SHPI Aims to Go Global in Industrial Plastic Tubing Sector

Embracing loyally its belief to consistently improve has successfully developed Shan Hua Plastic Industrial (SHPI)-founded in 1983 in Taiwan's southern county of Tainan-a steadily growing supplier of industrial plastic tubes, into an emerging and yet highly reputable firm in the field.

Accumulating over two decades of experience in supplying industrial plastic tubing, especially polyurethane (PU), nylon and polyethylene (PE), SHPI is a highly seasoned OEM (original equipment manufacturer) of such products, one who has effectively carved out market niches with its wider ranging lines that carry all kinds of gases and fluids.

Currently, the company employs 170 workers in its two plants in Taiwan, turning out a variety of plastic tubes and related accessories, including PU tubes, PU twin tubes, nylon 6 & 12 tubes, PE tubes, spatter hoses, PVC hoses, PU coil hoses, nylon 12 coil hoses, articulated vehicle brake coil tubes, paint hoses, high pressure paint spray hoses, high pressure water hoses, high pressure grease gun hoses, hydraulic hoses, fittings, joints, hose reels and air-line condition units.

Over 85% of SHPI products are exported worldwide, especially the U.S., Europe and Japan, with the remaining marketed in the domestic market. Sold under the SHPI brand that is widely trusted, the company's products are widely adopted in machinery, semi-conductor, automotive, food, agricultural and construction sectors.

Comprehensive Product Lineups

In order to facilitate its clients to source plastic tubes coupled with related accessories in economical ways, SHPI adds one-touch fittings and air condition units in its portfolio starting this year, as the company trusts that better comprehensiveness in product lineups enables its clients to buy all they need at a time. This helps them to avoid wasting considerable costs and time on search for other suppliers and also creates win-win business opportunities for both sides.

Production Upgrading

To earnestly stay ahead of competitors, SHPI has placed heavy emphasis on production capability improvement, and after years of equipment upgrading, has set up a considerable range of advanced manufacturing and quality testing facilities in-house. Having such equipment and machinery enables the company to not only improve production flexibility, but also integration, two key features that realize sharpened competitive advantages.

SHPI executives say that the ISO-9001-certified company periodically checks production machines, then meets with its machinery suppliers to jointly fine-tune, recalibrate for optimized efficiency, precision and performance. Plus the firm does whatever it can to improve production processes yearly to effectively meet ever-changing demands and quality standards. Although costly in terms of manpower, time and money, such effort helps the company to sharpen its competitiveness, as well as show clients its conscientiousness. Also, to shorten lead time and maximize its capability to handle contingencies, the company, which already spends significant sums on building sound warehousing facilities, habitually stocks ample material and popular products to process last-minute orders.

The firm's painstaking efforts to improve production has garnered from clients praise for delivering comparatively superior production efficiency and, above all, applying more stringent quality inspection measures relative to counterparts in the line.

One time-consuming downside to manufacturing with industrial plastics is that the quality of raw materials can't be precisely examined without first turning out a finished product. This means SHPI has to conduct trial production of a finished tubing so as to accurately judge the qualitative integrity of raw materials.

Advantageous Inventorying

Here SHPI's ample inventorying of raw materials proves another advantage: enabling the firm to effectively use a window of two to three weeks to carefully inspect material quality without running out stock, hence the maker may be relied upon to carry out quality testing of each product line in complete compliance with specifications.

To minimize human error in production and quality testing, SHPI has installed in its production machines sophisticated laser detectors and alarm systems that enable foolproof operation-allowing operators to easily, effectively carry out quality control (QC). Such intelligent, scientific QC mechanisms and system work obviously: the supplier can consistently output plastic tubing with close dimensional tolerances of outer and inner diameters.

Exceed Expectations

Not content to follow conventional wisdom or the path-of-least-resistance, SHPI, unlike many peers who won't bother with independent R&D due to believing in the popular perception that plastic tubing is but a mundane part of machinery, shows surprising dedication, especially for a relatively modest sized manufacturer. The supplier can actually prove its steady, in-house R&D program by revealing detailed studies on product improvement. SHPI's seeming foolhardiness is rooted in its belief that R&D helps the company deliver products that are even better than expected.

