Industry Activities 

After over 3 years of planning, the old brand Taiwanese screw supplier- Hwa Hsing Screw completed the construction of its new plant located in Shuei Jia, Tainan in 2010 and has started to manufacture this year. Due to the increasing demand for fastener quality, the new plant set up a heat treating sector and is equipped with 5 heat treating facilities (3 sets are continuous furnaces and the other 2 are batch type furnaces, specializing in the heat treatment of long screws). “Hwa Hsing has abundant heat treating experience and has established a heat treating sector, allowing the process of heat treatment to be 100% controlled inside the plant,” said President Jim C.N. Chen. He emphasized, “ The investment in heat treatment facilities is for the efficient control of delivery time and quality. Matched with the automatic packing, the procedure of processing and packing will be seamless and can satisfy customers’ demand. The capacity of the new plant is estimated to reach 2,000 tons per month and the annual revenue is expected to reach NTD 1 billion.
 
Investment in Heat Treating Facilities
Focusing Major Products on Long Screws
 
As the top 5 manufacturers of small carbon steel screws in Taiwan, Hwa Hsing has wide and deep product categories including wood screws, machine screws, tapping screws, drywall screws, chipboard screws, self-drilling screws, and production of other metal ware. It even enters the market of long screws to expand its product line. It can produce 10-400mm long M2.5-M12 screws. Europe is its major market, which represents 70-80% of its revenue. “The current export market has become the buyers dominant one, which means suppliers cannot determine the price and should be determined by customers and the market, “ emphasized Chen. He noted, “Quality is the general condition for customers making orders. However, the continuous supply of excellent quality and stable products is just the key. The crucial technology of processing carbon steel screws is at the part of heat treatment. After Hwa Hsing has its own heat treatment sector, heat treatment processing can be completed in the plant directly, resulting in smooth processing and coherent quality.
 
Looking well at the market prospect of long screws, it will focus more on the production of long screws. Chen pointed, “The demand in Europe for long screws is growing larger and 80% of long screws are manufactured in Europe. If Taiwan can utilize both quality and price as its advantages, the development will be greatly enlarged. He added, “The most important key of long screws relies on delivery time. Hwa Hsing is the first Taiwanese fastener factory, which has heat treatment facilities for long screws, so it can precisely control quality and delivery time. The delivery time for long screws is usually 4-5 months, but we can shorten it to 90 days as well as plan inventory for long term customers.”
 
Making Efforts on Management
Embracing the New Future
 
On the other hand, Chen has a unique management way for the new plant. He thinks when the production amount reaches a certain level, the technology becomes a basic requirement and the next step is the devotion to management. As a result, the new plant also has a MIS department. Through the operation of self-developed “in-time production info system” to organize a simple internal communication, it is hoped that a close communication among departments can be established and the specific capacity can be controlled. Thus, over 200 threading machines and heading machines in the new plant can be used efficiently. In financial management, how to achieve a transparent financial status is another key point. “If one can manage the finance, production procedure, inventory, and operation forecast instantly, he can get the first place and stay firm, “ said Chen.
 
Considering the future economy, Chen has a positive mind. He thinks whether the economy is in good or bad condition, once the manager keeps stable operation, gets rid of traditional thinking, invests in new facilities, carries out quality control, develops major products, and establishes the advantage, customers will not transfer orders to others and the influence from the fluctuating economy will be minimized. “How to gain customers’ loyalty from every business and establish confidence are important.” The sustainable operation of Hwa Hsing is just based on the service and honesty.
 
For the next 5 years, Chen has already formed a map in his mind and is waiting for the good timing to realize it, expecting to become the top fastener OEM. It welcomes companies looking for Asian manufacturing partners can cooperate with Hwa Hsing to create competitive advantages and a better future.