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News at 09'/05/18
Economic Daily News & Fm 89.1 Sunny Radio Interview Company President Mr. Wen-Lung Hsiao
[ 2009/05/18 ] Economic Daily News
[ Reported by FORWELL ]
Face to Face with Entrepreneurs, Mr. Wen-Lung Hsiao: The Principles of Healthy Venture
Every Monday Sunny Radio 89.1 FM speaks with fantastic guests on the weekly program, Face to Face with Entrepreneurs. On this program we invite entrepreneurs from Central Taiwan to discuss their entrepreneurial history, growth, personal stories, and share with the audience something perhaps, unexpected. Face to Face with Entrepreneurs is broadcast every Monday evening from 5:00 – 6:00 o’clock on Sunny Radio 89.1 FM, and replayed at 1:00 a.m. The report can also be heard at www.sunny891.com.tw, or read in the Monday edition of Taiwan’s the Economic Daily News. (Note: The Economic Daily News is a Mandarin publication. You are reading an English translation of the article, which does not actually appear in The Economic Daily News.)
2009 marks 22 years in business for Forwell Precision Machinery Taiwan’s largest manufacturer of quick mold change systems. Company president, Mr. Wen-Lung Hsiao has always been on the front line of the business maintaining face to face contact with customers. Mr. Hsiao’s approach to business has helped Forwell to become the leader in the custom designed quick mold/die change system niche market.
High speed mold change systems automate the mold changing sequence. With a family background in systems research, Mr. Hsiao’s office is situated directly opposite the R&D center. In this way Mr. Hsiao and the R&D engineers can confer at anytime, and work together to solve problems in a timely fashion.
R&D: One hundred plus patents
With over one hundred patents to Forwell’s credit, Mr. Hsiao believes R&D is the number one weapon to keeping Forwell competitive. He firmly believes it is very important for R&D personnel to each have a personal sense of mission. Prizes aside, Mr. Hsiao also leads the team to exhibitions in search of inspiration to research and develop new designs.
Now 54, Mr. Hsiao graduated from the Machinery Division of the Affiliated Industrial High School of the National Changhua University of Education. After finishing military service he joined Kenda Co as an engineer responsible for hydraulics, pneumatics, and automation equipment control systems R&D. Afterwards, with an introduction from a friend, Mr. Hsiao decided to go into business himself, producing quick mold change systems
At first Forwell had only five staff and started with an initial investment of NT$1.65 million. Wen-Lung Hsiao still remembers when the concept of quick mold change systems was poorly understood by industry, and most systems available were high cost imports. When Forwell began production there was a definite period of exploration, and it took a year before the company sold its first unit.
But Wen-Lung Hsiao was not discouraged and enthusiastically sought cooperation with training programs, associations, and schools. He sought to introduce the quick mold change system and popularize the idea of automation, essentially create the market in a step by step process. With Forwell products 30% cheaper on average than imported ones, market acceptability was greatly improved, and the first trainees of these systems quickly became Forwell customers.
These days Forwell is located in Pusin Township, Changhua County, Taiwan, as well as in Ningbo and Shenzhen, China. The company employs 200 staff and sells worldwide under the Forwell name. Forwell customers include Foxconn, Panasonic Taiwan, Delta Electronics, and Chimei. Annually, the company sells between 3-4000 quick mold change systems earning approximately NT$500 million.
Wen-Lung Hsiao states that in a recession, an army at one’s disposal is most important. With that thought Forwell takes advantage production line down time to strengthen staff training, always aiming for the next level. The company is also constantly on the look-out for top talent that may have been released from other companies, as well as investing R&D of new products. In this way, Forwell prepares for when the economy is strong again.
Mr. Hsiao and Forwell exemplify healthy business. In fact, Mr. Hsiao feels a business is like the body, and that to be kept healthy finances, design, and quality must all be in good health - one weak link and must be immediately fixed without delay or the whole enterprise suffers.
Marketing: The power of the dragon
To continue with health, when Wen-Lung Hsiao increased his community association responsibilities in July of last year by accepting the presidency of the Changhua Lions Club, he did so with one goal in mind - to increase the number of blood bags on hand to 15,000 within his term. With excellent execution by all involved 14,000 bags had been collected within less than one year.
Wen-Lung Hsiao is also an expert salesman. The second part of Wen-Lung 「龍」 means dragon, and is a strong symbol of good luck. Using the idea of the dragon, Mr. Hsiao decided to present partners with a dragon cane, dragon seal, and dragon chair to promote sales. These items are associated with kings and men of high position and Wen-Lung Hsiao feels that giving his partners these dragon related gifts imbues them with traits and personality ideal for company leaders.
Last year Forwell invested NT$75 million in preparation for establishing a global operations headquarters. And at the end of May, 2009, Hsiao will accept the directorship of the Ningbo Taiwanese-funded Enterprises Association. Having completed bilateral and global arrangements, Forwell is quickly approaching yet another milestone.
