From local to international
By putting in place effective, systematized management, Nova found itself on a steady footing moving forward, until the company faced another major challenge in 2002.
That year, with government incentives, several Taiwanese companies set about starting their own design/R&D departments, including BenQ, Asus, Kuozui Motors, and Ford Taiwan. The industrial design field in Taiwan began to reach saturation, and Nova was forced to look offshore for more opportunities.
Chen had already begun looking outside Taiwan in 1997, making contacts in mainland China during his tenure as chairman of the Chinese Industrial Designers Association. At the time, mainland companies were only in the early stages of building their own brands, and Chen saw tremendous potential there, predicting that the mainland would become a hub for industrial design.
After years of observing, in 2003 Nova finally formally entered the mainland market, investing US$5 million to set up Nova Design (Shanghai) Ltd. With their eyes on the automotive design industry, Nova chose to put down stakes near the location of the Shanghai F1 Grand Prix track, in the heart of China’s automotive industry. Every aspect of their new facility, from equipment to factory floor layout, was designed with automotive design in mind.
Shanghai and Beijing play host to car shows in spring and winter respectively, and these shows are major, nerve-wracking events for Nova. They have only three or four months to complete the projects they receive ahead of these shows, having to go over more than 2000 individual details per project in that time, from steering wheels and doors to windows and seats. For the 2009 Shanghai spring show, Nova’s work was focused on “Mankind’s Future Lifestyle,” and the concept car they designed for mainland car company Geely became a highlight of the show.
To simulate future lifestyles, Nova’s team attempted to script various scenarios for the cars, developing concepts that fit each scenario and designing all-new models with the help of computerized systems and automotive clay models. At each year’s shows, several of the cars on display are the work of Nova.
Today, the mainland is the main focus of Nova’s work, earning the company some 55% of their annual NT$450 million operating revenue.
In 2008, Nova was tasked with creating a new design for the familiar Tatung-brand rice cooker. The result was a trendier appliance with fluid lines, a design that won the company acclaim at that year’s iF Design Awards.