Innovative Technology on High Performance
Colorants
-Everlight Chemical
Excerpt: MOEA's Department of Industrial Technology's “24 Successful Stories of Innovative Companies”,
Published June 2007
24 Successful Stories of
Innovative Companies
This article is re-printed with the permission of the MOEA's Department of Industrial Technology.
24
An Expert's Viewpoint
Professor Min-Hsiung Hon, Department of Materials Science and
Engineering, National Cheng Kung University
People always like to wear beautiful clothes,
but don't want to smell the odor from waste
water in textile dyeing and finishing plants.
We desire bright and colorful printing
material, while hate to see the color and
brightness fade. The R&D team of Everlight
Chemical Ind. Corp. has put a lot of efforts
and has successfully developed a series
of unique dyes and ink-jet inks which
have won it patents around the world.
Everlight currently supplies dyes with
super perspiration light fastness, excellent
reproducibility and the least waste water in
the dye process. In ink-jet dyes, Everlight
has been working on improving hue shade,
brightness, solubility and light fastness
and has got good results. It also provides
domestic optical and electronic industries
with key functional dyes which used to be
imported. Everlight is now one of the top
10 dye manufacturers in the world.
Everlight's successful story of upgrading
through innovation does set an outstanding
model for traditional industries in Taiwan.
Everlight started out as a manufacturer of
textile dyes, then moved up to the production
of functional colorants used in I.T. Industry.
It has not only created tremendous market
value, but also has contributed to the upstream of electronic industry in Taiwan
through supplying key raw material locally.
In addition, Everlight has successfully
developed overseas market for its innovative
products. Currently new products account for
40% of Everlight's output, and it generates
net profit at about US$1.82 million. The
company has established close collaboration
with some well-known academic institutions
in the world in the hope of pursuing
continuous innovation. An R&D center has
been formed to help carry out the project. It
is foreseeable the bright future of Everlight
through continuous improvement and
innovation.
Dr. Der-Gun Chou, Head of R&D,
Everlight Chemical Ind. Corp.
R&D and innovation help to put a company's vision
into practice. The different nature of various products
calls for different models for innovation. For instance,
dyes are considered mature products that have long
lifecycle. Therefore , they are more suitable to gradual
innovation, while aggressive innovation is more
appropriate for products with shorter lifecycle.
Everlight receives the MOEA Department of Industrial Technology's Technology Know-how Innovation Award
Everlight Vice President Mr. Der-Gun Chou accepts the award from Department Director Tyzz Jiun Duh
25
“Technology Innovation and Upgrading”
“Character Education flourishes Chemical Technology”
Innovation, same as “doing business with
integrity”, has been part of corporate culture at
Everlight since it was founded more than 30 years
ago. In order to enhance team work, Everlight
has put “Character First” into the employees
training courses for years. The unique culture has
helped the company stand strong in the business.
Its dedication to R&D has paid off, as more and
more patents are rendered, new businesses are
developed and good reputation established.
The peers in industry often regard Everlight as a
special company, but may not know exactly why
it is so special including no budget for public
relations. Everlight is not willing to spend money
on advertisement for itself through participating in
various contests or building a special relationship
with the media.
Does this mean Everlight is extremely tight when
it comes to spending money? This is not the case
when we look at the following examples.
In an effort to develop new businesses , Everlight
has continuously poured in human resources and
capital in developing electronic chemicals and
pharmaceuticals for 10 years. In one specific year,
these two new business units together caused
NT$180 million loss which took away almost
half of total surplus generated by color business
unit- the flag ship one. However, Chairman D.C.
Chen, insisted that it was the right way to go and
the vision and efforts for developing high–tech
business never end.
“Becoming a multinational enterprise that makes
sound contribution to the high-tech chemical
industry” has long been a vision of Everlight's
founder D.C. Chen. Every penny the company
spends must be used in actualizing the vision.
Chairman Chen wants Everlight to display its
true strength instead of exaggerating through
commercials.
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Upgrading Enables Everlight
to Replace Imports
Major multinational companies are able to take
advantage of their edges and enjoy remarkable
profit in the markets which have demand but no
local supply. From the viewpoint of domestic
industrial development, it is absolutely not good for
long term development if the manufacturers have to
pay higher prices for raw material, no mention the
lack of security of supply. This was the case in the
early stage of textile industry in Taiwan.
