypermarkets' such as Ace Hardware' Wal-Mart' and Kmart' on an OEM or ODM basis. Europe and the U.S. are the two major markets' each accounting for 40% of the total shipment' with the remaining 20% for Japan' mostly via trading firms. Sales to Eastern Europe' mainly Czech and Russia' have been growing rapidly in recent years' though the volume is still limited.