The Paal Taiwan Story

1984 Written in 1/2011* 4,514 Words

#135 By Howard Yasgar

In 1984 we went to Taiwan.

We went to Taiwan to look for potential trading companies or Manufacturers.

That’s where we met company called PAAL.

The Company was owned by the most charismatic Chinese Guy that I had ever met. His name was

was Kiv Wang.

Kiv was about 6 foot tall, which made him one of the tallest Chinese guys I had ever met.

His jovial manner and joking never stopped. Kiv’s English was also perfect with a little Chinese accent to it.

His combination of words made everything he said sound humorous, even when he was serious.

Kiv said that when he grew up in Taiwan, he was so pooor, that when it rained he had to reach out the cars window with his hand to make the windshield wipers work.

Kiv said he remembered whenever a car parked in front of his house, he was proud that the neighbors might think he owned the car.

He was just a funny guy.

He said that his Company PAAL had been in business for several years, and was now heavily involved with making all types of parts for customers all over the World.

Paal’s specialty was mostly in military type parts, which at the time I knew very little about.

Most all of the quotations and sales were handled by Kiv, and all the company’s administration and finances were handled by his cousin and partner, Han Chen.

Kiv assured us that they had lots of manufacturers in Taiwan, working exclusively for Paal and they could make or reproduce any type of part we needed.

I was so happy to have met them, as Kiv seemed to be the nicest guy in the world and Han Chen appeared as straight and honest as they come.

They had another associate in the office who they said worked with , but he was mostly in the import and the export of Textiles, and he was a personal boy hood friend of Kiv and Han Chen.

I felt we could really develop a business with these guys, because they were just so nice, and it appeared that they really wanted our business. .

As soon as we returned to Miami, from that 1984 trip, we started to send PAAL samples of several items that we needed to have manufactured.

They were mostly parts we needed for our API Marine Division.

By 1985, Katherine and I were back in Taiwan.

We were now importing Aluminum and Cast-Iron Parts from a Company called LIKW and PAAL was making small motor parts for us.

Unfortunately, I detected that Kiv was a little irritated that we were doing business with LIKW.

In 1985 my wife Katherine and I had been invited by LIKW to show us their modern factory located in the outskirts of Taiwan.

The guys from LIKW picked us up at the Sheraton Hotel, and packed us like Sardines in their car, as we headed to the Industrial Zone to see their Factory.

When we arrived, it was quite a site, the factory was a big building, and hanging across the entire front was a huge banner stating “Welcome Howard and Katherine Yasgar, Merry Christmas”.

We toured the modern facility, all with automated machinery, and we watched them make parts which were being produced for us.

The guys from LIKW acted like the factory was theirs. But it was obvious that it belonged to someone else.

When they returned us to the Hotel that evening, I received a call from Kiv Wang of PAAL.

How did your day go he asked?.

I told him we visited the big LIKW Factory.

What kind of car did they pick you up at the Hotel with?, he asked?.

It was their personal car, a local Taiwan car called a Yulong.

Kiv said, how come they didn't pick you up with a Mercedes Benz car?.

Don't you think people that own such a big multi-million-dollar factory would drive a Mercedes?

Kiv was telling me that the Factory didn't belong to LIKW. They just wanted us to think it was their

factory.

I got Kiv's drift.

I already realized that 90% of the Trading Companies in Taiwan didn't make anything themselves

The only thing they had going for them was that they spoke English.

Most of the small Manufactures in Taiwan, spoke only Chinese, and Foreigners couldn't deal or talk

with them.

Foreign customers needed the trading companies to communicate with the Factories, and handle the Export of the finished products.

The truth was that PAAL was also a trading company just the same as the others, as they made nothing themselves.

Kiv introduced us to his wife Helen and his cousin Han Chen, then introduced us to his wife Shauna.

We learned that many Chinese Businesspeople took English first names so Americans would feel more comfortable dealing with them.

Kiv said the Chinese could pick any American name they liked, if they wanted to do so.

Kiv took us to many unusual Restaurants in Taiwan, and whenever we tried something that was particularly delicious, Kiv would say, that’s my favorite, even when he ordered the 100-year-old egg.