Mr. Ray-An Tsai, V.P. of Everlight, who has
been with Everlight since the 80s'., said it was
the environment which stimulated Everlight to
adopt “Pursuit of Progress and Innovation” as
its management philosophy. It has been in every
Everlighter's mind for decades, not just hastily
catching up the fashion in recent years.
“Facing stiff competitive business environment,
a company must continually pursue progress and
innovation in order to sustain and grow,” Mr. Tsai
said. Everlight, he noted, had set up the R&D
department when it was still a tiny company with
very limited financial resources, with the goal of
developing products to replace imports. Chairman
Chen strongly believed that the company needed to
act not only for its own good, but also to help the
development of local industry.
MOEA Department of Industrial Technology
Commendation for Achievement in Innovation
Innovative Technology on High
Performance Colorants
Creative Features
Everlight has successfully introduced competitive
technology in the fields of textile dyes and ink-jet printer
inks, boosting colorant and cotton fiber fixing rates and
reducing the amount of chemicals needed. Everlight
has developed environmentally friendly colorants that
do not contain organic halogens. The low residual color
and proton acid in the waste water make it possible
for microorganisms to break down the waste, thereby
improve treatment efficiency.
Benefits of Innovation
Technology developed by Everlight enables its products
to offer a high level of colorfastness and successful rate,
while also meeting environmental requirements. It has
put Everlight in a leading position in the colorants for
cotton fiber and fabric. From 2003 to 2006, it obtained 25
local patents and 10 patents overseas. Currently, there are
57 pending patent applications. Patent-based revenue in
Award for Technology
Innovation
2005 reached NT$190 million.
27
Secrets of Innovation
Everlight's innovation in the technology and know-how on high performance colorants
are what led to being recognized by the government. It had made many breakthroughs in
addressing the shortcomings of traditional dye application and introducing wider range
of new formula in dyeing processes. The successful development of high color value and
environmentally friendly ammonium reactive dyes have paved the way for a single dye
process and super colorfastness. These innovations are based on the cumulative expertise of
many years of work as well as cooperative relationships with local and foreign companies
and institutions in recent years. Everlight's accomplishment have also helped in creating new
opportunities for the textile industry.
Everlight R&D team have also extended their research into inks used for ink-jet printers and
digital printing. This is an excellent example of innovation, according to Harvard Business
School Professor Clayton M. Christenson, who is best known for his study of innovation.
Everlight has introduced its knowledge to emerging markets, helping to create new business
opportunities for industry. Everlight has spent nearly 10 years in developing pharmaceutical
and electronic chemical products, with its progress mirroring that of chemical molecule
theory. The more advanced the technology becomes, the more steps in the chemical reaction
and the production becomes more technology intensive. Through learning from the benchmark
companies in the world and utilizing global resources, Everlight has set a good model for
breakthroughs and innovation.
The Potential Risks of
Technology Innovation
Everlight is part of the chemical industry.
According to MOEA statistics, this industry
has been one of the main drivers of Taiwan's
manufacturing sector over the past several decades,
with the chemical industry accounting for 26%
of Taiwan's manufacturing output in 2005. This
makes it Taiwan's second largest manufacturing
sector, and it also holds quite an important position
in the international market. MOEA officials
stressed, however, that the chemical industry is
facing a number of obstacles as the international
industry climate changes and Taiwan's chemical
manufacturers also must transform and engage
in high-tech and pollution prevention R&D and
innovation.
Mr. Ray-An Tsai said that Everlight understood
the importance of R & D since it started out with a
team of only 20 people or so. In today's much more
competitive and complicated business environment,
it will never stop or just slow down the pursuit of
innovation. “In fact, we gradually began to enter
new fields in the early 1990s to challenge ourselves
to develop more advanced technology.”
Everlight has continuously expanded its range of
products over the past 35 years, from specialty
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chemicals to , electronic chemicals, pharmaceutical
ingredients, and nano-materials. Chairman D.C.
Chen feels that each step in the development of
new businesses has been difficult. “If Everlight
had not been able to maintain a competitive edge
in its core business which is the color business, we
would have not had the capacity to take the long
term investment and loss in pursuing new business
through innovation.”
