Invest in TaiwanDepartment of Investment Services, MOEA
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San Fu Chemical had its beginnings in 1952 as a family-operated food additives manufacturer, later entering the industrial gas industry to fill the need for hydrogen gas in synthetic sugar production. In 1987, the company became a joint venture with Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (APCI) of the United States. At that time Taiwan shareholders held a majority stake; it was not until 2002, when local shareholders released additional shares to APCI, that San Fu Chemical became a foreign-invested enterprise that imported American technology and management systems.
Today, San Fu Chemical is the largest provider of industrial gas in Taiwan. With an average annual revenue increase of 15% over the five years from 2000 to 2004 and gross revenues that reached NT$9.4 billion in 2004, it ranks 170 on the list of Taiwan's 1,000 largest enterprises.
The company has an extensive clientele from industries such as steel, petrochemicals, refrigeration, medicine, and wastewater processing; 70% of its major clients are in high-tech industries. As nitrogen gas is required for the maintenance of production equipment for semiconductors and silicon wafers, among its major customers are local high-tech companies such as the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), AU Optronics, and Chi Mei Optoelectronics. To service these global-standard semiconductor-technology enterprises, San Fu Chemical must constantly upgrade its product technology and service quality in line with their needs.
APCI, San Fu Chemical's American headquarters company, is the largest gas supplier in the U.S. and is number 281 on the list of 2005 Fortune 500 companies. With gross annual revenue that averages US$7.4 billion, APCI has 20,000 employees working in subsidiaries in more than 30 countries. In Asia APCI has nine bases of operation; Taiwan's San Fu is the largest, followed by Korea.
The main reason why APCI chose San Fu Chemical as a partner is the Taiwan company's large client base in the local industrial gases industry. Because nitrogen and hydrogen gases must be produced in close proximity to client companies, APCI looks for overseas subsidiaries that can provide local advantages such as close-proximity production, large client bases, and an understanding of local laws and regulations, while using technology and R&D supplied by the headquarters firm. So long as San Fu's list of clients continues to grow, APCI will continue to invest.
Some industrial gases are hazardous, and require special safety precautions for storage and transportation. There are also common industrial gases which the general public comes into contact with on a daily basis: helium is used to fill balloons, hospitals need oxygen for emergency rescue, the aquaculture industry uses liquid oxygen, and frozen-food companies employ liquid hydrogen.
To safeguard industries against the perils of hazardous industrial gases, San Fu Chemical invited the government, education, and manufacturing sectors to establish the Industrial Gases Association of the R.O.C. 14 years ago, with the goal of starting up gas cylinder safety inspections. To date, standard inspection mechanisms have been established and 33 inspection facilities have been set up; 1.6 million industrial gas cylinders have been inspected, and over 10,000 unqualified ones have been discarded. Future inspection categories will include steel acetylene cylinders and steel household gas cylinders.
San Fu Chemical maintains emergency response teams on 24-hour alert in northern, central, and southern Taiwan, ready to defuse any potential crisis. In cooperation with the Taichung City Government, in July last year (2005) San Fu Chemical worked with AU Optronics in mounting a "Toxic Materials Emergency Drill" in the Central Taiwan Science Park. San Fu also helps other government agencies hold similar emergency response drills on an irregular basis, striving, in this way, to provide a safer environment for economic development in Taiwan.
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