Company Profile

Profile

Founded in 1924
Founder Mr. Ho Chuan (Hsin-yi)
Chairman Jean Liu
2022 Annual combined total revenues of YFY Inc.  79.6 Billion NT dollars

Company History

In 1924, the company founder, Mr. Ho Chuan, and his brothers, Mr. Ho Yung and Mr. Ho Yi, established Ho Jei Lai Co., a company in their father’s name. The company mainly dealt in fertilizers, sugar, and grain. In the decade after the First World War, a Japanese engineer technician named Hatta Yoichi created the Wushantou Reservoir near Tainan and built the Jianan irrigation canal. It was the only hydro-engineering project of its type in Asia, providing water for 150,000 hectares of farmland and turning the Jianan plains into the most important grain-growing region in Taiwan. As Taiwanese agriculture began to prosper, Mr. Ho Chuan saw the opportunity to launch his own fertilizer business.

The company name was changed to Yuen Foong Company in 1934. At that time, there were only five companies in Taiwan with a total capital of over 5 million dollars, of which Yuen Foong was one of them. Around the same time, the company also established a long-term partnership with Japanese companies Mitsui Toatsu and Mitsui.

After the end of the Japanese colonization period in 1945, the new government implemented a new policy of exchanging crops for fertilizer as part of an agricultural reform program. This policy resulted in the revocation of Yuen Foong's fertilizer license. As a result, Yuen Foong received the first license to operate a PVC company in Taiwan. This marked the beginning of the Taiwanese plastic industry and also represents the origin of modern plastic products in Taiwan. Yuen Foong and Mr. YC Wang jointly laid the groundwork for Formosa Plastics.

In 1946, the Neiwei factory started to produce tissue paper, one-side coated paper and Kraft paper to provide packaging solutions for the rising demand for concrete. This transformation marks a turning point in the history of the company and the start of the evolution into a major player in the paper industry.

Paper production as core business

Yuen Foong Yu Paper Mfg. Co., Ltd (below referred to as Yuen Foong Yu Paper) was officially established on February 21, 1950. At the same time, a factory was constructed in a little village called Jiutang in the Dashu District of Kaohsiung County. Yuen Foong Yu Paper is widely regarded as the pioneer of privately owned paper manufacturers in Taiwan.

Yuen Foong Yu Paper produces reading and writing, industrial, and home use paper. It is characterized by a fully integrated production chain covering upstream (forestry, pulp), midstream (paper manufacturing) and downstream (printing, packaging, and design) operations, which yield beneficial synergy effects. Yuen Foong Yu Paper currently ranks among the 50 largest paper manufacturers in the world.

Facing constant changes of the macro-environment, Yuen Foong Yu is pursuing a stable and steady development path in the fields of paper manufacturing, technology, finance, biotechnology, and educational welfare, aiming to achieve innovation, breakthroughs, and transformation. YFY insist on a business philosophy that emphasizes proper ways of conduct, and uses forbearance as our corporate management model to ensure a sustained business operation.

Transition into an investment holding company marks the step into a new era

In 2005 and 2007, Yuen Foong Yu Paper established independent subsidiaries for the industrial paper and consumer products division. In October 2012, the Fine paper and Board division merged with Chung Hwa Pulp Corporation and a name change was implemented to YFY Inc..

YFY Inc. will continue to view paper manufacturing as its core business; while emphasizing professionalism and independent operations of all business areas, as well as promoting flexible management and dynamic use of assets and resources. Emphasis will also be put on strategic investments in the development of progressive sectors such as Hi-Tech industries, biotechnology, and energy sources.

Developing a blueprint for a green business

Yuen Foong Yu upholds a green, eco-friendly business model to be in sync with the times. There has been a successful development of biological methods of producing pulp that converts agricultural wastes such as rice and wheat straws into raw materials for paper production through enzyme-catalyzed decomposition. This reduces deforestation, carbon emissions and solves the problems of pollution from traditional chemical pulp production methods. YFY paper products are FSC™ certified (License Code:FSC™-C016878,FSC™-C012657, FSC™-C118028)  and PEFC™ certified, which means that they meet international environmental standards. The company also actively participates in the carbon footprint verification process. During the production processes, methods of recycling to reduce the amount of waste generated are directly implemented. Existing wastes are also converted into raw materials or used as fuel. YFY is reaching towards the goal of zero emission as well as zero waste.