“Monthly cost for running a new unit of business
is easily NT$10 million.” Chairman Chen
acknowledged, “ it is a huge pressure to the
management team.” This has especially been
the case in recent years in developing high-tech
products. We have to go through all the obstaclestechnical bottlenecks, global product certification,
market and customers' confidence.
Starting from exploring opportunities, getting
technology, winning some businesses and suffering
loss every month, Everlight had experienced all
the pain every new venture may have encountered.
“I'm sure most people would wonder whether our
company would be able to sustain the business.”
he said.
Everlight had been hit badly by storm in the past.
It decided to halt use of benzidine, a key raw
material for making a specific dye which was the
best selling product then, after tests proved that
components in benzidine might cause cancer.
Everlight did introduce the replaced product but
was not well accepted by customers. It was at
that time that Tsai served in the sales department,
and he saw first hand the revenue generated by
the company's best selling product fell by nearly
one half in less than a year. “All colleagues were
frustrated and felt difficult to work.” he said.
Without the insistently full support from the top
management, Everlight's new fields of business
would not have developed to the state they have
today. It is not able that Everlight never halted
its R&D work in its core dye business while it
pursued innovation in new lines of business.
Dr. Der-Gun Chou, head of R&D, said that his
company's edge in colorants is primarily in textile
dyes and functional dyes. The former are bulk
products sold over the long term and are used in
dyeing natural fibers, man-made fibers, paper, and
leather. Everlight has got a number of patents for
some newly developed dyes. Meanwhile, Everlight
has been successful in entering various markets for
its functional dyes in recent years. These products
are used in digital printing systems, CD-R and
DVD-R, pigment dispersion photoresists, and
digital printing supplies, such as ink-jet printer ink
and carbon for laser printers.
Outstanding R&D Sets Everlight
Apart from Its Competitors
Everlight has continued to spare no effort in
applying patents for its flagship product-dyes.
Everzol Black LNS is a good example. It has been
patented in Taiwan for years and got patented
in USA recently. This bluish black dye has been
regarded as the best leveling black dye. It works
excellently on nylon/cotton fabric with the least
nylon stain.
The origin of specialty chemicals rests in Europe,
and many companies there have carried out R&D
for a century , while it is only an emerging industry
in Taiwan. “When Everlight started to manufacture
dyes to replace the imported ones, we never
thought we would have our own patents.” Tsai
said. Through continuous efforts in R&D, however,
Everlight eventually obtained the first dyestuff
patent in 1997. Currently, it has 150 patents. This
is the sweet fruit of the hard work from everyone
in Everlight.
Huang Huei-Chin, the deputy director of
Everlight's R&D department, emphasized the
quality requirements in the international fabric
market and the importance of good dyes. She said
the good dyes must be able to be used in a variety
of dyeing processes so the dependency on process
shall be relatively low. Therefore, the possibility of
rework , which is very costly, becomes smaller. In
recent years, Everlight has introduced the Everzol
ED, LF, and LX series of dyes which possess the
features needed in the textile industry and have
helped customers lower the failure rate in the
process.
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Resources Integration:
Moving Ahead of Competitors
“There are so many derivative technologies that
have been generated from this innovation, and we
have begun to realize their commercial value,”
Der-Gun Chou said with excitement. He said
the most important facet of R&D is in creating
products and their values so as to generate profits
for the company. Everlight's R&D department
has not only made inroads to boost the company's
industrial capabilities, but has won a national
award for its efforts. Deputy Director Huang HuiChin received an award for excellence in research
in the chemical industry. In addition, Everlight
also won the MOEA Department of Industrial
Technology's Technical Know-how Innovation
Award in 2006. Everyone in the R&D Department
was excited upon learning that it had won the
award. It was much impressed when people found
that other recipients of the award were from hightech industries. This proved that chemical industry,
the traditional industry, was capable of find a new
way for itself. Der-Gun Chou said “The glory
of winning the award is not the accomplishment
of a single department, but rather recognition of
Everlight's long emphasis on R&D. This is also
just one step in moving up the ladder in contest.”
he said.
