Furniture makers of Taiwan are joining hands to modernize their equipment and carve out a bigger share of the billion dollar U.S. market. An association was organized in September of this year and a wood processing zone is under development at Shulin in northern Taiwan with 37 leading manufacturers participating.
Taiwan's furniture industry is old but the take-off is new. Even before Koxinga recaptured Taiwan from the Dutch in 1662, Chinese furniture based on traditional designs had been made on the island. When Taiwan fell into Japanese hand in 1895, the furniture industry of the cities was Japanized. However, the Chinese way of making furniture was preserved in the countryside. Japanese statistics showed Taiwan had 3,576 furniture workers in 1926.
The industry received a shot in the arm as mainlanders came to the island in 1949 to escape the Communist usurpation. In 1956, two factories making machinery for woodworking, Kuang Yung and Sheng Feng, were established. The furniture industry entered an era of semi-mechanization.
In 1962, Taiwan had 2,395 furniture plants, of which 2,200, or 91.86 per cent, employed fewer than five persons each. Only 94 plants used machinery. Larger factories began to emerge in 1967. The Hongkong Teakwood Works (Taiwan) Ltd. invested US$1.75 million to establish the island's first modern furniture plant in the Kaohsiung Export Processing Zone. Also in that year, the Vocational Assistance Commission for Retired Servicemen expanded its Taoyuan county plant with new apitalization of US$3 million and employment of 1,000 workers. Both factories were equipped with imported machinery. Since then, smaller up-to-date furniture and wood products workshops have come into being one after another. The number has grown to more than 400.
Because the furniture industry provides excellent employment opportunities, the government has given much attention to its further development. In 1968, the Council for International Economic Cooperation and Development invited Borge Jenson, professor of the Technological Institute of Copenhagen and concurrently president of the Danish Furniture Makers Control Association, to undertake an on-the-spot study and make recommendations.
Prof. Jenson inspected 21 furniture plants during his month's stay and proposed to:
- Reduce insect damage to logs by stacking them one foot above the ground.
- Encourage log imports by lowering the tariff.
- Control water content of timber by installing air-conditioners in furniture workshops or by chemical treatment.
- Keep direct sunshine off timber.
- Saw wood to required sizes before sending it to the kiln so as to reduce drying costs.
- Replace rudimentary tools and machinery with improved Western equivalents. He advised Taiwan furniture makers to attend the biennial Hanover Fair to see woodworking machinery on display. Surfacers commonly used in Taiwan, Prof. Jenson suggested, should be replaced with drum sanders in order to reduce wood damage. He also recommended the adoption of carbide tipped cutting tools.
Cut-out stool in the shape of classical drum (File Photo)
Other suggestions were for the holding of seminars, establishment of industrial zones for wood working and the dispatch of technicians abroad to learn new methods.
Prof. Jenson's proposals have become the blueprint for further development of the furniture and woodworking industry. Most of his recommendations have been accepted and are being carried out. A woodworking zone has been established at Shulin. When development of the zone is completed next year, the 37 plants will pool their labor, coordinate procurement and production, and centralize marketing activities. These steps will make Taiwan more competitive in the world market.
Organization of the Taiwan Regional Furniture and Wood Work Producers' Association on September 10, 1973, marked another big step toward increased cooperation and modernization. The association has a membership of 110, about a fourth of the island's furniture and woodworking companies.
Taiwan has 170 species of trees, including 23 conifers, occupying 20 per cent of the forested area. Formosan red cypress, Chinese hemlock, Morrison spruce, Taiwan cypress and teak are good furniture woods. But the domestic furniture wood supply is insufficient because trees grow in remote mountainous areas. Transportation is difficult and costly.
Teak was introduced into Taiwan in 1901 and successfully grown in the Chishan district near Kaohsiung. Production is limited. So large quantities are imported from Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. The import level was US$800,000 in 1971. Imports of logs, mostly for plywood, totaled nearly US$100 million in 1972.
Major import is lauan, mostly from the Philippines and Malaysia, which is used mainly in making plywood. Layer after layer is sliced off lauan logs until no more sheets of required size can be cut. The rest of the wood goes into furniture and construction. More than 10 million cubic meters of lauan was imported between 1954 and 1971 with 20 per cent going to furniture and buildings.
Taiwan furniture manufacturers usually resort to the natural drying of wood. This is time consuming and is not so efficient as kiln drying. Direct sunshine may damage wood. A modern kiln was established by the Forestry Experiment Bureau. It serves small shops which do not have kilns of their own.
Chinese furniture styles took shape in the Chin and Han dynasties about 2,000 years ago. Little has been changed since. The peak of development came between the 16th and 18th centuries. These are some of the hallmarks of Chinese furniture:
- Lines are simple compared with Spanish, French and Italian furniture.
- Feet and legs are modeled after those of animals, especially the horse.
- Joints between legs and body are decorative, usually taking the shape of dragons or abstrct cloud shapes. Because of delicate carving, there is danger of breakage during transportation.
-Glassy lacquer, usually red or black, is used in finishing. China has long been known for its lacquer technique.
Dragons and clouds are favorite decorations (File Photo)
Chinese furniture formerly was made of solid wood. Plywood is more popular nowadays because it does not crack or warp. Plywood furniture is veneered with teak or walnut. A Taiwan processor has succeeded in making a plastic veneer printed with the grain of teak, walnut or other woods. Plastic veneer is adaptable and durable and does not require finishing. It is expected to replace teak and walnut in cheaper furniture.
Domestic marble is used decoratively and for table tops in Taiwan furniture. Exports have begun.
Much of Taiwan's export furniture is not of the Chinese style. Shops work from designs supplied by importers. Early American is the most popular style, followed by contemporary and ornately carved Spanish and Mediterranean furniture. Modern styles are popular with young Taiwan homemakers.
