Automobile parts maker Tong Yang Industry Co (東陽實業) yesterday said that annual sales at its newly refurbished factory in Taoyuan County’s Guanyin Township (觀音) would likely increase by 30 percent next year from the current NT$72 million (US$2.38 million).
The increase will come from new orders from local car manufacturers as Tong Yang is to supply bumpers for Luxgen MPV, Nissan TiiDA sedan, Nissan X-trail mid-size crossover SUV and Nissan Livina sedan.
The factory is currently making bumpers for Ford Lio Ho Motor Co (福特六和), a Taiwanese subsidiary of US-based Ford Motor Co, Honda Taiwan Co (台灣本田), Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車) and Sanyang Industry Co (三洋工業), which sells Hyundai cars in Taiwan, according to Tong Yang.
Tong Yang spent NT$400 million refurbishing the factory over three years before it became operational last year, Crispin Wu (吳永祥), chief executive officer of the company, told reporters yesterday.
“The factory’s capacity is now four times as large as before and the factory’s revenue will gradually pick up as we receive more orders,” Wu said.
According to the company, the factory can now make 432,000 bumpers a year.
The company increased the factory’s capacity by installing robots to paint the bumpers, and each robot cost NT$5 million, Wu said.
Manufacturing costs per product reduced 30 percent after the refurbishment, Wu said.
Wu said the factory is now the only one in Taiwan with static electricity painting equipment that can meet the requirements of both Japanese and European companies.
From January through last month, Tong Yang posted revenue of NT$13.93 billion, up 9.23 percent from NT$12.75 billion the previous year, according to a company filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Tong Yang’s sales in China, which accounted for about 20 percent of its revenue, increased 22 percent from January through last month on the back of strong car sales in the nation, it said.
Tong Yang aims to post 10 percent revenue growth this year and in the next two years, Wu said.
The company is trying to enter the supply chains of General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler Group LLC, which is expected to increase Tong Yang’s sales by NT$500 million a year within the next three to five years, it said.
In the past eight months, the company posted pretax profit of NT$1.05 billion, down 14 percent from NT$1.21 billion the previous year, the filing said.
The company said the decline was because of lower average selling prices last quarter and this quarter due to severe competition compared with a year ago.
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