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It can be used for camera parts, and to attack China's electric vehicles.

CommonWealth Magazine 679 Kang Yuping writed 2019-08-13

 

Source: Liu Guotai

 

From mass production to high technology, and then into the automotive industry, Tradetool Auto Co., Ltd., which has a cross-strait business, has been able to break into the top 100 fast-growing companies in the world because of its courage to continue cross-industry DNA.

 

In the Yunlin Douliu Industrial Zone, a new factory building of nearly 800 million yuan was built. The dark laboratory is testing the lens of the lamp to simulate the use in different environments and is ready to send it to the car factory for Certification.

The company is transforming from consumer electronics to the automotive industry. "Our DNA is constantly transforming, because SMEs are demanding survival, constantly adjusting and changing themselves, and you are likely to survive," said Jiang Kai, Chairman of Tradetool Auto Co., Ltd. Quantity said.

At present, the light guide plates and metal parts for vehicles produced by Yuanchuang are mainly sold to Audi, BMW, China Dongfeng Nissan and other automakers to grab the overseas auto market.

 

 

M&A and transformation start simultaneously

 

Time to return to 2016, the private equity fund represented by Jiang Kaiquan, Zhengxiang Precision, which is the owner of the production of light guide plate, changed its name to Tradetool Auto Co., Ltd., using the parent group Qiaofeng Industrial to produce automotive parts in China nearly 20 The strength of the year, officially cut into the automotive industry from the consumer electronics industry.

 

Also because of the right to operate, with the attention of resources, Tradetools accelerated the transformation, and acquired 2 companies for 2 consecutive years, and entered the field of automotive metal parts. "Without money and no resources, you can only find a way to find outside forces. Get up and do technical and product upgrades," said Zhang Minghong, general manager of Tradetools.

M&A and transformation started simultaneously. Tradetools' revenue growth rate reached 84.94% in 2016-18, and ranked 9th in the “World” rapid growth enterprise.

In fact, this is not the first time that Tradetools has crossed the industry. As early as more than a decade ago, it was forced to transform and survive for the operational crisis.

In the 1990s, the camera was once one of the main products of Taiwan's manufacturing foundry. Tradecrafts' predecessor, Zheng Xiang, was no exception. Using its plastic injection technology, it produced the parts and molds needed for the camera.

The good times are not long, the traditional cameras are gradually replaced by mobile phones, even if they want to transform, they are incapable. The original team had to find a new input, grasp the trend of small notebooks and functional mobile phones, and produce light guides, sell them to panel makers such as Innolux, and become the world's largest small and medium-sized light guide plate manufacturer. The second career took off.

 

 

Unexpectedly, because Apple launched the iPhone and set off a wave of smart phones, the traditional functional mobile phone market has become a red sea, resulting in a post-tax net profit of 1.1 billion yuan from 2010 to a loss of 100 million yuan in 2014. The industry has changed rapidly. Li Zhaoxuan, who is the chairman of Zhengxiang, said, "Never invest in the electronics industry!" I began to think about the next step and decided to transform into the automobile industry. Therefore, under the introduction of Zhang Minghong, I met Jiang Minghuang, president of Qiaofeng Industry, and his son Jiang Kaiquan.

 

New business plus ride, customers buy one foot at a time

 

After a two-year observation period, Zheng Xiang and Qiao Feng's investment was finalized. Jiang Kailiang served as the chairman of the new company Tradetools. Li Zhaoyu continued to be responsible for the vehicle light guide business in the subsidiary Tande Technology. "Our original product is still developing, but only new business is added, and it becomes a one-plus-one effect," Jiang Kai stressed. Tradetools plays the role of holding company and coordinates the resources of each subsidiary.

 

"The automobile supply chain is relatively closed. If there is no long-term cooperation, it will not cross the field. M&A is indeed a relatively fast way," said a senior executive of the automotive parts industry.

With the cooperation of the two parties, Tradetools has been able to play the technology that has accumulated in the optoelectronic industry for more than ten years, especially when the in-vehicle dashboard and the center console screen are getting bigger and bigger, the more light guide plates are needed, and the newly developed car lights The lens is preparing to enter the supply chain of the Japanese car factory through cooperation with the Taiwan Lamp Factory and become a new source of income.

Today, Tradetools has taken the first step in the second transformation. Last year's net profit after tax reached 102 million, a record high in seven years. In particular, after the acquisition of the vehicle parts factory, it also helps to integrate molds, metal stamping, welding, lamp and other products to provide customers with one-stop shopping services.

However, according to the statistics of China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, due to the slowdown in economic growth, China’s auto market sales fell into the first recession in 28 years last year, and so far there has not been any obvious improvement, which may affect Tradetools’ performance this year. Therefore, the upstream layout, the development of lightweight materials for the body, and the growing electric vehicle market will be the next step for Tradetools.

Introducing external resources in a timely manner and transforming twice, let Tradetools catch up with industry trends and successfully cross-border. Nowadays, facing the cold winter, if Tradetools wants to maintain its growth momentum in the future, and look at the internal integration speed, can it continue to maintain its leading position under the rise of Chinese suppliers.

 

Tradetool Auto Co., Ltd.
Established / 1983
Chairman / Jiang Kaiquan
Main business/vehicle parts
2016 to 18 years revenue composite growth rate / 84.94%
Growing up the mind / introducing external resources, transforming across industries, and entering the Chinese auto market

 

From : https://www.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=5096398