Most exports are knocked-down pieces and parts. Some are not finished. Little traditional Chinese furniture has been exported. There has been no exploitation. But some tourists and Americans going home from Taiwan duty tours buy traditional Chinese pieces and have them sent home. American citizens working for their government can send such purchases as part of household effects and save sizable freight charges. Several furniture makers cater almost exclusively to this custom export business.
Furniture exports were first recorded in 1966, when volume was US$3,374,100 worth of wooden pieces and US$814,500 worth of metal furniture. Export of wooden furniture has increased steadily; that of metal furniture has declined. The 24 major producers export their products directly. Smaller companies sell through trading companies.
The development of furniture making goes hand in hand with growth of the plywood industry. Export channels for furniture were pioneered by plywood producers. Since 1967, the Taoyuan furniture plant of VACRS has opened up markets in the United States, Japan and Canada. Southeast Asian and European markets were explored by the Hongkong Teakwood Works (Taiwan) Ltd.
The Taoyuan plant of VACRS had small beginnings. In December of 1964, the Asia America Trading Co. Ltd. signed a 10-year contract with VACRS for the export of up to 9,800,000 Canadian dollars' worth of furniture a year. The plant obtained a loan of 5 million Canadian dollars from the Export Credits Insurance Corporation and obtained technical know-how and equipment from Canor Trading Ltd. of Canada.
Sales of the Taoyuan plant were disappointing. High production costs and freight rates were blamed. In 1971, VACRS entered into cooperation with a Japanese company to make folding chairs for schools and civic organizations. Sales records have not been as high as hoped. However, the efforts of VACRS have paved the way for exports on a commercial scale.
Legs are modeled after those of the animals (File Photo)
Overseas sales have climbed fast. The volume was US$2,268,000 in 1967, US$3,810,000 in 1968, US$5,389,000 in 1970, US$8,467,000 in 1971 and US$18 million in 1972. Exports to the United States were US$2,781,787, or 75.84 per cent, in 1969, US$3,883,362 (71.13 per cent) in 1970 and US$5,373,225 (63.c46 per ent) in 1971. Although the volume of U.S. sales has increased, the percentage is down, indicating diversification of the market.
Japan is a growing market. The Japanese bought US$138,536 worth of Taiwan furniture in 1969, or 3.78 per cent of total exports. The 1970 level was US$306,696 and that for 1971 US$778,893, an increase of 2.5 times. In the first six months of 1972, Japan bought US$1,164,042 worth of furniture from Taiwan, or 13.8 per cent of all exports. Other markets are in Okinawa, Hongkong, Australia, Germany, Britain, and Puerto Rico.
Parts occupied 86.2 per cent of export volume in 1969, 78.8 per cent in 1970, 78.6 per cent in 1971 and 78.5 per cent in the first half of 1972. The second largest item was chairs and stools: 13.4 per cent in 1969, 20.3 per cent in 1970, 21.1 per cent in 1971 and 20.8 per cent in the first half of 1972.
The United States is the biggest furniture producer and also the biggest importer in the world. Imports are increasing because of the shortage of American furniture workers. Canada is the main supplier. Asian suppliers include Japan and Hongkong. Taiwan is a newcomer.
In 1970, wooden furniture imports by the United States rose to US$51,554,084, double the US$26,784,904 of 1967. Canada replaced Denmark as the leading supplier. Taiwan's share of the American market was US$2,041,038, or nearly 4 per cent, an increase of 12.4 times over 1966. Taiwan furniture has surpassed that of Japan in the American market.
In 1965, the United States imported US$3,569,158 worth of wooden furniture parts. Taiwan, with 17.29 per cent, was the fourth biggest supplier behind Japan (22.76 per cent), Canada (18.13 per cent) and Yugoslavia (17.6 per cent). In 1966, Taiwan sold 24.4 per cent of U.S.-imported parts
to take a lead which has been retained ever since. However, parts exports to the United States declined in 1971. Japan and Canada were catching up.
Domestic furniture sales have increased by leaps and bounds as a result of the population increase, new housing and prosperity. Marriages numbered 106,812 in 1971, 109,026 in 1970, 104,336 in 1969, 102,698 in 1968 and 98,443 in 1967. If furniture expenditures of a new family average US$250, the newlywed market alone was worth some US$2,500,000. The boom in hotel construction has also abetted demand.
Taiwan marble is extensively used decoratively and for the tops of tables and backs of chairs (File Photo)
With the increase in per capita income (US$466 is forecast for this year), expenditures for furniture are on the increase. The average family spending on furniture increased from 3.61 per cent in 1970 to 4.21 per cent in 1971.
The furniture industry is not without problems. The most serious is a shortage of workers. In 1968, Taiwan had 6,286 furniture workers. As of May in 1973, the number was down to 4,719. Many furniture makers have gone off to build houses or to enter other higher paying industries. Another difficulty is the increasing cost of imported wood. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are competing for the logs of Southeast Asia. Furniture makers and plywood manufacturers have sought government help in procuring raw materials.
Western furniture makers have improved their techniques, reduced production costs and standardized quality. In so doing, they have gained control of the free world furniture market. "We should follow this course, buy equipment from Western countries and raise the quality of our products," said Ho Yao-ting, board chairman of the Formosan Furniture and Wood Industry Co. Ltd.
Ho, who is one of Taiwan's leading furniture makers, took note of the lack of creative artists in the field. Imitation is the order of the day. Taiwan furniture consequently has steadily lost its Chinese flavor. Ho hopes the government will help the industry set up a furniture school, encourage designing courses in college and spur research on drying techniques. Translation of Western literature on furniture into Chinese is regarded as another priority requirement.