ICPDAS


	Interview with the founder & General Manager of ICP DAS – Mr. Robert Chen, and the General Manager of ICP DAS China – Mr. Jacky Shieh
	Date:2007.07.19

	For its outstanding contribution to the development of automation industry, much attention has always been given to the automation industry enterprises in Taiwan.

	From previous experiences contacting with Taiwan industrial businesses, there are always two kinds of enterprises won most attention: one is with the complete product lines, providing total solution, and then rapidly expand their business scale to world-class scope, such as Advantech. And the other kind is concentrating on a small yet high-end segment, work with persistence and eventually become the pioneer in this specific domain, such as ICP DAS.

	If current automation industry is a “Red Ocean”, ICP DAS would be a spring flowing through the valley, picture a scene of extraordinary beauty. It is playing music with no end and playing the melody of unique.

	Perhaps ICP DAS is not well-known yet in Mainland China. However, the best-selling Newton-7000 and iDAM-7000 modules were OEM by ICP DAS. This enterprise was founded in 1993 and specialized in industrial data acquisition products. For years, it dedicated to technology development in the fields of industrial automation data acquisition, transmission and control products, trying to bring the latest technology, knowledge, product and services to the users

	When ICP DAS hold up the banner of “Navigator of PAC”, the whole automation industry was surprised. How come this unknown company carries so much power and energy? In order to explore the development process of ICP DAS, our reporter recently interviewed the founder & General Manager of ICP DAS - Mr. Robert Chen, and the General Manager of ICP DAS China – Mr. Jacky Shieh.

	Rome was not built in a day - from soft logic to PAC

	Achievements of ICP DAS are not accomplished without patient perseverance and a considerable interval of time.

	“About seven to eight years ago, we first got in touch with Soft Logic, unfortunately we started with the collapse of our partnerships several times… but we carried through all the difficulties eventually.” Mr. Chen talked about the development process of ICP DAS. “In fact, at that time, I didn’t really know the power of Soft Logic. Everybody took Soft Logic as an academic term out of some scholar. But based on our sense toward technological trends, ICP DAS decided to concentrate on R&D of related Soft Logic software. Today, even some international leading automation companies offer Soft Logic products, proved that our persistence is worthy.” Mr. Chen Said, “PLC from different manufacturers do not share a standard PLC language; if customers buy products from one manufacturer, they no longer can buy from the others, this is all because there exits no standard interface. Soft Logic solved this problem for it is an international standard language.”

	With background of senior RD engineer from Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan, Mr. Chen always holds clear ideas watching over industrial technical development. In 2003, after participating in an embedded technology exhibition in the States, ICP DAS started to concentrate on R&D of embedded hardware and software. That is where the PAC products such as I-7188 and WinCon came from - they are all derived from the embedded technology. It can be said that concentrating on R&D of the embedded technology is the main reason ICP DAS became “Navigator of PAC”.

	In 2005, ICP DAS released a new generation concept of product - Programmable Automation Controller and Programmable Device Server. And then it became one of the early PAC domestic suppliers. Thus, ICP DAS reached the high position as the “Navigator of PAC”. Mr. Chen said, he was more willing to take “A” of “PAC” as “Advanced”. He believed PAC is truly a more advanced PLC and IPC.

	Get feedbacks from customers - the force of demand-driven enable PAC getting more sophisticated.

	If concentrating on R&D of PAC is out of an accurate decision, then the real development and improvement is mainly derived from the needs of the clients.

	Mr. Chen said, ICP DAS once ever sold IPC at the very beginning, but soon found that PC-BASED can not meet the real needs of the industrial automation. Customers need not only reliable and stable control products but also want them to be open and scalable, PC or PC-BASED products cannot satisfy the demand. At this point, PAC shows up to fulfill the expectations of the market and the customers.


	Founder & General Manager of ICP DAS – Mr. Robert Chen

	“I am very grateful to many private entrepreneurs from Mainland China who are with vision, innovative ideas, and dare to be a forerunner. Because of their boldly trials using IPCDAS products, and providing constructive opinions, enabled us to keep improving our products.” Mr. Chen was obviously full of gratitude.

	Mr. Shieh illustrated with an example, he said that at present, ICP DAS is working on an Engine Detection System which is a result of cooperation with the customers. He stated frankly, ICP DAS doesn’t really understand the Engine Detection System, but they found Internal Combustion Engine Research Institute to co-work. The Internal Combustion Engine Research Institute expressed their needs clearly, and offered a lot of professional advices. During the Shenzhen PAC Forum, ICP DAS invited Mr. Kai Wu from Shanghai Internal Combustion Engine Research Institute to introduce ICP DAS PAC products from another perspective. Mr. Kai Wu brought in a new PAC application – a WinCon-8000 platform based Engine Detection System, which successfully applied PAC to Engine Detection System. It is used to collect various real-time Engine indexes and perform remote monitoring. Compare to conventional detection system, it is more effective, convenient and precise.


