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 Posted - September 28 2009 : 03:07:15 AM
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by Kenneth Haedrich
On the evening of September 23rd, 1990, after 50 continuous days of
operation and the estimated equivalent of 23 years of normal use, a
Life-Like Chesapeake & Ohio BL2 locomotive pulling six Athearn passenger
cars faltered and then quietly expired its way into model railroading
history. A lone security guard who witnessed the event in the basement of a
former BF Goodrich building reported that the HO scale train began to "run
funny" shortly before eclipsing the standing Guinness Book of World Records
for endurance by roughly 343 hours.
Which is where our story begins, on a footnote that would have passed
unnoticed by all but a handful of industry insiders: that the creative
genius behind the stalwart locomotive in question, the designer and
manufacturer of the BL2, was one Mr. WaiShing Ting, the most venerable icon
of model railroading you've probably never heard of...and probably should.
He's certainly the busiest, or was at least, until his recent retirement as
the CEO of Sanda Kan, the Hong Kong based train maker to the stars of model
railroading. Over a span of three decades and a trail of more than a million
frequent flyer miles, WaiShing Ting took Sanda Kan from a fledgling
enterprise to a manufacturing behemoth. His client list-the manufacturers he
manufactured for-includes names like Atlas, Lionel, Aristo-Craft, Micro-Ace,
S-Helper, Hornby, Brawa, Marklin and Tomix. They and many others came to
Ting, more often than not referred by one another, because his
achievements-his BL2s-were no accident but his trademark. "Frankly," says
Dick Maddox, the former COO and President of Lionel, "I don't know what we
would have done without him. He was the best business partner we could have
had and a wonderful man to work with."
The Early Days
WaiShing Ting did slow down just long enough in July of 2007 to accept the
model railroad industry's Hall of Fame Award, "In Recognition of Outstanding
Leadership and Contributions to the Model Railroad Industry." Lewis Polk,
President of Polk's Model Craft Hobbies, was on the committee that nominated
Ting for the award. "I knew just how much he meant to the industry. He cared
about everybody, he was a loyal friend, and he was able to face any problem
in business and resolve it."
It was always the pursuit of excellence, however, and not visions of fame
that had driven Mr. Ting. "WS"-as his colleagues sometimes refer to him-was
born in 1934, the first child of parents whom, he says, taught him the
importance of honesty, practicality and concern for others. He was
especially close with his paternal grandfather, who had retired early and
then volunteered his time to the local poor who couldn't afford medical
care. Not surprisingly, Ting's boyhood dream was to become an emergency room
doctor and save lives.
"...he was a loyal friend, and he was able to face any problem in business
and resolve it."
His father enrolled Ting in Shanghai's Xuhui Middle School - a Catholic
boarding school run by priests. WaiShing soon discovered he rather liked the
order imposed by the faculty. "It was like a military school," he recalls.
"We knew exactly when we had to go to sleep, get up, and arrive in class. We
had 3 minutes to get everything out of the desk that we needed for class."
Straight out of middle school, Ting enrolled in Shanghai Polytechnic. A
career in medicine would have to wait: as the oldest of seven siblings, Ting
felt an obligation to go to work as soon as possible to help support his
large family. Three years later, he graduated with a diploma in mechanical
engineering.
A Career Takes Shape
After working as an engineer for a company that made diesel engines, Ting
moved to Hong Kong in 1962 to take a job with American-owned Shriro
Precision Engineering. His timing was fortunate: the firm was phasing out
their repair work on prop engines and focusing on the manufacture of plastic
injection molds for small parts for the electronics industry - transistor
radio cabinets, knobs and the like. It was Ting's first experience with
making plastic molds and an important chapter in the education of a future
model railroad manufacturer.
Shriro closed their doors for good in 1965, the same year that Roy Cox, a
California toy maker, arrived in Hong Kong in search of a supplier of DC
motors for his line of slot cars. Ting's former boss at Shriro knew Cox and
had heard that he was unhappy with the quality of the motors he'd found in
Hong Kong. So he arranged a meeting between the two.
The most memorable thing about it, says Ting, was its brevity: after about 5
minutes he had convinced Roy Cox that he could in fact manufacture a
superior motor. A deal was struck. Cox International was formed with Ting as
the new managing director, a position he would hold for years.
