Coating P. Materials(CMPC) was founded in 1988, mainly producing polyurethane adhesive and TPU. We focus on developing polyurethane materials for over 33 years. Despite outsourcing business mode, CPMC has professional R&D and manufacturing abilities in the polyurethane materials field that forms a strong strength, so the key material of Polyol that we provide is produced by ourselves.

Besides, our president Lin Chi-Tsan not only majored in chemical engineering but started his career life from a small salesman. We aggressively work hard on polyurethane synthetic technology and develop diverse materials applications. Our goal is to practice sustainability, furthermore, operate and raise the value of eco-friendly materials. We take "being the pioneer supplier of Eco-friendly materials" as our vision. We provide high-value-added products and professional service quality to meet the needs of customers worldwide. Due to our efforts, we achieved many milestones as below: 2016 Award of Outstanding SMEs, 2017 The 4th Potential Taiwan Mittelstand Award, and 2020 Ranked Top 5000 in the manufacturing industry in Taiwan by China Credit Information Service. Hence, through this interview, we invited the president Mr. Lin to share his management philosophy and flourishing ideas, furthermore, Mr. Lin would address his advice in this industry.

What CPMC produces belonging to in-process materials, has been plowed including food packaging, textiles, building materials, shoe materials, automobile parts, bookbinding, and soccer. In other words, Coating P. Materials is everywhere around our world, even applies to fire hoses and fracking hoses. In addition, CPMC is building a new factory in Da Pu Mei precision machinery Ind. Park and set up a green high-valued polyurethane production line. We wildly provide all kinds of sustainable eco-friendly materials to meet clients' core demands and establish differentiated brand value.

President Lin indicated that non-Volatile Organic Compounds(VOCs) mean a lot to people's health and living quality. Indeed, it's quite helpful to lower customers' product costs. It could not only save the cost of drying ovens consuming energy, but improve the process operation environment, and largely reduce VOCs pollutions. Therefore, non-VOCs benefit much from clients, consumers, and the environment.

The reason why CPMC keeps creating various high-valued productions is like chef's tips, Mr. Lin said. Everyone could be a chef using the same food and seasoning but making different combinations. However, in the top chef's cuisine, the key point is the heat and flavor. It emphasizes ingredients, formula, and even the way of cooking. The possibilities and opportunities of keeping create new dishes bring ingredients excellent flavor. All of this is CPMC’s innovation and competition.

Photo 1:  "Why do the same materials, end up produce different products? It's like chefs' craft, their skills and heats are different."
Presidient Lin mataphored.

CPMC facing the picking market demand to handle customers' needs and solve their problems, we set up a professional technique team, moreover, purchased machines to simulate studies of clients' machining process by new formula creation and simulate production process testing. We spur the original materials into whole new performance and usage, to handle end-use market demands precisely. We earn significantly from the global entertainment, they ask their supply chains to purchase our products, and thus it can be seen, we could deal with customers' demands with a successful operation that can be a role model.  
Otherwise, we provide a one-stop service to sort out clients' problems at different stages, including material R&D, materials consulting, PVT, solving problems, product expansion, and technique instruction. Not only do we provide products but technique services and problem solutions. To put it differently, CPMC is a gorgeous chef who can cook delicious cuisine. We are experts in technique service to let more people understand our company's value.

Photo 2: The basic of preserving samples and tracking founded company's qulity and advantage of service.
 

Deserving respect, CPMC’s external information resource is not the only way to inspire us to develop new materials. Our internal staffs observe important market demand and also give us new idea proposals. Take the most popular bio-based materials and circular economy for example, when the market demand was low, we already had developed and been certified by a related alliance. With the market trend going into a circular economy, many famous brands highly request upstream factories that adapt bio-based and circular materials with a certain mixture ratio, moreover, be asked to pass related certifications. It brings new growing chances to CPMC’s sustainable operation and efforts.

Now, CPMC expand its business to medical devices which is a much stricter field. We run industry-academia cooperation with NTU, NTUST, and NCHU Furthermore, we founded an associated company, Yang Cheng Medical Co., Ltd. Yang Cheng not only creates domestic first product long-term implanted vascular prosthesis but also maintains the benefits of R&D, material, production, and cost which a one-stop service brings in. This action makes our application market turns into high-level implanted CLASS II medical materials, such as lower extremity vascular, and arteriovenous graft AVG. Besides, it also brings benefits to Taiwan's artificial vascular prosthesis demand instead of importing.

