Cada Industrial Co., Ltd. Is one of the top three makers of automobile-engine gaskets in Taiwan and one of the world's most comprehensive suppliers of engine-repair kits for Japanese car models. The company became the first firm in Taiwan to be certified under the ISO/TS 16949 international automotive-quality standard about two years ago, which is supported and recognized by major European and U.S. automakers.

Although more and more quality systems have been developed throughout the world, says Cada general manager David Huang, including common certification systems such a the ISO series and auto industry standards such as QS-9000 (in the United States), AVSQ (Italy), and EAQF (France), a true global standard for the auto industry was lacking until the emergence of the ISO/TS 16949 standard a few years ago.

The ISO/TS 16949 standard was developed jointly by members of the International Automotive Task Force (IATV) and submitted to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for approval and publication. Members of the IATF include carmakers GM, Ford, Chrysler, Fiat, Citroen, VW, and Renault, as well as national automotive trade associations from the U.S., Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, and France. JAMA, the Japanese auto association, was also involved in the development of ISO/TS 16949.

According to Huang, the new standard does not replace other standards, but offers an alternative system for suppliers and their customers. Nevertheless, the ISO/TS 16949 standard is becoming increasingly popular not only with original equipment (OE) auto-parts suppliers but also in the aftermarket, where manufacturers are aggressively upgrading their quality to OE level in the pursuit for more business as well as possible OE orders from first-tier buyers and auto manufacturers.

Huang claims that with certification under ISO/TS 16949 his company is like a "winged tiger" in the auto-parts market. "It also demonstrates our commitment to improving our products, processes and services." He says that the certification will help his firm achieve its goal of becoming an OE gasket supplier to automakers worldwide.

Cada currently produces about 70% of its products under its Eristic brand and sells the remainder to OEM and original design manufacturing (ODM) customers.

While Cada's products are about the half the price of Japanese counterparts, Huang stresses that his firm competes foremost on quality, not price. He claims that in addition to its price advantage, Cada can beat Japanese rivals at the quality game as well. He adds that while his company's gaskets are developed mainly for the replacement aftermarket, they are superior to OE counterparts in terms of both materials and technical level.

Cada supplies engine gaskets and repair kits for over 2,000 Japanese car models. In recent years, the company has been accelerating development of gaskets for European car and truck models as well as South Korean car makes. The company invests an average of about US$1.5 million to US$1.8 million every year to develop molds for around 100 gasket models. According to Huang, demand for gaskets for Korean car models has been growing in recent years as sales of Korean automobiles expand.

Cada exports about 95% of its products to the U.S. (accounting for about 10% of the export total), Europe (15%), Southeast Asia (15%), Latin America (15%) and other markets (40%). Domestic shipments, while occupying a relatively small share of its overall sales, account for over 30% of the gasket demand in Taiwan.

Cada operates two plants with a total workforce of about 110 people in Taiwan, including one metal stamping and mold-development facility and one gasket processing and production plant. The company originally planned to set up new plants in Thailand or mainland China, but later decided to delay the projects due to the sluggish global economy. Still, Huang insists that the expansions will be carried out when the market recovers.

In its commitment to making durable and reliable products that exceed original-equipment (OE) quality, Cada adds silicon liners to all of the water and oil holes on its gaskets to prevent leakage. It also uses thick gasket plate bases made of asbestos, metal and over 100 kinds of non-asbestos composite materials, and it adopts double-layer metal bore rings to improve durability.

Cada recently introduced several new high-tech gaskets, including metal-based gaskets with a rubber coating to provide better sealing and gaskets with metal bore rings with laser-etched strips.

Other competition-enhancing measures recently adopted by the company include the use of automated production equipment to reduce labor costs and the launch of a business-to-business (B2B) website to provide online real-time information on production progress, inventory and delivery to its customers worldwide.