Chou believes that while Everlight continues to
devote itself to R&D, the market for dyestuffs
has gradually matured. Therefore, the company
must use what it has accomplished as a platform
to reach new technology and new business, also,
use it to connect industries, customers, research
institutes and overseas consultants. Everlight shall
be able to stay ahead of competitors as long as it
continues to integrate resources while pursuing
innovation.
30
Ms. Huang Huei-Chin, Deputy Director, R & D,
receives award for outstanding work in chemical
industry R&D.
“Everlight High-tech Chemical Products R&D
Center” was established in 2004. This unit has
been the platform to work with other research
institutes, such as Taiwan Industrial Technology
Research Institute (ITRI), the Chung-Shan Institute
of Science and Technology, and the National Nano
Device Laboratories; to collaborate with local and
foreign academic institutions including National
Taiwan University, National Tsing Hua University,
National Chiao Tung University, National Central
University, England's University of Manchester,
North Carolina State University in the United
States, and China's Soochow University. Chou
had a wonderful experience after attending an
international seminar. Someone from a foreign
company approached him for visiting Everlight's
plant and exploring the possibility of joint R & D.
Establishing an International
Supply Chain
Everlight's revenues in 2006 reached NT$4.94
billion. It is not only Taiwan's leader in specialty
chemicals, but also is one of the world's five
largest dye manufacturers. Dr. Wei-Wang Chen,
General Manager of Everlight, said that colorants
are the company's core business, with products
running the gamut from textile dyes, leather dyes,
metal dyes, to functional dyes used in CD-R
and DVD-R. These items comprise 71% of total
revenues, while specialty chemicals, including
UV stabilizers for plastics textiles and automotive
coatings, account for 15%. Meanwhile, the
pharmaceutical ingredients business, which
includes prostaglandin and cardiovascular drug
ingredients , makes up 4% of sales. Everlight
is ready to take further challenge to enter the
biopharmaceuticals field in the future.
Meanwhile, yellow-light manufacturing process
is the core of Everlight's electronic chemicals
business unit. Products include photoresists used
in the semiconductor and LCD industries, color
photoresists and other chemical products. All
these together accounts for 10% of total revenues.
Lastly, the nano-material business unit which
focuses on providing various materials needed
by the opto-electronics industry or providing
film plating processing of components. The
development of multiple businesses has made
Everlight an important role in the industrial supply
chain.
The Pursuit of Quality
Excellence
“To be an outstanding global enterprise with
significant contribution to the chemical industry”
has been Everlight's vision. Dr. Wei-Wang Chen,
General Manager of Everlight, said the company's
development strategy is to position itself as a hightech chemical products producer and a supplier of
key chemical products.
This thought seems too much idealistic. However,
Everlight has gradually realized its objective in
the field of dyestuffs. Along with the huge change
of international business environment, the world's
two largest dye manufacturers, which are headquartered in Europe, in the past three years have
sold to American companies. It has been suspected
that their excellent service which has impressed
textile industry for decades, may not be able to
continue since change hands in management. This
presents Everlight a fantastic opportunity to fill the
gap. Dr. Chen said, “Everlight has already closed
the brand name gap with European heavyweights.
Many textile mills and dyeing houses are happy to
select us as cooperative partners.”
The Taipei Innovative Textile Application Show
(TITAS), which is one of the major textile shows
in the world, has invited Everlight to use dyes it
produced to present formulas for fashion colors for
consecutive three years. Everlight does cherish this
opportunity and like to present itself to the global
textile and apparel industries that it is capable
of providing more and better services. It really
impresses visitors of the show that Everlight,
which is only 35 years in industry, but has been
so focus in developing products, cultivating
talents and maintaining sound relationship with
the communities, is able to do exactly what those
traditional major manufacturers had done.
Textile industry was the number one industry in
Taiwan and still in the top five today. Everlight has
been devoting in not only supplying quality dyes
at more economical cost but also working with
mills to improve quality of textile products so as
to maintain competitive edge in global market.
Pursuit innovation and continuous improvement
are what Everlight is doing.