	General Manager of ICP DAS China – Mr. Jacky Shieh

	"Our PAC is being used in more and more industries and domains, and we are not experts of those industries and domains. Therefore, we will continue to listen to our customers’ opinions; work with clients to develop products for specific usages, keep on meeting the actual demands of our customers.” Mr. Shieh said.

	We give more than take, we share what we have

	To concentrate is our character. To share is our attitude

	Mr. Chen attribute ICP DAS’s success to two factors: first is to concentrate, second is to share.

	From Soft Logic, embedded system to PAC. ICP DAS always concentrates on this small domain, yet it had made great sense. “Concentration” is a brand engraved on every ICP DAS product. For example, the ICP DAS CAN Bus series products took a whole RD team to work for five years. Mr. Chen said this faith can be sourced to 1983 when he went to Germany, he was impressed with German’s attitude toward product development. German tend to work with persistence, they might not be smarter than Chinese people, but they produce the best quality products in the world. ICP DAS invested so much resources on R&D, this also established a new high standard to the industry, the other companies will need to spent more than three to five years to catch up with the progress.

	Knowing how to share is the best way to ensure sustainable development of enterprises. One point is based on real "people-oriented”. In ICP DAS, the employees rarely being given rigid bureaucratic rules and regulations to follow with. In his view, it takes time to make a really good product. And he always give employees “30% degree of freedom” – that is, takes 30% work hours as flexible time instead of assigning tasks that occupying the entire work hours. He thought many creative ideas are inspired during “flexible time”. The second point is to “share”. Mr. Shieh said, “Sharing” is always easy to say than to do, because the interests involved. ICP DAS offers key employees stock shares, it encourages everybody develops from the same platform in a long-term basis. ICP DAS also keeps on evolving relationship with the distributors, building strong relationship based on win-win strategies. For personnel training, ICP DAS set various long-term plans. Mr. Shieh said, the strategy ICP DAS currently pursued in Mainland China is “hiring local workforce” and "localization". “Since the beginning of last year, after we established a training center in Wuhan, we have invested considerable manpower to do this work. The first stage is to enhance the professional competences of our staff; this work is still continuing. During the second stage, we want to share this model with our distributers. I found that in China, there is always no shortage in professional manpower, yet it is lacking of talent personnel in management. This year, we continually set up offices in Shenzhen, Chengdu, Kunming, Jinan, Qingdao and other places, we need a lot of people to join us. Our recruiting principle is to avoid headhunt from our peer companies. We hire a large number of inexperienced newcomers. In addition, we also encourage internal transfer; we would like to see innovative employees constantly contribute their talents. And of course, fully work authorization is also one character of ICP DAS, we hope all employees can “work happy” and “work smart”. We may not find very smart people, but we would rather hire someone willing to grow in this industry with a long-term perspective”. Mr. Shieh said.

	“Many people believe that if the staff turnover rate could be less than 30% , it is good enough. But in ICP DAS, we took it as a sign of crisis. Over the years, our turnover rate remain under 5%, it is very unusual in this industry.” Mr. Shieh said, “to cut down massive increase in workforce mobility, the employer and the employees need to reach a consensus: Human resources are the foundation of the company. If the employees dedicate themselves to the company, the company also needs to share the result with the employees. This is the best way to attract and keep these talent people.”

	Moving forward with a vision – an ongoing voyage being “Navigator of PAC” From the day ICP DAS identified itself as the “Navigator of PAC”, ICP DAS is destined to take an extraordinary path. After all, it takes time for the users to understand PAC.

	In most conventional applications, PLC already firmly held a dominant position. And the PC-BASED market scales also reached to a certain level. It is not easy to completely change the current pattern and it requires a more long-term cultivation of the market.

	Of course, Mr. Chen is still very optimistic about the future. He is confident that PAC is the trend of industrial control technology - because it integrates strengths of both PLC and IPC. Moreover, the current sales performance also proved this. PAC has reached 30% of sales of ICP DAS, and is still growing rapidly.

	From the short-term perspective, Mr. Chen is looking forward to ICP DAS going over the counter (OTC) next year. More people can share the benefit the advanced industrial control technology brought in.

	From the longer term perspective, "My goal is to produce world-class ICP DAS products – produced by a Chinese enterprise, and won applause from the foreigners. And it is not because of our products are cheaper, but because of our leading technology and product quality.” Obviously, Mr. Chen not only looks at the future from the perspective of enterprises. To achieve this goal, it requires strong commitment and continuing efforts. Currently ICP DAS has more than 200 staff in Taiwan, more than half of them are R&D teams. Mr. Chen said, “ICP DAS will continue to strengthen R&D capabilities. And it is not behind closed doors, but to truly understand our customers’ needs, tailor-make products for them, and provide with a total solution.”

	This is a vision emerging from the heart of an entrepreneur who ever was an R&D engineer. This is also a vision out of a pioneer. However, it is always lonely to be a pioneer. Obviously, ICP DAS will continue to walk on this extraordinary path, endure solitude and resist the temptation until it ultimately forms an unstoppable force.

	Contents and pictures from http://www.ca800.com/news/html/2007-7-19/n67469.html

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