On Friday the 13th of May CITO representatives, Johan Rebner and Malin Ansgar, visited Scania’s production facility in Taiwan which is located in Taoyuan. Scania in Taiwan is divided into two entities; the Scania Regional Product Center in Taoyuan and Scania Griffin Automotive in Taipei. During our visit we met with Jerry Yan, Workshop Manager, Gustaf Carlsson, Project manager in the Presales Department, and Lennart Wiksten, Manager of Scania Regional Product Center. Gustaf Carlsson is also former exchange student of National Tsinghua University, neighbouring university to National Chiao Tung University.
After having an informal talk, we were guided around the production and got the opportunity to follow the steps a truck goes through, from parts to a finished, ready-to-drive vehicle. The production site in Taoyuan is relatively small due to the small size of the Taiwanese market. Touring a small production site was very interesting. For example; the production line has longer cycle times than we are used to and there are only about 40 employees in total at this Scania unit. The assembly production of both trucks and busses in Taiwan is CKD based (Complete Knock Down), having a CKD based production is more efficient in monetary terms. The Taiwanese market is unique in that aspect that here Scania sells an equal volume of trucks and buses in contrast to other parts of the world where the volumes of trucks is greater than that of buses. Scania has about a 10% market share of the Taiwanese market.
After touring the factory, we were given a presentation about Scania’s global operations, corporate statements and philosophy. Scania emphasizes putting the customer first, quality and respect for the individual. With regard to the production facility we had an educational conversation about the Scania Production System, for example about how the organisation wants to continuously improve by learning from deviations. We also discussed challenges in operations management with-in the production site.
Scania ‘s strength in Taiwan lies in their strong service and support coverage. Another important factor is that they have been present on the Taiwanese market for a long time. The fact that Scania is able to supply the same products in multiple markets has given them greater flexibility and the ability to better utilize their global capacity. We also learnt a lot about the bus and truck market in general. How the market differs between regions and how competitors can work together to lobby for necessary changes in regulation.
The visit was very enjoyable and we learnt a lot, both about the specific industry, Scania ‘s operations and about conducting business in Taiwan. We extend our thanks to Scania for hosting us!