Transforming Tradition: Wang's Vision for Impact in Chia Pang's Plastic Pipe Legacy
Case Study Overview
In 2023, after leading his family business, Chia Pang Plastics (Chia Pang), for seven years, Ian Wang was faced with a bout of uncertainty. Taking over the reins in 2016 at the age of 28, Wang had steered the Taiwanese plastic pipe wholesaler through many challenges. Established in 1997, Chia Pang specialises in plasticiser-free Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride (CPVC) pipes for high-tech factories. Despite initial growth and commercial success under Wang’s leadership, uncertainties were now arising due to broader changes taking place across the industry.
This was not the first time Wang had to navigate the company through turbulent waters. Reflecting on his leadership journey, Wang recalled the pivotal moment in 2016 when he secured a US$30 million loan to buy Chia Pang from his father, and had to deal with challenges arising from the declining market demand for industrial pipes. Inspired by the B Corp philosophy, Wang and his wife, Flore Ran, transformed the business by reimagining employee and customer practices.
By 2023, the duo had achieved several successes, securing a position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)'s supply chain through Mega Union, a large engineering company specialising in assisting TSMC build plants, and tripling Chia Pang's revenue to $7.26 million by 2022. The workforce strength had also increased from 10 to 19, reflecting both Chia Pang’s growth and ability to attract talent.
Now once again, Wang and Ran faced looming challenges. The industrial landscape was undergoing significant changes, notably with TSMC expanding its operations worldwide. This shift has the potential to impact the business prospects of local suppliers like Chia Pang. Persisting labour shortages in Taiwan was another concern.
Wang sought a strategic game plan for Chia Pang's future. Further, Wang and Ran were drawing up their own succession plan. They had only three more years left before they would start transitioning out of their leadership roles because they believed after a ten-year tenure, their roles would become saturated, and a younger management team would more meaningfully contribute to Chia Pang’s growth.
This case explores Wang’s efforts to strengthen Chia Pang’s position in the plastic pipe industry and its impact ambitions before he passes on the reins to a younger leadership team. His intention was to give the firm new strategic direction quickly to prevent market changes from outpacing the firm. He also wanted to hone Chia Pang’s impact strategy, which had been anchored around creating stakeholder value, and had been the bedrock of Chia Pang’s transformation since 2017.
Teaching Objectives
- Understand how sustainable and purpose-driven practices can lead to commercial success for a business.
- Gain insights into how a second-generation business leader made a business case for transforming a traditional company into a B Corp. The case study demonstrates that prioritising stakeholder interests alongside profitability aligns with good business practices, and pursuing B Corp certification does not necessarily incur additional costs, dispelling myths about the financial burden involved.
- Understand how a business leader leveraged the B Corp framework to establish guardrails enabling them to navigate a company through periods of uncertainty and changing industry dynamics, focusing on sustainability to fortify the organisation's resilience.
- Learn how to revamp practices from hiring to performance evaluation to develop a culture for impact inside the organisation.
Interested in the full case study and teaching notes? Reach out to [email protected] to find out more. This case study is available in English, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.
This case study was produced by the Centre for Impact Investing and Practices (CIIP), in collaboration with Artha Global. It is developed as a basis for class discussion. It is not intended to serve as an endorsement, source of primary data, or illustration of either effective or ineffective management. This case includes some copyrighted materials kindly shared by Chia Pang Plastics Pte Ltd. for use as case exhibits. The authors gratefully acknowledge Chia Pang Plastics Pte Ltd.’s permission to use these within this case study.
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