Early this November the founder and president of the world famous computer company, Wang Laboratories, Inc., Dr. An Wang, made his second trip to the Republic of China in two years. His purpose this time was to open his company's new facilities in the northern Taiwan city of Yangmei.

The ROC is the regional base for Wang Laboratories in Southeast Asia. Some 15 years ago, the company established a manufacturing facility, and three years ago added a sales department. In 1980, the company set up a research and development computer company in the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park, scheduled to become the "Silicone Valley" of Asia. Investments by Wang Laboratories in Taiwan now exceed US$10 million.

Denying rumors that Wang intends to set up facilities in mainland China, Dr. Wang said, "I believe that economic growth requires a positive partnership between business and a government committed to free enterprise. We have no plans to set up a manufacturing facility in mainland China, because Communism is not suited to economic growth."

During his recent visit to the ROC, Dr. Wang praised the investment climate. "Careful attention to education over the last 30 years has begun to pay dividends. The output of engineering graduates in relation to the total population is much higher than in the U.S. This increased emphasis on professional education, as well as basic skills training, compares favorably with the other industrialized countries," he said.

"I am confident that other foreign companies will join Wang Laboratories as partners of the ROC. With the completion of improved transportation systems and telecommunications projects, many high-technology companies will learn that Taiwan is a cordial and profitable home for foreign investment," he said.

A native of Shanghai, Dr. Wang graduated from the electrical engineering department of the University of Communications in 1930. In 1944 he went to the U.S., and obtained a Ph.D. in applied physics from Harvard University. At the age of 30, he made advances in the computer industry which have only recently been superseded. He sold the rights to his invention to IBM for US$500,000 and used the money as capital to start Wang Laboratories in Boston in 1955.

In the 1960s, Wang Laboratories invented many products, such as computerized typesetting and electronic scoreboards. In 1965 the company's introduction of the first programable calculator was regarded as a major breakthrough.

Later, Wang Laboratories enjoyed good sales of small computers. But business only really started to take off when the company began to concentrate on computer-based office automated equipment in 1972. Since then, revenues have grown from US$39 million to this year's US$l.15 billion, making Wang Laboratories one of the 10 fastest-growing companies in the U.S., listed 341st in the Fortune 500.

Since the U.S. market has now stabilized, and growth rate in Europe is low, the most promising market for computers is considered to be Asia. With the establishment of Wang Laboratories' research and development facility in Hsinchu, the first of its kind outside the U.S., the company is in the forefront of computer development in the region.

Explaining the move, Ku Chia-tai, general manager of the company's operations in the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park said: "Asian languages, such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai are unlike the alphabetic languages of the West. We are working on computers that can use these languages and make them interchangeable."

"Although engineers at our headquarters are working on this problem, the results have not been ideal because of regional differences in documentation and customs. Dr. Wang saw the need to move the research project to Asia," said Ku.

The choice of the ROC, said Feng Yuan-chuan, chairman of two Wang Laboratories companies in Taiwan, was made partly because some of the outstanding engineers at Wang Laboratories were products of the country's education system. Another reason is that Dr. Wang is Chinese.

In all of Wang Laboratories' overseas operations, staff members and workers are recruited locally. Of the 600 personnel in the company's three subsidiaries in Taiwan, only two are from headquarters. Last year the value of exports from Taiwan reached US$28 million, and more than 95 percent of the raw materials were purchased locally.

Wang Laboratories has made a significant contribution to Taiwan's information industry. Apart from providing a vigorous training program and assistance to downstream industries, the company has played a leading role among Taiwan's computer companies in other ways.

Currently, competition in Taiwan's computer industry is fierce. But with its vast manpower reserves and financial resources, Wang Laboratories managed to produce the first Chinese-language computer over five years ago. This forced other computer companies to make efforts to catch up, and as a result there are several alternative systems on the market.

[Picture Caption]

Top: Dr. An Wang said, "Wang Laboratories' hope is to continually invent new types of computers to benefit mankind." Bottom: Wang Laboratories is completely computerized. Every employee has a computer terminal on their desk.

When Dr. Wang visited Taiwan last month to inspect his subsidiary here, he instructed employees how best to do their jobs.

Wang Laboratories is completely computerized. Every employee has a computer terminal on their desk.

When Dr. Wang visited Taiwan last month to inspect his subsidiary here, he instructed employees how best to do their jobs.