New S-Team chairman wants to promote Taiwan’s manufacturing prowess abroad

Source: TaiSPO Show Daily 2016

New S-Team chairman Mark Chang believes Taiwan’s top fitness suppliers should offer “one-stop shopping” for international customers by creating an integrated supply platform.

Chang, the president of Healthstream Taiwan, was named head of the S-Team in March. The S-Team is a group of Taiwan fitness suppliers who banded together to create a more efficient supply chain, develop quality standards, and centralize production of shared components. Chang said he would like the Taiwan government to allow S-Team members access to independent labs that would certify the quality of products produced by S-Team members.

The S-Team could then use the certification to promote Taiwan internationally as a hub for high-quality production. “It would be easier for the suppliers to share with an independent organization, and then use that to carry their products to the international market,” he said. Chang envisions the establishment of an integrated supply platform that would link S-Team members. “The S-Team could then offer a one-stop-shop solution for international customers,” Chang said. Created four years ago under the leadership of Johnson Health Tech chairman Peter Lo, the S-Team has faced recent pushback from some Taiwan fitness manufacturers. The S-Team started efficiently by establishing standards for fitness equipment makers and suppliers, and performing factory checks to help members meet those standards.

But some members were reluctant to share details of their production processes and technologies with competitors. In the last two years, several companies have left the S-Team.

Now consisting of 12 members, the S-Team is looking to work with suppliers from outside of the fitness industry who have strong reputations, such as the Taiwanese firm that helps make motors for Tesla electric cars. Chang’s company, Healthstream, manufactures fitness equipment for brands including Life Fitness and Kettler, and markets commercial fitness equipment under its own Intenza brand. Its Tainan factory, which opened in 2013, is highly automated. The plant is also notable for its environmentally friendly touches, such as solar panels and a rainwater recycling system. The Taiwan Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, which has backed the S-Team from the beginning, supports Chang’s initiatives. “The change will be an opportunity to review all that has been done in the last four years, and to come up with different ideas to drive the partnership,”

TSMA president Catherine Wang said. The larger TSMA has been pushing Taiwan manufacturers to focus more on value-added, branded sports products and reduce their reliance on OE manufacturing. She said Chang, backed by Healthstream’s reputation, will be an effective leader of the S-Team. “They’re very advanced in automation and they are willing to share with others. That’s important for the S-Team because they need big industrial partners, like the A-Team with Merida and Giant,” Wang said. The A-Team is an association of leading bicycle industry suppliers whose success helped inspire fitness manufacturers to create the S-Team.

■ Barbara Smit, Chief Editor of TaiSPO Show Daily 2016