| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : JUNE 14, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| INTERNATIONAL -- ASIAN COVER STORY
Jonney Shih, Chairman, Asustek Computer, Taiwan (int'l edition) JONNEY SHIH HAS PROVED ASUSTEK COMPUTER INC. is one of the best in the business at making quality computer mainboards. Customers pay a 15% premium for them. Now, in his quest for growth amid Asia's crisis, Shih is plunging into volume manufacturing of everything from notebooks and CD-ROM drives to graphics cards and servers. So far, he has managed to maintain his high-quality standards and extra-fat profits--a feat some industry experts had thought nearly impossible. Shih, 46, comes across as soft-spoken and diffident, but the appearance is deceptive. He learned the importance of quality as a top research and development engineer during the startup days of Taiwan's leading computer firm, Acer Inc., where he scored successes with early personal-computer models that turned heads at international computer shows. He left to run Asustek in 1993. Shih has become a kind of hero for his tenacious faith in the value of core engineering ability. ''You have to have very strong inner strength in order to build outer strength, like market share and brand image,'' says Shih. ''Our whole company culture is trying to maintain this kind of engineering spirit.'' Asustek's profits last year grew by 65%, to $352 million, on $1.08 billion in sales. For Shih, quality pays. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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