Panels & Furniture Asia January/February 2024

IN PERSON
LEGEND
1 Chinglun’s fully
automated hot
press
2 Chinglun’s cold
press
2
exchange”, with workers not willing to
put in the extra manual work unless
they are compensated accordingly.
Likewise, in China, what used to be a
preference for manual labour due to the
cheap manpower has now given way
to fully or semi-automatic machines
because of the rise in labour costs.
However, for some South East Asian
countries like Indonesia or Vietnam,
manual labour is still the preferred
mode of production.
“In China, everyone wants to go
automatic now because labour is so
expensive,” reported Lee. “Labour
cost is around, let’s say, US$1,000 to
$1,600, which is five times the wage in
Indonesia or Vietnam. When you factor
in everything like healthcare insurance
for workers, it is actually better to just
buy a fully or semi-automatic machine
[for more developed countries].” On
top of that, factories would also need
to factor in the challenge of managing
workers while taking into account
their performance, compliance and
wellbeing in the company.
MAKING A NAME FOR THEMSELVES
Spanning from South East Asian
countries like Vietnam, Indonesia and
Myanmar to as far as South America
and Europe, Chinglun has supplied
their equipment to various plywood
manufacturers across the world.
In traditional markets like China,
Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, Lee
reported that Chinglun does very well.
Even in Myanmar, they have supplied
their machines to a big customer
that is said to have “17 factories”.
For developed countries like the US,
Canada, the UK, and New Zealand,
Chinglun has supplied what Lee called
their add-on or 2nd-time processing
machinery, which is a lightweight
version of their typical equipment,
but more for processing plywood into
finished decorative panels, ready for
end consumer’s use.
Currently, Chinglun hopes to sell
more into South East Asia, Africa,
Russia, India and Brazil. In particular,
South East Asia, Russia and Brazil
have plenty of plantation material
for plywood production that can be
utilised more fully, and India has
customers looking to purchase quality
and reliable plywood manufacturing
equipment. But what makes Chinglun’s
global footprint more impressive
is that they are not held back by
unfamiliarity. Lee explained that the
company dares to explore territories
that are not even traditionally known
for their wood panel market. They
aspire to gain recognition everywhere
in the world.
“For example, if I tell my boss that we
have an inquiry from some unknown,
no man’s land, where nobody has ever
done a project before, she will tell me
not to worry and follow up with that
particular region, even if we do not earn
any money,” he said. “Our aim is to gain
recognition, even in the Western world.”
Of course, it is not that Lee and his
team take uncalculated risks; at
the end of the day, they are more
concerned with building long-term
relationships with potential and
existing customers, rather than just
one-off transactions. Lee concluded
with one encounter he had with a
customer in Indonesia:
“We went to this factory before the
COVID-19 pandemic, one that I have
never been to in Indonesia before. The
factory manager came out and told us
they had three to four of our machinery.
But I personally had never been to their
factory before. The manager told us the
machinery had been there for decades,
even before 2000s when Chinglun was
still manufacturing in Taiwan,” he said.
“So, our machinery has been running
there after so many decades. I was
quite amazed.” P
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2024 | PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA 27