KMC founder Charles Wu passed away on October 15 at the age of 77, and his funeral will be held in Tainan on November 5.
Having built his business from nothing, Charles Wu founded KMC in Tainan in 1977. Thanks to Wu's tremendous professionalism, he eventually transformed KMC from an obscure chain producer into the chain vendor with the world's largest market share, and became Shimano's sole overseas OEM/ODM firm and Asian distribution partner. Nowadays, each year the KMC Group produces a total length of chain sufficient to reach to the moon and back 4.5 times!
In 1989, the prescient Charles Wu led the first batch of companies from Taiwan's cycle industry to Shenzhen to invest in Chinese plants, which set a model for the industry's current division of labor between Taiwan and China. The three ten-year plans that Wu drafted did much to create a superior, mutually-supporting business environment and deployment for Taiwan's cycle industry, which successfully initiated a second "golden age" for the industry. Over the course of 40 years, the warmhearted, loyal Charles Wu became the best advisor, helper, and motivator for companies in the industry considering investment in China, and he was respectfully known as "Elder Brother Wu" by his many admirers in Taiwan's cycle world. Wu not only founded a bicycle chain supply chain spanning different regions of China, but also led and assisted Taiwan's bicycle parts and accessories firms migrating to Shenzhen in southern China, Kunshan and Taicang in eastern China, Tianjin in northern China, and Vietnam in Southeast Asia. As a result, Wu created a supply chain encompassing all of these industry clusters, and his efforts also established a solid production foundation for Taiwan's bicycle industry.
Aware of the important status of Taiwan's cycle industry, in 2002, Charles joined forces with Giant founder King Liu and Merida founder Ike Tseng in calling on Taiwan's parts and accessories companies to join the A-Team that these three individuals had founded. The establishment of the A-Team cemented Taiwan's status as the global R&D and production stronghold for high-end whole bicycles and parts, and helped parts manufacturers to upgrade their production technology and optimize their equipment. As a result, Taiwan's bicycle industry continued to thrive in the global market, and it has been able to maintain a fine reputation as a high-quality, high-end bicycle R&D and production center.
Throughout his lifetime, Charles Wu made many profound contributions to the bicycle industry. A diligent, demanding, and attentive boss, Wu was also a kind and loyal friend. Having single-handedly created KMC's "Chain Kingdom," he was widely admired as "Dr. Chain." Apart from actively training a team of outstanding and effective second-generation leaders and managers, Wu was vigorous in paying back society and his hometown, and he established the "Passion for Cycling Foundation" and "Charitable Giving Foundation" to promote green cycling activities.
