Walsin Lihwa Corp.

Company Profile

In 1966, Walsin Lihwa was founded with a capital of NT$30 million; the company was a manufacturer of power wire and cable at inception. Walsin Lihwa has become a leading manufacturer of bare copper wire, wire and cable, and specialty steel in the Greater China region, and has also successfully expanded into the high-tech industry and become an international enterprise with green energy, photovoltaics, real estate, and trade operations.

Since 1972, Walsin Lihwa has been listed in the Taiwan Stock Exchange. With its copper wires, power and communication cables as well as specialty steel widely used in a range of infrastructure projects. Walsin Lihwa's 2011 consolidated revenue exceeds NT$180 billion, and the company has more than 7,000 employees.

Since the early 1990's, Walsin Lihwa has been aggressively pursuing growth, which focuses on Mainland China and now has more than 20 sites along the Yangtze River. Headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, Walsin Lihwa has manufacturing sites in Yang mei, Yen shui, Hsin chuang, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Jiangyin, Nanjing, Changshu, Dong guan, Yantai, Xian, ChangZhou, Indonesia, and Malaysia, enjoying readily available access to the massive local market.

As core business, the power wire and cable business produces copper as well as communication and power cables with an annual output of 650,000 tons of copper. Walsin Lihwa's comprehensive product lines of communication and power wire and cable have long made the company the leader of the power and telecommunications markets in Greater China. The specialty steel business manufactures billets and slabs, wire rods, straight bars, seamless pipes and tubes, and is a leading supplier of stainless steel long products with sales channels around the world. The green photonics business focuses on green energy, LED, and solar power, pursuing R&D and technology independence to develop new generation, alternative lighting sources and products. The real estate business targets the business opportunities resulting from the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement signed between Mainland China and Taiwan.

Walsin Lihwa has been successfully expanding into the areas of electronic components and parts, financial investment, optoelectronics, printed circuit boards, and semiconductors since the 1980's. These ventures are HannStar Board, HannStar Display, Passive System Alliance, and Winbond Electronics, which leverage Walsin Lihwa's experience and achievements in advanced material and semiconductor development as the foundation for emerging technology deployment.

Walsin Lihwa always stays abreast with trends and its forward-looking strategy is effective in bringing in growth driven by innovation. The company has been working with renowned domestic and overseas academic and business partners to pursue R&D and technology independence, developing new businesses and products based on customer and market needs. Walsin Lihwa has consistently rigorous requirements for quality and rapidly integrated service; as a result, the company is able to become the best partner to customers and play a critical role at the significant moment of cross-Taiwan Strait economic cooperation. Walsin Lihwa will further pursue manufacturing excellence and customer base diversification to effectively grasp emerging industry opportunities and create new momentum for further growth.

Company Milestones

Inception

Mr. Ting Piao Chiao, the Honorary Chairman of Walsin Lihwa, is the founder of this company. Born in 1924 in Jiangyin County, Jiangsu Province, Mr. Ting Piao Chiao was forced out of school when young due to Wars. After fleeing Mainland China and moving to Taiwan, Mr. Ting Piao Chiao found Pacific Electric & Wire Co., Ltd. in conjunction with Mr. Sun Fa-min, commencing his career in the cable and wire industry.

In 1966, the predecessor of Walsin Lihwa was established with a capital of NT$30 million. The manufacturing site -- located in Xinzhuang, Taipei County -- first produced aluminum conductor cables and then construction-purpose steel wires. Three year later, this company merged Lihwa Wire and Cable and added copper conductor cables its product line, and today's Walsin Lihwa was born.



1966 - 1986 Solid Foundation Laid

Taiwan's industrialization began during the early days of Walsin Lihwa, which enjoyed good business from major bridge, port, power plant, road, and telecommunications projects. At the same time, the company ushered in advanced equipment, improved technologies, and expanded product categories to provide very high quality of power and communication cables as well as copper and steel wires.

After Walsin Lihwa went public in 1972, its capital increased from NT$30 million at inception to NT$120 million. Since then, Walsin Lihwa was witnessing explosive revenue growth amid the takeoff of Taiwan's economy and commencement of Taiwan's 10 major infrastructure projects, laying a solid business foundation for the future.



1987 - 1997 Diversification

A major step of diversification at Walsin Lihwa was the setup of a stainless steel mill of NT$6 billion in 1993 in Yanshui, Tainan, injecting new momentum for growth from a different business sphere.

Expansion into Mainland China is another significant decision initiated by Mr. Ting Piao Chiao, Chairman of Walsin Lihwa during this period, who foresaw the massive business potential across the Taiwan Strait. Starting from Shanghai, Walsin Lihwa has set up nearly 10 copper, wire and cable, and stainless steel operations along the downstream and midstream of the Yangtze River since 1992, and has also successfully developed sales channels throughout Mainland China.

At the same time, noticing the upcoming IR era, Walsin Lihwa began to found HannStar Board, HannStar Display, Passive System Alliance, and Winbond Electronics, transforming Walsin Lihwa into a conglomerate encompassing electronic component, optoelectronic, printed circuit board, semiconductor operations.



1998-2008 Deep Rooting and Expansion

In order to strengthen its competitiveness for the 21st century, Walsin Lihwa has been pursuing corporate reengineering since 1998, focusing on process reform and deep rooting of core capabilities to enhance overall operating and service effectiveness. At the same time, a business group management model has been developed based on the core businesses of power wire and cable and specialty steel. Since then, each business group has been steadfastly strengthening its scale of operation and operational effectiveness based on core competitiveness, developments in its own industry, and market trends.