Whenever we came to the PAAL office during the daytime, we always found Kiv quoting long lists of Military parts which he received from Military Parts Dealers everywhere.

As I was also just getting interested in the Military Parts Business, I became very curious as to what

Kiv was doing.

Kiv said he had studied the Military Technical Manuals, and with some knowledge and a lot of guessing he quoted all of the Customers’ inquiries.

Kiv said the Military Business was all quoting lots of parts, and if he didn't get at least 10% of

the orders he would go Bankrupt. And, if he got more than 10% of the orders, he would also go Bankrupt as he couldn’t produce that many parts. This was some of Kiv's humor.

Kiv eventually showed me the building where he lived, and took me to the apartment above his

own, where he had a big library of Military Technical Manuals.

Kiv said he spent his evenings in this apartment studying the manuals, and that’s where he gained most of his expertise.

Kiv was to be my inspiration as to how I could get into the quoting of Military Parts.

Everything Kiv was doing was so interesting.

If he needed a sample of a Military Tank Part, he had friendly soldiers that would borrow a part of a vehicle from the Army Base, and throw it over the wall to Kiv, then when Kiv had copied the part he would return it, by throwing it back over the wall for the soldier to reinstall it with no one the wiser.

It was common for Kiv to invite Military people to supper with us. Sometimes they were just Soldiers, and sometimes they were Army Colonels.

Most of them didn't speak English so Kiv never had to worry about our finding out what he was doing with these people. But we suspected that they all earned money from Kiv.

Kiv explained that when he was very young, his Girlfriend's sister, was named Dolly, and she had a boyfriend from Holland named William Wichart,

William sold all types of Surplus Military Truck and Jeep Parts all over the world, but his main store and home was in Holland.

William would buy surplus Military in one Country and sell it to dealers in another Country.

After World War II, the U.S. Government had left trucks, tanks and equipment in most every country in the world, and from this developed new business in selling repair parts for U.S. Military Vehicles.

William eventually took Kiv with him to Holland, where Kiv lived and worked with William's company called Reomie.

It was there that Kiv learned the Military Business, and William would send him all over the world, buying, selling and acting as his right-hand man.

Kiv became so good at the Business that he developed a beautiful Military Jeep Parts Catalog for Reomie.

Kiv said that William treated him very good, and Kiv could charge all his needs to the Reomie charge account anywhere in the world.

But William made sure Kiv never had any real money of his own

Kiv said, If I wanted a steak dinner in a hotel all I had to do was sign for it.

But if I wanted a hamburger on the streets of Bangkok, I didn't have a penny to buy it with.

William, it appears, kept Kiv on a tight leash.

One day Kiv was in William’s office in Holland, and William was talking to a German customer.

The arrogant German customer told William to have his “boy” get him some Coffee.

Instead of William telling the German that Kiv was his right-hand man, not his “boy”, he ordered Kiv to get the German guy a cup of Coffee.

That was the end of the line for Kiv, it was the ultimate insult, he later told William that wished to leave Reomie and return to Taiwan to start his own Parts Company.

William Wichart acted as if he was happy for Kiv, and he told him he would help him get started in

Taiwan.

At the time the Military was using a new style Jeep called the M151, and It had a unitized body construction.

No one was making replacement bodies at the time, because to make this Jeep Body required tons of tooling and fixtures, as well as lots of financing, it was a project no one wanted to attempt.

William Wichart told Kiv, he would give him an order for 400 M151 Jeep Bodies, to get his new Company started.

Kiv went to see all the friends he had in Taiwan, and they all agreed to help him make parts for the M151 Jeep body,

When Kiv eventually owed many thousands of Dollars to all his friends, in Taiwan, William Wichhart canceled the order.

Kiv became destitute, his company was basically bankrupt and he owed everyone money. His future in Taiwan was destroyed, and his friends all wanted their money.

William had screwed him over good.

As a last resort, Kiv contacted his cousin, Han Chen who was working in the Computer Business in New York.

Han Chens Father was a respected Banker in Taiwan, and had the connections for finances.