The Sanda Kan Years
When Ting left Cox and moved to Sanda Kan in 1979, he was no stranger to the
company. Indeed, he had helped start it 6 years earlier when he and Sol
Kramer of Life-Like Products launched Sanda Kan as a joint venture. Kramer
needed a supplier of motors and other parts for his model railroad company.
Ting, who was looking for a fresh challenge, agreed to a partnership but had
a change of heart - at least for the time being - when Cox decided to start
their own model railroad division.
It's hard to appreciate the depth and breadth of WaiShing Ting's impact on
the model railroad industry without taking stock of just how large Sanda Kan
would grow under his leadership.
"I tried to create a culture of continuous learning. We always looked for
ways to innovate, improve and adapt new technologies."
So try to imagine, if you will, 10 factories with over 1.2 million square
feet of space in Guang Dong, one of China's most prosperous provinces.
Picture upwards of 10,000 employees (and their housing) including 60
designers, 275 product and production engineers, 50 business engineers and
400 highly skilled toolmakers. Now consider that every component for every
locomotive, every piece of rolling stock, track, transformer and accessory
that Sanda Kan makes is created and assembled, essentially, under one roof -
and you're starting to get the picture.
Maybe it's just his calm, fireside-chat manner of answering questions that
throws you. But looking back on WaiShing Ting's career at Sanda Kan, it's
hard to decide what's more remarkable: the fact that he managed to create
all this from a company of 200 employees making a handful of products for a
single brand, or the fact that he makes it sound like it was almost easy,
the natural result of some guiding principles that could fit on a couple of
Post-it notes.
When he first started, did he have any sense of how big or how profitable
Sanda Kan would become?
"No, I didn't. My vision has always been to serve my customers and put them
first. I knew if I did that, we would grow and make a profit."
How did he manage to keep tabs on so many employees?
"I put trust in people. When I hired, I always valued loyalty over talent. I
can teach someone to do a job, but I can't teach loyalty. I encouraged
everyone to think like an owner of the company."
As for the ongoing challenge of honing Sanda Kan's competitive edge? "I
tried to create a culture of continuous learning. We always looked for ways
to innovate, improve and adapt new technologies. I often told my employees
that what might have been a good product yesterday may not be a good product
for today."
A Reversal Sets the Stage for a Sale...and The Future
By the mid-1990s, bolstered by China's economic reforms, a growing client
list and a deep labor pool, Sanda Kan was prospering. It seemed that nothing
could slow them down when WaiShing Ting was dealt a devastating blow - a
serious heart attack. Had it not been for the quick work of a son-in-law who
drove him to a nearby hospital, Ting might not have survived.
"He remained a tower of strength in the midst of the storm. His efforts
saved the company."
His brush with death, says Ting, brought him face to face with Sanda Kan's
vulnerability. And with no family successor to take his place, he knew he
would have to find a buyer for Sanda Kan to protect the interests of his
clients and his employees. It would be five years before a match was found,
but in 2000 Sanda Kan was purchased by ZS Fund, a private equity firm.
WaiShing Ting would stay on as director of day-to-day operations.
Sanda Kan would be sold twice more: in 2004 to the Hong Kong based JP Morgan
Partners, and in January of 2009, after falling on difficult times, to Kader
Holdings, the parent company of Bachmann Industries. Especially during Sanda
Kan's most diffifuct times, says Frank Martin, Chief Executive of Hornby
Plc, "WS Ting was there. He remained a tower of strength in the midst of the
storm. His efforts saved the company. He was a source of inspiration to his
colleagues and workers in Sanda Kan, and a trusted friend to many of his
customers."
The recent sale came during one of the most uncertain economic periods of
the last 100 years. But Kaders' business and manufacturing strength in
China, combined with a company founded on the principles of quality and
innovation, will continue to be a driving force behind the new Sanda Kan.
Tom Haedrich, CEO of Atlas Model Railroad Co., who has worked with "WS" and
the Sanda Kan organization for the past 18 years, says "The model
railroading industry is always changing. We've now entered one of the most
tumultuous periods ever seen.
