Anko expands site in Taiwan

TAIWAN-BASED Anko manufactures equipment for the production of ethnic foods, including Halal, Kosher, Indian, and other specialIty food products. The company invests significantly in research and development for the customisation of equipment, which involves compliance with international food standards and regulations.

Design development happens at a new state-of-the-art facility in Taiwan, which is an addition to the old facility in Zhonghe and factory in mainland China. Company chairman Robert Ouyoung, talks about this expansion.

Why has Anko decided to expand in Taiwan?  

In the past, labour cost in mainland China was one-eight compared to that in Taiwan, so we established our plant there. Our old plant is in Zhonghe, in Northern Taiwan. Since four years ago, we have found it difficult to recruit new workers in China because a RMB5,000-wage is not very attractive. We started to look for new industrial property in Taiwan as a solution to this problem. After a long search, we found a 6,611.58-sqm property where we have now constructed two main buildings. Our factory has four floors and our office building has seven floors. Now, the China plant is responsible for manufacturing components while the Taiwan plant is responsible for producing critical units and constructing whole machines.

Hence, all of our products are made in Taiwan. With our new plant in Taiwan, we have more resources and space for more possibilities, so this headquarter will be further utilised in the future, manufacturing machines of less quantity but of more variety.

Where is the new site located?

It is still in the northern part of Taiwan. Industrial land is hard to find in Taiwan now but we are quite lucky. This place is convenient. Buses go through this place and in the future an MRT system will be constructed.

How does production capacity/output differ from those in the old site?

In the old site, the area scale is much smaller since the applicable space is a total of 2,314 sqm only and we had about 40 employees. In the new site we have around 90 employees. We have increased personnel at the manufacturing, R&D, sales, and administration departments, and they are qualified to deal with customers in more than 100 countries.

How much was your total investment in the new site?

We spend a lot on equipment because we want to strengthen our capability to customise machines and to design machines that meet food specifications. Besides having the right hardware, we also invest in highly qualified people. We recruit specialists as well as students who have graduated from the National Taiwan University and other leading universities to be part of our R&D. This helps a lot.

What is your biggest market?

Russia is an emerging market, and it is also the biggest market for us at present, so many buyers are eager to make contact with us. Around five years ago our biggest market was in the Middle East. Markets are like waves. Sometimes it is in the Middle East while sometimes in other places.