Kiv eventually talked Han Chen into coming back to Taiwan, and helping him get the financing to pay back all his friends the money he owed them.

By the time I met Kiv and Han, they had been in business several years and Han Chen had helped get the financing to pay off most of the bills.

William Wichart, then tried another ploy,

He set up his girlfriend Dolly in the Military Business in Taiwan

Dolly was now Kiv's Sister-in-Law, as Kiv had married Dolly's Sister Helen.

Dolly's business competed with Kiv and to her customers, she became known as the “Dragon Lady”.

Despite the adversity, Kiv with his personal charisma, managed to develop a good export business in Military Parts.

Then Kiv’s warehouse manager named Leo left him, and went into the M151 Jeep parts business for himself, starting a Company called Auto Zodiac.

We met Leo, quite by accident, when, while looking for suppliers, we visited his Company.

He was operating out of an apartment, where he lived with his wife Luisa, and he also had a newborn daughter.

Their living room was their warehouse and shipping dept, and we were entertained with tea in their kitchen. We had no Idea at the time that Leo had once worked for Kiv.

Then we also met Kiv's sister-in-law, Dolly the “Dragon Lady” by accident, as Katherine and I were always looking for new Military Parts Suppliers in Taiwan.

We walked into Dolly’s office, just as she was talking To Kiv on the phone.

Kiv never mentioned it, but I think he heard our voices in the background while he was on the phone talking with Dolly.

Our relationship with Kiv and Han blossomed, and Kiv eventually introduced us to one of his best contractors.

His name was Mr. Ko and he had a small factory.

Mr. Ko would employ people from the countryside. He would pay them $25.00 a week, give them a room with a TV and telephone, 4 guys or 4 girls to a room.

He showed me the employees’ rooms which were set up with bunk beds.

Mr. Ko was treating the employee's well, and in 1986., this was the first job in the Big City for most of them .

But all was not smooth sailing, for Kiv and Mr. Ko.

Mr. Ko constantly complained about Kiv to us.

He said Kiv would ask for price estimate, and then he would get the order from a customer.

Then he would beat Mr. Ko down on the price.

Kiv was their best sales source, but I could tell the end was coming. Mr. Ko was developing other

business so he wasn't so dependent on Kiv.

Mr. Ko, liked to go out in the evenings to several of the many Private Clubs in Taiwan and Kiv invited us to join them.

In the club, Kiv and Ko owned their own bottles of VSO Cognac, which were kept on a shelf with their names on it.

All the beautiful bar girls would come to their table for drinks.

Kiv said Mr. Ko's wife came here all the time, my wife Katherine said she doubted it, but this was very normal entertainment for these guys in Taiwan.

The work that PAAL did for us was by U. S. standards, was just passable quality.

Almost every item they made for us had one type of problem or another, but the prices were cheap.

Fortunately, we had our own shop in Miami that could repair most of the problems.

The fact that our cost from Taiwan was about 25% of U.S. Cost, made it all worthwhile.

By the end of 1986, API Marine was really selling lots of parts and we were asking PAAL to make more items for us.

Mr. Ko’s company was now producing complete OMC Marine power Trim motors for us.

Also, we had started doing a lot of Military quoting, and we were using PAAL to quote prices to us.

Then Kiv said that he was thinking about building a new PAAL owned Factory, with the second floor to be dedicated to making parts for us.

I was surprised to find out that C. J. Lai, the former technical man for LIKW had invested $80,000.00 into PAAL and would take over as manager of all our API items in the new factory.

By 1987, I was calling PAAL weekly to find out the progress on the new factory.

Kiv said that they had hired Feng Shui to advise them where to build.

After several weeks and Feng Shui had turned down two locations, I asked Kiv how much the Feng Shui was charging PAAL.

Kiv said $500.00 for each inspection.

I told Kiv that Feng Shui would approve location number 5. to build a factory.

Kiv asked how I knew that ?, and I said the Feng Shui had sized Kiv and Han up to be $2500.00

customers maximum.

Kiv a real believer in Feng Shui did not think my joke was funny.

Sure enough, Feng Shui gave his approval to site number 5, and PAAL started construction on the new 3 story factory.