President Lin indicates that, although vascular prosthesis uses little material, the cost of process control and purchase equipment is very high. Now is in the trial production stage, there are animal testing and clinical trial…stages to go through. As the saying goes, "persistence is the key to success". We are ready to conquer the obstacles in the future and keep moving on.
 
CPMC based on past research, we move forward to develop medical materials. Our company scale is 150 staff, and there is 20 staff of R&D. R&D expenditure ratio is over 3%, this situation is very rare. Our products include a one-year lifecycle of fast fashion textiles and to 8-10 years lifecycle of auto parts; therefore, we can challenge the much stricter medical materials field of human body safety.

The digital transformation of CPMC is an important competitive resource, and we plan for a long time. Since 2001, our company has led in digital management methods and tools, for example, ERP, CRM, and PLM systems, plus we arrange information team to execute and control, so system cascade and electronic spreadsheet design won't be a problem for us.
Through setting up digital software systems, the company can manage materials precisely, and work paperless. Because of SOP and automation, the operation performance can be better. The significant R&D research information can pass by and share, moreover, the knowledge between R&D teams helps to meet each other's needs. Let the experiences become treasures someday, in other words, it's an intellectual property of circular economy to be used sustainable, value-added, and recycled. 
 
President Lin said the reason to push digital transformation is that entertainment wants to survive in the market and keep moving on, therefore, we must be strong, and digital transformation is a necessary investment, despite the demand from clients. President Lin indicated that technique is not a problem; "staff" is the biggest difficulty. In beginning, to solve staff's problems, team leaders take the lead. We build up smooth communication channels and insist on carrying out missions, moreover, provide support measures to encourage staff. In processing, we keep organizing every step, through many times of processes reengineering, and making systems online.
The difficult time of digital transformation, we get effects during the covid-19 pandemic. We contact coworkers through cloud tools and communication software from every service point. Through digital systems integration, staff can work remotely without the limit of area and time. We contact more customers in different time zones and keep product consult and services going on. Besides, due to the pandemic, clients who used to purchase materials from China turns to have orders in Taiwan. Through digital processing, we can supply production immediately to meet customers' needs worldwide.

Facing the future, President Lin says humbly. He is a pioneer, concentrates on his duty, and compares to international brands; he has to make more efforts. Coating P. Material will move on to enrich ourselves and step on track to be high-valued.
President Lin aims for the plastic industry's future, he gives some pieces of advice, and hope policy could give a hand to the industry.
 
Raw material: Due to the pandemic and ice storm in the USA, upstream raw material costs rise largely, and the shipping fee is expensive because of fewer flights. Mr. Lin advises government could investigate support measures and relief packages to help SMEs diminish the pressure of price spikes.
 
Law Deregulation: The EU has formulated a policy, all plastic packages should be recycled and reused in 2030. Nestle and Coca-Cola…350 international famous factories announced that the goal 5 years ahead of reusing all plastic packages has been achieved. Taiwanese Government followed the circular economy trend, deregulate policy in 2020, and declared textile factories can recycle and remake tailings, plus It's very helpful to Taiwan's circular economy. He looks forward to better policy, and deregulating more laws; even eliminating products on the brand side can have more chances to be recycled. It forms a "from cradle to cradle" new developing mode and builds up larger space. Besides, our industry is short-staffed, and the local young men lack interest in the traditional industry, we hope the government provides more quotes of foreign laborers with more admitted years to enrich labor.
 
Talents: Bioplastics qualified global trend of good performance, low energy consumption, and zero waste, but the global annual yield proportion is only 1% of the petrochemical industry. The technique needs to break through and improve. Therefore, the government and corporations should import high-level R&D staff, to balance the development between the plastic industry and the high-tech industry. 
 

Through this interview, we know President Lin's profession and persistence in various aspects of industry techniques. His trust in his coworkers makes the company become the hidden champion, although it's an intermediate material supplier. CPMC is active in all sorts of application markets, like staple merchandise, industry, and medical materials. President Lin makes the company stand out from the crowd by way of advanced deployment. He prepares for long-term development and conquers obstacles with his courage; moreover, he calculates profession and experiences, with excellent serviceability to persuade clients. It forms strong competitiveness.
 
We look forward to the future, green, biomaterial, and recycle…those circular economy issues will become the main trend. While the pandemic will leave, and the economy will go up, we are at this industry's turning point. If the policy could be more active, and provide more finance, law, and talent, it would have a perfect effect on the plastic industry, the environment, and people's living quality.