Such steadfast R&D effort makes practical sense, and allows bragging rights: For example, SHPI has high claims of its popular line of PU tubing, stating features as small-bend radius, extreme flexibility, prolonged lifespan, low gas permeability and broad resistance to chemicals, water, fuel, oil and fungus. The company also does not neglect what may be often overlooked for an industrial hose-exterior finish. Its high quality PU tubing features not only pearlized tone on the surface, but also translucency, enabling users to easily identify what flows within.

Condition-specific Formulae

Years of R&D pay off in more ways than one: SHPI has learnt that PU tubing doesn't adapt well to certain environments as the cold-losing tensile strength-without adding ester compounds, which are less expensive; while ether compounds are added to enhance flexibility and durability under moist and high pressure conditions. Adding ester and ether compounds to PU tubing change its mechanical properties as flexibility, tensile strength, thermal resistance to allow prolonged usage under unusual, harsh conditions as tight spaces, where kinking and tangling are problems.

Able to adapt its PU tubing for specialized application better than rivals, SHPI can add 85A, 95A, 98A and other soft ether compounds according to need. The supplier says that PU tubing with added 85A ether is extremely flexible, designed to work with barbed fittings and yet virtually does not kink; while tubing with 95A and 98A ether added are extra hard and strong to stand up to high pressure. Also the company also has formulated tubing resistant to acids and UV light.

Maximizing marketability of product, SHPI has developed an integrated product solution: plastic tubing, one-touch fittings and air conditioning units, which are sold as items in sectors as aftermarket tools, air compressors and construction hardware. Such strategy also enables the company to achieve wider product range, and more notably, makes SHPI Taiwan's only plastic tubing maker capable of providing such solutions featuring world-class standards.

Value, not Size

Realizing the pivotal importance of building everlasting trustworthiness, SHPI believes such goal has to be achieved by delivering value to customers, rather than selling only corporate size. "Offering value is the key to convincing customers that we are the best," the company says.

The firm has been recently focusing on the global market for pneumatic and hydraulic parts, finding it an uphill battle due to the conservativeness, loyalty of customers. The fact is that the niche consists of clients who are used to buying tubing and fittings from established, global and large suppliers, with well-known European, American and Japanese brands virtually dominating the market, leaving little room for small- and medium-sized companies as SHPI.

Undeterred, SHPI, an "experienced newcomer," is driven by its ambition and unwavering belief in that offering value will eventually prevail, even against seemingly invincible rivals.

International-standard Compliance

The supplier is also fittingly aware of the critical importance of offering industrial plastic tubing meeting international standards in dimensional tolerances, as such compliance involves user safety. SHPI says that ill-fitting tubing or fitting poorly attached to a machine may cause unexpected mechanical breakdown to endanger operators, adding, "Poor fitting tubing due to improper diameter size is just a piece of junk. Plastic tubing is not child's play."

Thus, SHPI does not compromise in producing exacting tubing diameter, demanding workers to precisely carry out strict quality inspections to achieve required diameter specifications, a task that, undoubtedly, calls for constant vigilance in production and a skilled workforce.

Besides investing ample resources on upgrading hardware and software, the company also guarantees competitive pricing, integrated product lineups, prompt delivery and timely service, as well as willingly accepts complete liability for defects, even after delivery. "We are building the SHPI name into a totally trustworthy brand, because we sell both quality product and value," the company comments.

Going Global

While continuing to target the global segment for air compressor parts, SHPI has been gradually rebuilding itself into a supplier of value-added, high-end industrial plastic tubing with a name that can be always trusted.

Despite having to take on formidably large competitors, SHPI is quite confident of its prospects mainly for its competitive advantages in R&D and production capability; while such optimism is partly fueled by loyalty among the staff, who believe in the corporate mission and are willing to devote themselves to building the firm into a leader in Taiwan.

The senior management at SHPI stresses that the company is not only a manufacturer but also a distributor, a versatile operator who aims to provide customized services and integrated solutions in industrial plastic tubing to global markets.

Shan Hua Plastic Industrial Co.

No. 20, Chungshan 7th St., Kueijen Hsiang, Tainan Hsien, Taiwan 711

Tel: 886-6-230-4567

Fax: 886-6-230-7799

http:// shpi@shanhua.com.tw

E-mail: shpi@shanhua.com.tw