Giant’s primary carbon and high-end aluminium frame factory is located at its global headquarters in Taichung, Taiwan. We got an all-access, in-depth look insideJames Huang/Future Publishing
The front of the building is rather modest, comprising a small courtyard and a handful of concrete statuesJames Huang/Future Publishing
Giant has deep roots in BMXJames Huang/Future Publishing
Giant chairman King Liu started Giant in 1972 but only recently became an avid cyclist himself. These days – at the age of 79 – he regularly commutes into the office. In fact, we saw him clickety-clack through the halls in his cycling cleats shortly after we arrived one morningJames Huang/Future Publishing
The lobby of the Giant factory in Taichung serves double duty as a small showroom for key modelsJames Huang/Future Publishing
Giant chairman King Liu doesn’t just run the company; he now also serves as a personal inspiration for his employees, having circumnavigated the island of Taiwan by bike in 2007 and completing an arduous ride of nearly 1,000 miles from Shanghai to BeijingJames Huang/Future Publishing
The bright, airy, and colorful main lobby of the Giant factory in Taichung, TaiwanJames Huang/Future Publishing
Scores of containers are lined up in the main shipping and receiving area. There’s an immense amount of raw and finished goods that passes through hereJames Huang/Future Publishing
It’s often hot and humid in Taichung. Drink upJames Huang/Future Publishing
No, this isn’t an industrial wine cellar. Normally, spools of raw carbon fibre are racked up here so that they can be made into woven or unidirectional pre-preg sheets. Giant is one of an extremely select group of bicycle manufactures to actually produce its own starting materials – something that not only reduces costs over the long term but also gives the company more control over its processesJames Huang/Future Publishing
Raw carbon fibre is fed off of the spool through a variety of guides and rollers – sort of like a huge sewing machineJames Huang/Future Publishing
Where the magic happens: this is where custom resins – produced in-house – are carefully applied to sheets of raw carbon fibre. Giant engineers were extremely apprehensive while we were in this area as the process had supposedly never been shown to outsidersJames Huang/Future Publishing
Woven sheets like this are often used as protective top layers or as additional structural reinforcements in key areasJames Huang/Future Publishing
Backing paper is automatically applied as the raw carbon sheets emerge from the resin applicatorJames Huang/Future Publishing
Watch your fingers…James Huang/Future Publishing
The two-part epoxy resin is thoroughly blended as it passes through the mixer tube, which is then rasters back and forth to provide the steel roller with an even amount of material to apply to the carbon fibre sheet on the other sideJames Huang/Future Publishing
The finished pre-preg sheets are then rolled on to huge cardboard tubes for storageJames Huang/Future Publishing
Unidirectional sheets are cut with a computer-controlled blade before being rearranged into various bias-ply sheetsJames Huang/Future Publishing
Custom two-part epoxy resins are kept under controlled conditions in these machines before they’re mixed together and applied to raw carbon fibre sheetsJames Huang/Future Publishing
Finished pre-preg carbon fibre sheets are stored in a freezer to keep the epoxy from curingJames Huang/Future Publishing
Sections of 45-degree bias ply unidirectional carbon fibre are butted together before new backing paper is appliedJames Huang/Future Publishing
All of the edges must match up perfectlyJames Huang/Future Publishing
A laser provides automated backup to ensure that there is backing paper applied on the entire roll of carbon fibreJames Huang/Future Publishing
The Giant factory in Taichung, Taiwan is an enormous, sprawling complexJames Huang/Future Publishing
Lunchtime in the company cafeteriaJames Huang/Future Publishing
Needless to say, we jumped at the opportunity to have lunch in the cafeteria along with the employees. And yes, the food was goodJames Huang/Future Publishing
Even Giant company chairman King Liu eats in the same cafeteria as the factory workers. He arrived late, though, so he enjoyed a quiet meal to himselfJames Huang/Future Publishing