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COMEUP at 50: Advancing Toward a Future of Excellence and Sustainability

Full Article Link on the Economic Daily News Official Website: https://money.udn.com/money/story/11799/8947393

From a humble, unknown hardware shop to a globally recognized winch manufacturer with products marketed across five continents, COMEUP has earned acclaim through its resilient and hard-working “water buffalo” spirit.

COMEUP Industries has celebrated its 50th anniversary! What began as a humble hardware store near Taipei’s back railway station has transformed—much like an old, soot-darkened iron street blossoming into a vibrant, multifaceted enterprise. After years of refinement, it has grown from an unassuming local shop into a leading international winch manufacturer, with its products distributed across five continents and in over sixty countries.

Far from showing its age, COMEUP embraces the “water buffalo spirit”—steadfast, hardworking—drawing from the founder’s solid stewardship and the second generation’s innovative drive as it steps confidently into its next fifty years. President Ben Huang affirms, “We’re moving toward the National Quality Award,” a statement that perfectly captures COMEUP’s pursuit of excellence and longevity.

Driving Transformation to Open New Horizons and Build a New Growth Engine

COMEUP’s origins lie in electric hoists used in construction cranes and restaurant dumbwaiters. But as construction techniques advanced, these hoists were replaced by tower cranes, shrinking their market. By 2000, prompted by a UK customer’s suggestion, the company pivoted to the automotive winch industry—parallel-draw systems with lower safety barriers.

COMEUP stood out by placing the brake assembly outside the gearbox (Cone Brake Structure, CBS) —providing better cooling and simpler maintenance—attracting rapid market interest. Soon, they rose to prominence in the European winch market, to the point where WARN (holding over 60% of the market) approached COMEUP for collaboration. Soon after, U.S. second-largest winch brand Superwinch enlisted COMEUP to manufacture winches—a partnership that fueled the company’s resurgence.

While the collaboration boosted sales, COMEUP soon faced intense price competition from China. The OEM model’s replicability led clients like Superwinch to shift their business, erasing COMEUP’s hard-won U.S. market presence virtually overnight.

Expanding into the U.S. Market – A Strategic Shift Away from the Red Ocean

In response, COMEUP took bold action. In 2012, it established a U.S. subsidiary and launched its own brand—COMEUP—targeting the recreational off-road vehicle market. Huang emphasizes that this was not a reckless gamble, but a strategic move grounded in their proprietary winch technology and deep experience. With patented innovations and strong performance and durability, COMEUP winches differentiated themselves—and used a premium pricing strategy to maintain margins and convey value, setting them apart from low-cost Chinese options. This strategy enabled their return to the U.S. market with authority.

Huang recalls how tough it was to build brand recognition: personally visiting high-end tuning shops, attending off-road camper gatherings, and exhibiting at 4×4 and commercial truck shows. Their persistence paid off: in 2019, General Motors reached out, leading to COMEUP winches being featured as an optional accessory on GM pickups in 2020, and becoming standard equipment by 2023.

In 2022, Huang returned to Taiwan to lead the company, heeding his parents’ call. He believes the second generation should serve as a catalyst—not a demise trigger. After twenty years inside the firm, he shares a close bond with the staff. “My role,” he says, “is to temper the overly zealous new forces and gently guide the hesitant old guard—respecting and balancing both to drive progress.” He is now spearheading digital transformation—a difficult journey, but essential for the company’s sustainable future.

Advancing Reforms to Establish a Culture of Sustainable Management

Huang highlights COMEUP’s strong internal systems and commitment to giving back. Through emergency relief, social and medical donations, scholarships for underserved students, environmental protection, governance improvements, and social justice efforts, the company embodies ESG values. They are steadily implementing reforms that lay the foundation for a culture of sustainability.

Governance-wise, COMEUP aligns its policies and compensation with employee and customer needs—cultivating a workplace where employees enjoy working, thus attracting and retaining talent. Regular training—technical, regulatory, leadership, interpersonal, and safety—fosters a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment where employees contribute confidently. Meanwhile, COMEUP continues to enhance product and service quality, building long-term, trust-based partnerships with customers for mutual growth.

Supporting Carbon Reduction and Proactively Entering the Green Industry

In light of extreme weather, they published their first sustainability report last year. Huang explains that COMEUP embeds green practices into business operations—office waste reduction, LED lighting, recyclable materials, rainwater harvesting, rooftop solar—jointly protecting our planet. Embracing net-zero trends, they entered green industries, becoming the first brand to launch winches in Europe compliant with EN 14492. They also pioneered a 48 V light-duty winch for electric all-terrain vehicles and other green mobility platforms.

On philanthropy, Huang shares that the founder, S. J. Huang, established the “Bao Chun Social Welfare & Charitable Foundation” in 2004—drawing from his parents’ names. Through participation from employees and their families, the foundation has supported rural student scholarships, donated winter coats to disadvantaged children, supplied hospital beds to miner hospitals, provided medical and elderly care equipment, and organized coastal cleanups—quietly contributing to social well-being and harmony.

After fifty years of dedicated advancement, COMEUP’s winches and hoists are now seen from the South Pole to the North Pole, deserts to rainforests, public infrastructure to off-road adventures, commercial transport to military rescue. Embracing its water buffalo spirit—steadfast, hardworking, grounded—the company has once again earned both market success and applause.

 

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