KNH is one of Asia’s largest producers of hygiene products. Can you give me a little history explaining how you have grown to be so large?
KNH is one of the largest hygiene and sanitary products manufacturers in Asia. It started off making sanitary pads, and was the first Taiwanese manufacturer to produce its own sanitary pads. The challenge in the beginning was the sourcing of raw materials, which were mainly imported from Japan, making production costs considerably high.
To cope with the high costs, KNH actively invested in nonwoven fabric R&D and its production equipment. By doing this, not only were manufacturing costs reduced, but it also opened a new direction for KNH products. The simultaneous development of personal hygiene products and nonwoven fabrics has helped the company create a solid foundation, enabling KNH to quickly respond to market changes, while at the same time provide a more wide-ranging product portfolio. Through continuous technological innovation and improvement of production efficiency, a powerful and diversified industry system was built.
The current achievements of KNH come not only from its excellence in its technology and production processes, its sensitivity to market demand and constant innovation also plays a central role. This has enabled KNH to respond to rapid changes in the industry, providing customers with better and more innovative hygiene and sanitary products. This has been a crucial factor in making KNH one of the largest hygiene and sanitary products manufacturers in Asia.
What have been some of the key challenges in growing your business in Asia in recent years? Explain.
The demands for disposable hygiene products increased significantly in recent years due to the pandemic. However, in the post-pandemic era, demand has gradually normalized, resulting in excess capacity in Asia. Meanwhile, with the industry maturing and experience increasing, the Asian market is facing intense competition in terms of product similarity, channel diversification and market price confusion. This means that we must persistently adjust our strategies in order to cope with market change.
In such an environment, we are not only required to continue to optimize the supply chain to improve production efficiency—we must also enhance our R&D and innovation to develop products that are high quality and distinct from others. At the same time, we must keep close relationships with all of our customers as developing adaptable and competitive pricing strategies is crucial. This requires insightful analysis of market trends and the ability to react immediately to ensure stability and a sustainable performance in this challenging environment.
Can you explain why KNH is an ideal partner for makers of hygiene products?
KNH has the capability for production machinery R&D and improvement and the integration of materials and product manufacturing technologies. KNH is able to provide custom-made products, realizing a high degree of customer demand. Thanks to its excellence in technological innovation and product manufacturing, KNH has become a leader in the industry.
KNH also has four modern plants, including three in Taiwan and one in Yangzhou, China. This means that the company has a wealth of production capacity to meet the demand of customers in a variety of areas, covering personal hygiene products, sanitary products for high-tech industries, industrial products and wastewater treatment. With all-round production skills, KNH is dedicated to providing a wide range of high-quality product solutions for customers around the world.
Owing to its long history, advanced technology and diversified production capabilities, KNH is an idea partner in the manufacture of hygiene and sanitary products. The expertise and global production capability of the company makes it possible to meet the demand of customers and maintain a leading position in the market.
How have you been able to expand into new areas like adult incontinence and nursing pads? Why did you chose to expand into these areas?
In the process of venturing into the production of adult incontinence products and pads, KNH acknowledged the tremendous impact of disposable hygiene and sanitary products on global economic trends and an aging population. Alongside the growth of the global economy and an aging population, adult incontinence products have become the next target area with rapid growth in the disposable hygiene products industry.
According to UN’s “World Population Prospects 2019,” there is a decline in life expectancy and fertility rates, the world’s population is aging. The population of people aged 65 years old and older in 2019 was 9.1% and will reach 15.9% by 2050.
As living standards continue to improve and life expectancy increases, people are inclined to pay more attention to the quality of life of the middle-aged and elderly. Benefiting from this, moderate to light incontinence care products are gradually being accepted by society. KNH is a leader in disposable hygiene and sanitary products in Taiwan, and has invested in the development and production of adult care products for many years. KNH is committed to developing adult incontinence products that better meet the needs of consumers. With its accumulated experience and excellent technological strength in the industry, KNH has successfully met the growing market demand for high quality, comfortable and reliable adult incontinence products.
Has sustainability continued to be more important? How has KNH dealt with this?
At KNH, we understand that sustainability has become a critical issue in the current global corporate environment and this cannot be ignored. With social and environmental issues attracting more and more attention, we have adopted a number of strategies to address these challenges.
In order to minimize the impact of the production process on the environment, we rigorously sort waste generated from production activities and recover waste material for recycling and reuse. The statistics show that we have reduced approximately 20% of the total weight of waste this year compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, as we strive for energy-efficient production, we continue to improve production processes, aiming to reduce waste and energy use. Through dynamic power management, old equipment replacement and energy-saving facility installment, we vow to save power and reduce unnecessary power loss to improve energy efficiency.
Adhering to the concept of environmental protection, KNH is making every effort to develop products using eco-friendly materials such as bio-based materials as well as biodegradable and recyclable materials. Simultaneously, we pursue innovative design concepts in order to produce more durable and environmentally friendly adult care products. By doing so, not only can the market needs for sustainable products be met, the overall life cycle of products will also contribute to minimizing the impact on the environment. By adopting these integral comprehensive measures, KNH is able to further ensure that positive results in sustainability can be delivered, fulfilling its responsibility for society and the environment.
https://www.knh-global.com/