Taking Challenges of the
Electronic Chemical Business
Everlight views R&D as a platform means to
realize the company's vision. The company,
however, maintains different attitudes toward
innovation with regards to each of its product
lines. Dr. Chou believes that the industry of
dyestuffs industry has already reached a mature
level, hence, its further advancement tends to
be gradual. The opposite, however, is more
appropriate for electronic chemicals and other
new lines of business: the company needs to be
more aggressive in its R&D to pave the way for
breakthroughs and innovations.
Everlight has used electronic chemicals as its
starting point to enter the semiconductor industry.
It plays an important role as a supplier of key
raw materials to the industry, primarily providing
the photoresists and related products required in
the microlithography and etching processes. For
instance, Everlight has spent 10 years developing
IC photoresist products, including its G-line and
I-line photoresists. EPG-510, developed in 1999,
was Everlight's first G-line product and it is now
supplied to nearly 40 customers. The I-line series
features ion-implanted photoresists. Everlight has
continued to expand its factory line, helping to
meet the huge market demand for I-line products.
“Everlight is not only pursuing a new generation
of industrial technology in its photoresist business.
Dr. Wei-Wang Chen stressed that the company
wants to fully satisfy customers' need by filling
the gap in the supply chain of IC industry, which
means in addition to innovation, Everlight
also needs to consistently pay attention to
quality, service and cost. If it can excel in these
31
fundamental works, it will win even more
feedback from the industry. In recent years, the
manufacturing processes and technology of IC
factories in China have improved considerably and
there is almost no technology gap between China
and Taiwan in this industry. The new products
Everlight currently develop can be presented
to both markets and be certified by end users
simultaneously. Therefore, customers shall feel
more assured when they choose to use products
from Everlight.
According to the analysis report from ITRI's
Industrial Economics & Knowledge Center (IEK),
specialty chemicals and polymer materials are
critical material in textile, automobile, paper,
display, and semiconductor industries. The IEK
estimates that in the past five years, average
growth per annum for specialty chemicals was
6.8%, while it was 10.9% for polymer materials.
Both are of continually growing sectors in the
chemical industry. The government has pegged
specialty chemicals as a focal point of industrial
development and aims to develop high-tech
chemical technology. It will also promote the
interaction between upstream and downstream
industries to help pave the way for the development
of new products. Everlight's commitment to
innovation has actually put it in a good position in
the global market.
Company Introduction
Everlight Chemical was founded in 1972 with the core values being “Business by Integrity;
Management by Caring.” Everlight has positioned itself as an enterprise producing high-tech
chemical products and a supplier of critical chemical products. Over the 35 years, Everlight has
worked to support the government's economic development policies. In its core business, Everlight
has continually developed high value-added, low energy consumption and low polluting high-tech
chemical products. In addition to introducing well-accepted dyestuffs, Everlight has successfully
entered the functional dye market, supplying products to the opto-electronics industry and ink for
ink-jet printers. It has also developed UV Stabilizers for automobile coatings and cosmetics. In the
field of Pharmaceutical, Everlight has grasped some critical technologies, established the cGMP
system and has passed inspections from US FDA. In electronic chemicals, it has successfully
developed a variety of photoresists and photolithography application, ultra-micro analysis and
ultra-clean manufacturing technologies. The nano-material business is focusing on nano-scale
sol-gels used in the opto-electronics industry. Everlight's sales network covers 80 countries across
five continents. In R & D, Everlight has obtained over 150 patents, including dyes with brand new
structures, photoresists and manufacturing processes of pharmaceutical ingredients.
Year 2000 Everlight won the MOEA's Award to the Enterprise Excellent in Innovation
Year 2004 Everlight receives the MOEA's Award for Excellence in Corporate Social
Responsibility
Year 2006 Everlight is cited in the MOEA-published “Responsibility and Profit” as a showcase
of exhibiting social responsibility
Year 2007 Everlight receives Commonwealth magazine's Award of Commonwealth Corporate
Social Responsibility
Everlight has also introduced the “Character First”
project from the Character Training Institute,
endeavoring in employees' character education, while
establishing the Six Sigma management system.
“Satisfying Customers' need and jointly creating value”
is Everlight's quality policy. Based on what Everlight
has established, employees all feel more confident to the
future and are willing to take stricter challenge and work
to let Everlight be of great contribution to the global
chemical industry.
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Public commendation is an important
link in Everlight Chemical's character
education.