A rare intersection of powerful local and global forces in technology,
distribution, contract manufacturing, global economics and the resulting
consolidations will change the face of model railroading for years to come.
Thanks to the vision, hard work and dedication of WaiShing Ting and the
strength of the company he created, the new Sanda Kan has an excellent
opportunity to continue as the best example of worldwide model railroading
production."
WaiShing Ting is similarly upbeat. "Kader is the oldest and leading toy
manufacturer in Hong Kong. They're family owned and the third generation is
now starting to run the business. I believe Sanda Kan is in the right hands
and that this will be good for all parties concerned."
We can think of no one who is more qualified to make that call than Mr.
WaiShing Ting, the most venerable icon of model railroading.
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Posted - September 28 2009 : 5:39:21 PM
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Very interesting TOR. Thanks. Good to see you back so stick around!!
Alco Fan
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Posted - September 28 2009 : 6:57:15 PM
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Brother, if you ONLY knew what I have been through recently...it's nice to be able to come here and just read. It takes my mind off everything else.
It's been a LONG year or two, but I'm coming around.
-R
Edited by - theoldreliable on September 28 2009 11:35:33 PM
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Posted - September 28 2009 : 7:28:49 PM
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Took forever to read that man but it was an excellent read. To sit down with that man would be the "Bee's Knees" man. I bet "WS" is full of all kinds of intresting tid-bits.
You're like me and have a lot going on and I'm sure it makes it hard to post but please chime in when you can.
A lone amature built the ark! A large group of professionals built the titanic!
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Posted - September 28 2009 : 8:14:00 PM
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Good read for sure. Interesting bit of history.
Glad to hear from you. I haven't been posting as much either due to other projects going on.
Ray
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Posted - October 01 2009 : 8:40:42 PM
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Nice story, and an interesting peek behind the curtain at one of the manufacturers behind so many of our favorite products. Thanks.
The Tyco Depot
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Posted - October 10 2009 : 5:00:32 PM
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| Thanks guys, I appreciate it.
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Posted - October 28 2009 : 11:09:45 PM
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The first time I read this (great article BTW... where is it from?), I kept thinking there was something else to put together with it. Then I saw something the other day that was the "ah-ha" moment.
I wonder if the beginnings of Tyco's HK production are just close through the mists of time...
The article goes on to say that Kader has been around for a long time; if the "third generation" is "just starting" to run things, we can say about 50 years or more... so 1960 at the latest. I recently stumbled on the "Crown Products, division of Mantua Industries" ad that was run around 1965 or so. This apparently short-lived line used cars later reappeared as Bachmann, AHM, and Life-Like cars - all now known as made by Kader.
So obviously Tyco/Mantua's deal with Kader was the first, but didn't fully pan out. Or did it?
Bachmann enters HO in 1970, using Kader cars. AHM and Life-like quickly follow suit. Life-like eventually stops using Kader cars; as stated in the article they form their own production venture in 1973. Kader obvioulsy did not care about saturating the market with its products under different labels. They hardly even bothered to change the paint schemes at times.
So why the sudden carpet-bombing? What was Kader up to between 1965 and 1970? It's a fact that Tyco-Mantua gave them a toe in the market. And that's about the time when Tyco's own quality began to wander... and a slew of new products, all from Hong-Kong (where Kader originated) began to appear: Flat cars, piggybacks, log cars, 4-bay hoppers, etc. Other tooling was duplicated for production in both the US and Hong Kong (boxcars, tankers, etc).
I wonder if Kader was involved with these behind the scenes...? As a development contract, and for ongoing production?
Remember that Bachmann Trains was always a Kader company. But Bachmann was also known to use TYCO cars in a few sets (the TYCO skid flat and 50' - have been known to appear in labeled Bachmann boxes with roadnames Bachmann never repeated elsewhere). And then you have Bachmann's eerie clones of the Tyco 40' reefer and tri-dome tank car... hmmmmm.
Of course we may never know directly, and I could be way off base. But it's interesting to think about. Tyco just didn't set up their own factories in Hong Kong overnight... they must have gotten help somewhere. Why else would they have bothered with a fly-by-night "subsidiary" called Crown?
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