The IoT Service Hub started its "International Service Team" in 2022 with an attempt to expand its services internationally. By doing so, the Hub seeks to attract international partners to join the IoT Service Hub and assist them in the commercialization of their products with the help of the ample manufacturing resources in Taiwan. In this text, two companies currently on the International Service Team are in the spotlight: "VALD Co., Ltd." with 20+ years of experience in cooperation with major international manufacturers in exterior design and mechanism design; and "KO'LAB Industrial Design & Research Co.,Ltd.", which integrates IoT and EV design, thus able to help clients create future mobile vehicles and tap into the business opportunities of promising industries such as automatic driving equipment, Internet of Vehicles, smart driving, etc.
VALD Co., Ltd.: Boasting Unique Design Procedures to Help Solve Core Product Issues
VALD Co., Ltd. boasts a design team with 25 years of professional experience. It is a leading company in product design and development in Taiwan, and has cooperated with many leading brands around the world. It has rich experience in design and development, and has assisted startups in both Taiwan and other countries to realize their product designs. The VALD team specializes in identifying the product design issues in complex and challenging projects, thus allowing the initial concept to smoothly enter the mass production phase and successfully reach the stage of commercialization.
As early as 15 years ago, VALD assisted renowned brands such as Nokia, BenQ, and other major manufacturers in the mechanism design of consumer electronics. At present, their scope of business covers AI, AIoT, Internet of Things, e-sports games, industrial design, medical care, consumer products, UI/UX design, toys, human-machine interface, etc. With such outstanding service, the company has a solid foundation of clients, including CONTEC (largest AIoT manufacturer in Japan), Braun, Logitech, ASUS, Dell, Intel, Lite-On, Advantech, etc.
"Our professional team can provide one-stop design services and assist clients in concept development, front-end market research, exterior design, mechanism design, or even the mold opening process in factories." Up to 70% of VALD's business comes from large international manufacturers. With rich experience in international cooperation and team members who are fluent in English, the company adopts unique and professional design procedures, and can communicate with foreign teams efficiently despite possible time differences, so that their projects can always be carried out smoothly. Business Director Mr. Huang said that their designers are familiar with the key elements and know-hows of mass production in factories, and this is what most design companipdes lack. Such a niche is the main reason why so many clients would choose to work with VALD.
"Many design companies can only do exterior design. When the client takes the fancy design to the factory and wants to develop a mold, they will often find it unrealistic and not feasible on the production line." Products with poor design not only waste development time, but also increase the costs of molding, injection, and cropping during the production phase. "Thus many clients would come to seek our help in the end, and we have to start over from the phase of mechanism design." According to Huang, VALD always discusses the feasibility of design and mass production with their clients at the front end in detail. This is to avoid flaws in design and subsequent risks. Such a reliable model of service is truly the professional advantage accumulated by VALD designers over the years.
In addition, Huang was also glad to see VALD becoming a member of the IoT Service Hub International Service Team, and he thinks it is of great significance to all the domestic startups and other related industries. "Taiwanese manufacturers have good integration competence and strong manufacturing capabilities." Huang added, generally speaking startups only have small-batch orders in the initial design stage, so it may be difficult for them to find a renowned factory to execute the molding for production. Through the matchmaking of the IoT Service Hub, however, trustworthy manufacturers can pitch in and assist these startups in realizing their product design. Such a collaboration model is a win-win solution. After all, the manufacturing base for all global stakeholders is right here in Asia. Taiwan has a complete supply chain, and we can communicate in both Chinese and English easily, which can avoid the hidden costs of transportation and ineffective (time-consuming) communication, thereby accelerating product commercialization.
KO'LAB: Creating Future Vehicles Which Are Both Aesthetic and Practical
KO'LAB is a top industrial design company in Taiwan. Most of its designers have years or even decades of practical experience in the design of automobile exterior and interior styling from their former posts at major overseas manufacturers. Thus, they are all well familiar with the design needs of major manufacturers around the globe.
"Our team members all have a background in industrial design and has rich work experience in large overseas labels. At present, we mainly receive orders for automobile design, as well as a number of contracts for consumer products such as furniture, toys, small hand-held products, etc. These are the primary scope of our services." According to Mr. Hsu, the Executive Director of KO'LAB, automotive design is a relatively complex field in industrial design, which requires a certain level of professional competence. In this regard, the KO'LAB designers all have many years of international experience, making them proficient in the international design vocabulary during the communication process. Therefore, it has become the first choice for independent European brands and emerging EV brands around the world.
"EV-related industries are now under the spotlight in the international market. The development process of EVs is very different from that of traditional cars, as it is mostly carried out in module-oriented manners. Thus, the design of EVs no longer follows the old way of thinking, and it is of great importance to grasp the trends of IoT. This could be quite a challenge for newly established startups." After joining the IoT Service Hub International Service Team, KO'LAB has also begun to expand its services to AIoT products, and EVs are naturally their most obvious target.
As the Design Director, Li pointed out that EVs in the future are no longer just a means of transportation; instead, the flexible IoT applications integrated in the interior of the vehicle will be the focus of interior design. KO'LAB has cooperated on many projects with well-known EV brands in Taiwan, Li added, and we are familiar with the mainstream trends of international EVs as well as hard- and software technologies. So if any startup, domestic or international, has a good device or technology that they wish to bring to the market, the experienced design team at KO'LAB can help them with our design capabilities and highlight their existing advantages.
The KO'LAB design team not only has design capabilities that meet international standards, but they are also a group of car enthusiasts with great passion for vehicle design. "We understand the industry well; we are passionate; and we also have a competitive advantage in terms of, most importantly, design service pricing." Hsu added that he had recently participated in an international briefing organized by the IoT Service Hub, and one of the participants from India (a trade representative) was very interested in the cooperation of EV design between Taiwan and India. KO'LAB also believes that Taiwan has great potential in this field of business.
"Taiwan boasts a complete supply chain, a high degree of flexibility from its professional manufacturers, and a quality-oriented production environment. Even with a small batch of customized design, KO'LAB would, as always, work closely with its clients and invest resources step by step so as to walk the clients through the phases of front-end design and product development." This group of professional and highly international designers are, no doubt, the best choice of partner for international clients to tap into the Asian markets.