. In 1987, once the construction started, Katherine and I flew to Taiwan and the new Manager, Mr. C.J. Lai, took us to the new Factory site, where we took lots of pictures of the work in progress.

Later that day , we went to the PAAL office in Taiwan, and Kiv proudly showed us a sighting device they were manufacturing for a customer in Korea.

It was a beautiful instrument, nested in Styrofoam, and enclosed in a metal waterproof box.

Kiv proudly said he used imported the optic lenses from Germany.

I sat in Kiv's office and he started complaining about his cousin Han Chen.

He said Han Chen didn't understand the Military Business, and he was getting tired of Han's constantly being on his back about spending money.

He said that he needed to buy a jacket on one of his sales trips, and Han told him he should not have bought it.

Kiv said his feelings were hurt, that Han Chen would talk to him like that.

He said that Han Chen was jealous of Kiv making all the Business so he tried to do several deals

himself and all were failures,

He had started importing expensive toilets from Japan that they couldn't sell.

He also developed a small portable satellite dish that they took to electronics show in Las Vegas,

but also, could not sell.

. Kiv said Han's business exploits had cost them a fortune.

Later in the day I was sitting in Han Chen's office, and he started complaining about Kiv.

He said Kiv had no financial controls, and he spent more money than the Company had.

Han said many of the Military Parts Kiv had produced, were returned defective, and they had to return the money to the customers.

Han Chen said Kiv was ruining his good name, and Han Chen was responsible for money his Father's Bank had loaned the Company.

I was uncomfortable hearing this from the two of them as it appeared a breakup was coming.

It was after we had returned to Miami that I heard that PAAL had closed.

C.J. Lai told me that PAAL had manufactured 3 million dollars’ worth of the sighting devices for

Korea, which we had seen in their office.

Their intention was to ship the Taiwan made Sighting Devices to a friend in San Francisco where he would repackage them into “Made In USA” boxes and then re-ship them to Korea as a U.S. Made

products.

PAAL had neglected to apply for a U.S. Import License to bring Military parts into the States, and U.S. Customs had confiscated the whole shipment.

Lai didn't know if Han Chen ever recovered the merchandise from U.S. Customs.

Lai said he had invested $80,000.00 in PAAL and now had no job or money.

He said Kiv offered him all the merchandise that he had stored in a warehouse.

Kiv thought this would compensate Lai.

Lai suspected that all the merchandise Kiv offered Lai was the defective Military Parts that had been returned to PAAL.

To help Lai, I asked him to send us samples of the items, and he did.

His suspicions were correct the parts were all defective.

Han Chen just faded away and never contacted us again. Someone said they thought he went to Australia.

Kiv Wang remained in the Military Business, but told me he was out of the parts business.

Kiv said making parts was bad business and there was more money to be made to move paper from the left side of your desk to the right side of your desk,

I will never forget this statement from Kiv. He was correct.

Kiv said he was going to become the Manufacturer’s Representative for Companies that wanted to sell to the Taiwan Government, and he would never have to make anything, just collect commissions.

I heard that Kiv did become the Representative for a Company in Ireland selling a Military Vehicle

to Taiwan. But we never discussed any of it.

We Met again with Kiv when he brought a friend to the States, and we were led to believe that the

friend was “Connected” with the Generals in the Taiwan Military.

Although Kiv never said it we assumed he was Taiwan mob connected.

Katherine took Kiv’s friend to several stores to buy a lot of expensive Estee Lauder compacts, which he said were gifts for the Generals wives.

We were a little unsure of what Kiv's involvement with his friend was, but we suspected that it

was not something we wanted to be involved with.

Kiv and his friend returned to Taiwan, and we continued to fax some inquiries to him.

But I found Kiv not to be enthusiastic, but he did advise us about items he had available from Viet Nam, but it started to become a waste of time sending him requests.

We remained friends with Kiv and on occasion he sent us requests for items not available to us.

We started to receive some inquiries from Singapore and Kiv said they were from his friend and partner named Ko Huat Bee.

Kiv said that he and Ko had a business and warehouse in Singapore, and Kiv said he also owned a

Condominium there.