2009 - Present Complete and Successful Transformation

In order to help drive future growth, Walsin Lihwa has been developing green energy and photonics since 2009 to meet the trend of environmental protection. The company focus on new generation, alternative lighting sources for deployment in the LED and solar energy industries.
Moreover, targeting the strengthening economic cooperation across the Taiwan Strait and an emerging consumer market in Mainland China, Walsin Lihwa has expanded into logistics, real estate, and trade operations in Mainland China. In 2010, the company's Taiwan Trade Mart opened in Nanjing, serving as a platform to help Taiwan small and medium businesses enter the market of Mainland China. In the same year, construction of the business center of Walsin Centro commenced to serve as the company's another engine for growth.



Milestones






Mr. Yu-Lon Chiao  (Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Walsin Lihwa)

Yu-Lon Chiao is Chairman of Walsin Lihwa. In 1983, Mr. Chiao joined Walsin Lihwa as President, became Chairman in 1996 and Chief Executive Officer in 2005.
Since he became Chairman, his management expertise and insight into industry trends have been steering many critical company decisions, including expansion into the stainless steel industry and ongoing expansion in the industry, reorganization and reengineering to enhance business performance, adopting business group management system, pursuit of aggressive growth by leveraging Mainland China as a growth engine, and establishment of new businesses such as Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) and special lighting technologies. Mr. Chiao is the key driver of a brand new stage of development of Walsin Lihwa.
Mr. Chiao has a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from University of Washington, USA.


Mr. Hui-Ming Cheng  (President, Walsin Lihwa)

Mr. Cheng joined Walsin Lihwa as President in 2011, aiming to assist Chairman Chiao in company transformation and strategy implementation.
Mr. Cheng has an MBA degree from Indiana University, a master's degree in chemical engineering from University of California, Los Angles, and a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from National Taiwan University. Mr. Cheng was the CFO and spokesperson of HTC, Senior Vice President and CFO of Fubon Financial Holding and Taiwan Mobile, Vice President for Finance of Winbond, Director of Capital Market of China Development Financial Holdings, and Vice President of Chase Manhattan Bank. In 2003, Cheng was named the best CFO in Taiwan by Institutional Investo.


Ms. Patricia Chiao  (President, Wire and Cable Business Group)

Patricia Chiao is President of the Wire and Cable Group of Walsin Lihwa. Since Ms. Chiao joined Walsin Lihwa in 1981, she has been the Finance Department Deputy Manager, Special Assistant to the President, and Senior General Manager of the Purchasing Management Center and Financial Investment Management Center. In 2003, she was promoted to Vice President and after two years President of the Copper Business Group. In 2010 she became President of Wire and Cable Business Group, responsible for the business of copper, wire and cable products as well as the management of copper materials.
Ms. Chiao is a copper industry veteran highly experienced in metal materials management. Her deep industry and market insight helps strengthen the wire and cable operation at Walsin Lihwa.


Mr. Wen C. Chang  (President, Specialty steel Business Group)

Wen C. Chang has been President of the Specialty steel Business Group of Walsin Lihwa since June 2002. In 2000, Mr. Chang joined Walsin Lihwa as a senior consultant as well as a director of the Specialty steel Business Group. Prior to Walsin Lihwa, he was President of YUSCO and had worked at major steel companies based in Taiwan including China Steel, Yieh Mau, and United Steel Engineering and Construction. Mr. Chang has more than 30 years¡¦ experience in steel plant establishment, steel production, and management.







Walsin Lihwa has a long-term societal commitment, which aims at developing good quality of life.  Accordingly, the company's corporate social responsibility initiatives have three foci: Social progress, community outreach, and emergency assistance and relief.

Social progress

A Founder and long-term sponsor of the Epoch Foundation to help promote knowledge-based economy and industries as well as technology innovation.
A founder of the Cross-Straits Common Market Foundation to promote long-term, stable economic and trade cooperation across the Taiwan Strait
A sponsor of the Taiwan Pavilion at the Shanghai Exposition 2010
A sponsor of the Taipei Deaflympics Arts Month opening show

Community outreach

Aid to the underprivileged: Subsidization for the lunch program at elementary schools as well as tuitions and incidental fees for underprivileged schoolchildren in remote areas of Chiayi County and Tainan County; donation to children's homes in Chiayi City and County, Kaohsiung, Hualien, Nantou, and Tainan City and County, as well as World Vision Taiwan, and the Child Welfare League Foundation; scholarships for underprivileged schoolchildren and aid to poor families.

Community development: Assistance to medical organizations and fire and policy departments in the areas where the company has a business presence, adoption of roads and parks as well as sponsorship of local folk festivities and local resident activities on a long-term basis.

Emergency assistance and relief

2009   On August 8, the flood disaster incurred by Typhoon Morakot devastated South Taiwan.  Walsin Lihwa worked with PSA Charitable Foundation and donated office and school appliances of approx. NT$30 million to 26 schools that were affected in Kaohsiung, Tainan, and Pingtung, helping cleaning up and rebuilding their campuses, too, and enabling the upcoming new semester to begin successfully.

2008   Walsin Lihwa donated RMB$3 million to the refugees of the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan, Walsin Lihwa employees initiated a fundraising program and donation of necessities, which were directly provided via the International Committee of the Red Cross.

1998  Walsin Lihwa promptly provided generators to the areas hit by Taiwan's deadliest ever September 21 earthquake, and took the initiative to support the Taiwan Power Company in power grid reconstruction in the mountain area of Central Taiwan.  The company also provided a donation to Yu-chih Elementary School hit by the earthquake and financed the construction of a quake-proof campus for the school.

You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login