No Compromising with Quality

As a company known for its reliability, King Lai International built up its pipes, tubes and fittings reputation by taking a different route from competitors in Greater China. The Taiwanese firm sought customers in North America and Europe willing to pay a premium for quality, before turning to the domestic market. Now also well established in China, the company is exploring opportunities in Southeast Asia. FoodPacific Manufacturing Journal spoke with Mr. Daniel Lee, King Lai founder and CEO, about the unusual and successful path the company has taken and his vision to transform it into a global operation.

How did King Lai begin to specialize in tube components and fittings? Could you trace the history for our readers?

I began as an engineer in designing and making industrial pipe components and fittings in the '80s in Taiwan. At that time, I saw a growing market in the hygienic tube components and fittings, but the owner from my previous job was not interested in pursuing this opportunity; so I started my own manufacturing facility in 1991. Initially, we had only limited products to offer, but over time, we have developed and expanded our product lines; and now, we are able to offer a complete product range in hygienic tube components and fittings.

In which countries are you active, and which food sector do you dominate?

King Lai is very active in many countries worldwide, especially in North America and Europe, serving canned food, beverage, and dairy industries. We are also the manufacturer for many famous distributors worldwide as private brandings.

What advantages can King Lai offer to its customers in a very competitive marketplace?

Well, I would say reliability. King Lai has been and will continue to be a reliable supplier to all customers worldwide. We focus on quality, service, and pricing. Our 揙ne-Stop Shop?service includes complete range of sanitary products, which are 3A certified and FDA approval in the US, suitable for all applications in food, beverage, and dairy industries. Our manufacturing facilities are set up for large volume productions, as well as low volume and high variety fabrications. Efficient fabricating processes and large volume productions enable King Lai to offer the highest quality products at very affordable prices. These are very important to support our customers in this very competitive market.

King Lai became well known outside Taiwan and China before being active domestically. Why did you set up your operations this way? What advantages did this provide when your company began to explore the Taiwanese and Chinese markets?

There are two reasons why we had set up our business this way that had to with volume and with quality. King Lai first began from a very small operation with less than 10 employees. We had limited production capabilities, which were unsuitable for large volume but low variety production. At that time, we could not satisfy the low volume-high variety demand from the domestic market; therefore, we concentrated all our efforts in the oversea markets where the demand was suitable for our operation. Secondly, we have a strong belief in quality. There is no substitution for quality and this has been our belief since Day 1 of King Lai. When we tried to explore the domestic market in the early '90s, many of our competitors were sacrificing quality and material authenticity for lower cost; and as a result, our products were too expensive to compete with other local suppliers. On the other hand, because of our belief in quality, King Lai has won the reputation as a world-class supplier in the overseas market. We have completely demolished the belief of 揷heap products come from China? When we re-explored the domestic market again in early 2000, our reputation for quality had hZapatillas y ropa deportiva para ni?o