Garden & Decorator Wood Products Inc.

Garden tools, shears, cutters

Garden & Decorator Wood Products Inc. (G&D) has been regarded as the leader in the gardening tool sector for some 20 years in Taiwan, achieving ample success and setting an example for its peers on the island.

Maria Huang is living-proof that behind every successful man is a woman, with Ray D. Thomas, an Australian mechanical engineer, inspiring the two to set up G&D in 1986. Maria has a bachelor’s in international trade, worked in the hardware sector and then received an EMBA from Tulane University stateside. The two has been a perfect combination—with Huang’s business background and Ray’s engineering training offering consultancy to help lay a solid foundation in the business.

“Ray is our top designer who has for years helped us design innovative high-end hardware products,” Huang says gratefully.“He is undoubtedly the heart of G&D and also the guru of Taiwan’s hardware industry.”

“We not only supply and develop in-house products to international clients, but also help them source products in Taiwan,” Huang continues. “We devote ourselves to design and develop high-end products, as well as demand contractors to deliver only world-standard items.”

Quality Pioneer

Thomas added “I have been in the industry for more than four decades. Long ago Taiwan hardware manufacturers turned out only low quality pruners and shears, and shears, plus rakes of wood and bamboo; We determined to ‘raise the bar’ and force production of higher quality products. We worked with some manufacturers to develop and improve Quality and Inspection techniques. One manufacturer thought this was unnecessary expense. His solution was to sell his sub-standard production (rejects to us) to South American or African countries. He is not, even after all this time, a shining success but is now reduced to importing from China and selling out of Taiwan. Huang recalls. “After setting up my own office some 25 years ago, I worked 16-hour days to keep it afloat. Moreover, I traveled often to central and southern Taiwan with Ray to visit hardware manufacturers, advising them with ways to improve products to meet global standards.”

After years of selfless dedication, G&D is generally regarded by peers as having played a central role to upgrade the overall caliber of the gardening hardware sector, as well as being a pioneer. “We are committed to helping Taiwan’s hardware manufacturers to maintain competitiveness and reputation globally,” Huang affirms.

“With ample highly educated, talented people in Taiwan, I chose the island to build my career in the hardware industry,” Thomas says. “Compared to other Asian countries, Taiwan is very suitable to develop high-end hardware products.”

Even at 70-plus years, Thomas is youthful enough to keep working in the hardware sector. “Work keeps me alive and the goal is to design and develop first-class hardware for top-end clients,” Thomas remarks.

Only the Best

“You get what you pay for. Buying cheap quality will result in higher returns for claims and repairs. And we want only returning customers, not products,” he quips. “So, we always try our best to supply the best products.”

“Honesty and trustworthiness are our key business motto: We trust our clients and we expect our clients to be open in dealing with G&D. That means we never deceive clients with inferior products whose quality is not apparent to the naked eye. Some items have hidden mechanisms that enable perfect operation,” Thomas explains. “Cheap price cannot come with quality guarantee. G&D insists on delivering the finest quality at reasonable prices.”

“Hardware is a traditional industry and people have used basically the same tools for years. We however have applied new ideas and technologies to renovate the industry,” Thomas says. “For instance, we have built in minor mechanical, design improvements to render major functional upgrades.”

Besides building its own brand, G&D also accepts OEM orders for many world-leading suppliers, for which it has garnered plentiful praise. “I created the ‘Bee’ logo for the company based on the insect’s well-known industry, reliability, teamwork, gregariousness and harmony, as well as its production of world-popular honey,” Thomas elaborates. “Bees are indispensable as a spreader of pollen to grow fruits and vegetables. Our vision behind the brand is to set up G&D’s role in the hardware sector as essential as bees’ in horticulture.”

Wide Range

G&D lives up to the textbook definition of offering a broad product range, including drop forged bypass pruners, heavy-duty anvil pruners, garden pruners, curved anvil ratchet pruners, flower trimmers, floral shears, grape & utility shear, sheep shears, pruning scissors, fruit scissors, multi-purpose scissors, pruning knives, grass cutters, multi-purpose sharpeners, machetes, wheeled swivel long handle grass shears, and just about any other gardening tool that is sold on store shelves.

One of the company’s newest products is a series of pruning scissors, which feature easy locking and releasing without changing the hand position. With stylish designs, the pruners, loppers and shears are available with different color combinations and combining colours of powder coating, colour anodizing and the colours of plastics of numerous types. Most are available in two sizes, the smaller units being especially suited for ladies.

The maker also has rolled out new loppers, tree pruners and shears, which enable users to easily trim trees and plants with improved mechanisms and designs. G&D is also promoting a telescopic tree pruner, which has a telescopic pole to reach high, overhead branches.

Computerized Inventorying

Adopting computerized product organization and inventorying enables G&D to keep track of details—with the system noting product specifications. “We can effectively keep in our database specifications required by customers, including printing, cutting and even vacuum-formed blister packaging,” Huang emphasizes. “Each step of manufacture has to be very precise, even a tiny error can sometimes result in major consequences.”

“It’s virtually impossible to find defects or flaws in our products—typically only two in thousands may be sub-standard,” Huang confirms. “G&D has never received returned, defective products in some 25 years.”

The company works with many world-reputable brands, delivering 95% of output globally, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, the U.K., the U.S., Baltic nations, Central South America and the Caribbean.

Not merely hype, G&D has a long list of satisfied of clients as proven by their file unsolicited testimonials. Those we have sighted come from manufacturers and distributors all over the globe. Some clients receive components from G&D that are made in Taiwan to higher specification than in the country of destination.

Positive Feedback

Further proof of G&D’s excellence is shown in the following feedback from clients:

-- “Dealing with G&D has been a very valuable and educational experience. We have benefited from their patience and guidance, and both G&D and CHP look forward to building success with their line of products.”

-- “Thank you for keeping your performance at or above expected levels. We are very pleased when goods arrive on time, as many of the products purchased will be used within one to two days after arrival. We look forward to seeing more of your excellent on-time delivery.”

--Last year we commenced measuring the IFOT (In Full On Time) delivery performance of our major suppliers. Our target for the year was 80% with targets of 85% and 90% in subsequent years. We delighted to inform you that Garden & Decorator’s performance for the year was 90.07%... Our target for the current year and the following year should be easily achievable by you.

-- “I would like to take this time to thank you for the wonderful service and assistance G&D has provided in the development of Trail Blazer’s Xtend-A-Blade.”

-- “As you can see from the photo this product does a nice job of pulling sod. It produces a nice clean-cut strip of sod, and the lifter is best suited for small areas, which makes hard work easy.”

Edison Inspired

More than an inspiration for G&D, Thomas brings to the maker his raison d’etre as shown in his admiration for Thomas Edison, the great American inventor of the light bulb, and follows his philosophy for life and business when he stated that he would employ people who had not yet learned what cannot be done.

“If people say something cannot be improved, I say why not,” says Thomas. “I never pick up an item without thinking of how I might improve it.” As would Edison, Thomas encourages G&D staffers to “have faith and forge ahead.”

“I believe G&D can achieve sustainability by developing top quality products, offer the finest service and punctual delivery,” Thomas says. (JL)

Garden & Decorator Wood Products Inc.

P.O. Box 83-34, Taipei, Taiwan

15Fl., No. 48, Sec. 2, Chung Cheng Rd., Shihlin Dist., Taipei, Taiwan

Tel: 886-2-2831-1399

Fax: 886-2-8866-3556

E-mail: gardentw@ms13.hinet.net

http://www.gardendecorator.com