STEEL NEWS NETWORK (SNN) – www.steelnews.com.tw
Broaden Worldwide Co., LTD (Broaden), steady and robust growth through active development and promotion of self-drilling screws despite the Taiwan Fastener industry being hit hard by the recession post-pandemic.
With only 52 staff in total and average age of only 35 years old, which is a rarity within the fastener community at this day and age, Broaden has broadened its reach through OEM, ODM, own brand (BDN Fasteners®) local and worldwide sales distribution. BDN Fasteners® is ranked as one of the top 3 brands in Thailand where we also have a sales and distribution office.
Starting out as a steel trading company and stepped into the fastener scene in 2014, creating our own BDN Fasteners® brand, and at the same time fulfilling OEM and ODM orders worldwide. In 2016, to prevent unexpected delays in production, Broaden decided to manufacture fasteners in house, focusing on the three most critical part of fastener pre-production – the heading, pinch-pointing and threading process, and helping customers in designing and developing their own brand image. These steps took Broaden company to new heights, producing around 9600 tons of screws per year, and an estimated 8-digit sales revenue by the end of this year.
Broaden see themselves as a problem solver, dedicating time and effort into manufacturing difficult to produce heavy-duty No. 5 point self-drilling screws for example, and winning the hearts of our customers through fast, impeccable service, creating an 8-digit sales revenue and growth of more than 15% per annum.
Mr. I-Jen Chen (Richard), General Manager of Broaden, explained the reason behind developing heavy-duty No. 5 point self-drilling screws, and dedicating an entire plant for its production. Broaden heavy-duty No.5 point self-drillers are built to penetrate 12+3mm thick steel sheets without their drilling tips burning out, which is a requisite and critical for its intended use. This mentality of producing only high end, technologically advanced fasteners further differentiate Broaden from the competition.
Richard also pointed out their willingness to invest in the research and development of new products for potential customers without any advance payment to gain their trust, and even insists on travelling abroad to validate customer complaints, and root cause of the claims on-site. This demonstration of responsibility combined with an excellent product warranty replacement policy, eventually paid off in the form of customer loyalty and solid long-term business relationships.
Citing another example, Richard then showed a proprietary polycarbonate skylight fastener named Poly-Fast™ which was developed with the support of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) seed fund from the Taiwanese government. Poly-Fast™ was designed to eliminate and streamline the whole process of fixing polycarbonate skylight to metal or timber substrates, which if no corners were cut, required multiple steps – creating a thermal expansion hole, fasten the screw, seal the expansion hole with neutral-cure silicone, all of which are time consuming and requires finesse.
Heeding to customer demand, Broaden developed Poly-Fast™, combining a self-drilling screw with a circular saw to drill a perfectly round thermal expansion hole, a large domed circular EPDM washer that conforms to the shape of the skylight which covers the expansion hole completely with room to spare, eliminating the risk of leakage, and knurls that not only clear swarf, but acts as a depth limiter to prevent overdriving and deforming the polycarbonate skylight sheets, a one-shot, fool proof design that saves more than 50% of labor time, which is swiftly and accurately assembled by customized assembly machines.
Poly-Fast™ was introduced on Amazon US from the beginning of March and a whole pallet of more than 50 thousand screws were sold out completely within a month, creating product and brand visibility in the US market, which was quite unexpected.
Faced with the Red Ocean strategy and cutthroat pricing competition from China and Southeast Asia, Richard believes that it is a race to the bottom with no end in sight. Although cost of production is currently lower in Southeast Asia compared to Taiwan, customers will still use the average purchase price from Southeast Asian countries as a basis for negotiation, meaning that margins will remain the same regardless. This is the reason why Broaden insists on manufacturing products 100% in Taiwan, using only China Steel Corp. (CSC) and Dragon Steel Corp. (DSC) wires, which although cost more, are superior in stability and quality.
Broaden’s Thailand branch is set as their Southeast Asian hub which stocks and distributes BDN Fasteners® branded screws and complimented with washer assembly and head painting lines for fast turnover rates. BDN Fasteners® is now among the top three fasteners brands in Thailand and Broaden is set to replicate this business model to neighboring countries in the near future.
Richard also revealed Broaden’s plan to relocate to a 18,000 square meter area in the North Kaohsiung Industrial Park after three years, with a goal of not only increasing production capacity, but also in research and development of high-value products, improving on the RFID warehouse inventory management tracking system, and aiming to enhance quality, productivity, efficiency, and flexibility through customized smart manufacturing and supply chain operations.
