Taiwan Losing Plant--It’s Being Moved to Houston

Officials of a manufacturing firm announced today they were closing their plant in Taiwan and opening one in Houston because it’s cheaper to operate in Texas.

Innovative Controls Inc., a subsidiary of Houston Industries Inc., hopes to employ about 300 people by the end of the year in a newly leased 150,000-square-foot manufacturing plant, company President Ray Flannery said.

The company, which makes outdoor home security and decorative lights, will close one of its two plants in Taiwan, idling about 400 workers there.

Eventually, Innovative Controls hopes to move all its manufacturing operations to Houston, Flannery said.

Flannery said equipment is being moved into the new plant and workers are being hired. Worker training is expected to begin by March 1 with production starting in March or April.

Flannery said while wages certainly are lower in Taiwan, the quality of workmanship is better in the United States and the company will save thousands of dollars in freight charges. The cost of the plant facilities also is lower in Houston, he said.

A major consideration was the ability to communicate with workers, he said.

“I have a very difficult time with my Chinese,” he said. “It is a very difficult problem to communicate. When you’re trying to explain a complicated circuit, even if you’re using an interpreter, you lose a great deal in the translation.”

Innovative Controls began production in Taiwan in June, 1986.