In July last year, the company embarked on yet another aggressive move by spending US$9.5 million to acquire the US-based Associated Electrics Inc, the leading global brand in radio control race cars.
With the acquisition, Thunder Tiger successfully moved up to third spot among the world's radio control model manufacturers, behind Japan's Kyosho Corp and Tamiya Inc.
Last year Europe accounted for 66 percent of Thunder Tiger's total revenues, while the US took up 23 percent and Taiwan contributed 4 percent.
The domestic market commanded only a small portion of its revenue, as people here are not that fond of outdoor activities, Lai said, adding that the company plans to hold more large scale radio control model fairs to attract youngsters.
Still, for this year, Lai expects the revenue breakdown from each region to stay largely unchanged from last year, although rising temperatures in Europe this summer have hindered sports enthusiasts from venturing outdoors, affecting model sales to a certain extent.
Medical equipment
Encouraged by its success in the model business, Thunder Tiger is venturing into a new field -- developing medical equipment.
Leveraging off its skill in rotor technology, Thunder Tiger has started manufacturing dental drills that are capable of spinning 500,000 revolutions per minute, one of the fastest speeds in the industry.
These dental hand pieces made their debut in Taiwan, and the company plans to market them in emerging markets like India, China and Russia, Lai said, adding that they were the result of a six-year, US$3 million investment and joint research with a local institution.
"It doesn't matter if we do not make a quick return on investment on this medical equipment, but we want to be prepared in case there is exponential growth in demand for this product in the future," Liou added.
Three years from now, Taiwan's factories will be the base for sophisticated medical equipment, while all radio control models will be churned out across the Strait, according to Lai.
Average monthly employee salaries will probably rise to NT$80,000 over the next three years, up from NT$60,000 at present, as the company dips into other sophisticated areas for growth, he said.
"We are running a high-tech business here," Lai said with a proud smile.
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