Kiv said we should visit him in Singapore, and we thought it was a good idea.

In 1996 Katherine and I finally got to go to Singapore.

We had gone to Figi and New Zealand with our friends Neil and Ros Metcalf, and they returned

to Australia from New Zealand and we went on to Singapore.

Kiv had agreed to meet us in Singapore around December 25, and he did.

We met with Kiv in a big Shopping Plaza on Orchard Street in Singapore, he was with his Taiwan

connection friend that we thought was “Mob” related trouble.

Kiv's friend was a scrawny little guy with a black spot in one eye, but he had a very lovely wife who was out shopping for lots of expensive things in the Singapore shopping gallery.

While his wife was out shopping, Kiv’s friend showed us a wristwatch he had bought for his girlfriend back in Taiwan.

I will never forget that Kiv took us to a Hobby Shop in the Plaza which he said was his “favorite”.

It was really a good store which had lots of Military Models and kits.

We bought several for our model collection in our office in Miami.

We met Ko Haut Bee, Kiv's partner, who was driving a Mercedes Benz which we were told cost a

ton of money to import to Singapore.

Kiv said Ko Huat Bee came from a wealthy family, but preferred to fool around with Kiv rather than work in the Family Construction Business.

Kiv said that every time he came to Singapore he brought Ko a new shirt, otherwise Ko would never change the one he was wearing.

We went to Ko's office on the 5th floor of a very un-modern Singapore style office building.

His ceiling tiles were water stained like there had been some disaster above his desk.

When I went into his bathroom, it was just a hole in the concrete floor, with garden hose and spray

Nozzle all coiled up.

I told Katherine, better she waits to return to the Hotel if she needed a restroom

Kiv and Ko had a good size piece of property outside of town, where they were converting large trucks to hydraulic dump bodies to sell in Malaysia.

In their warehouse Kiv had a lot of used M41 6 Cylinder Tank engines all stacked up, so it appeared he was certainly doing something.

The next day Kiv took us to his Condo which was in a newer building on the outskirts of Singapore.

The Condo was nice but sparsely furnished and decorated.

Kiv pointed out that it even had a maids quarters built in.

Kiv said his wife Helen liked to come there, but Katherine and I doubted that she even knew it existed, the furnishings did not have a woman’s touch.

We went to lunch as a restaurant that served “Butter Crab”. Kiv said it was his “Favorite” and I

believe it is Katherine and my favorite also.

The following year Kiv said that the Taiwan Government needed 400 alternators for the M113 Personnel Carrier. The alternators sold for $550.00 ea. which came to $220,000.00 U.S..

We were reluctant to quote him, as it was a lot of money and we couldn't afford to ship on open account.

Especially knowing that Kiv and his friend were possibly doing underhanded business with the Taiwan Government. Business that we didn't want to get mixed up in.

We had produced the alternator for many people in the past and we knew Kiv would not have any

quality problems.

Reluctantly Kiv sent us payment of $220,000.00 and we shipped the alternators complete with papers in Chinese that Kiv had sent us to be included with each unit. .

After about 30 days Kiv called to tell us that all the alternators were rejected.

We had never had one of our alternators rejected before, and I suspected that Kiv and his friend had

done something to the wrong person and the rejection was politically motivated.

Either way Kiv was mad about it, and made it sound like it was our fault.

We had been worried about this very thing, knowing Kiv's possible underhanded dealing with his

buddy and Taiwan Government.

Several months later, our Friend C. J. Lai who formerly had worked for LIKW and then for Kiv, called us and said the Taiwan Government was again looking to buy the same alternators.

Lai had started a Company called QPS and was acting as our agent in Taiwan at the time.

He wanted us to make the alternators for him.

I told Lai that we had sold the same alternators to Kiv for $550.00 ea and he still had them.

I told him that Kiv said that all the alternators had been rejected, but I didn't for one minute believe it.

Lai said that he heard that Kiv's Mob friend and several Generals had been arrested. Do to corrupt

dealing. I didn't ask for details as it sounded plausible and explained the rejection Kiv had with our

merchandise.

I suggested that Lai go to Kiv, and buy back the alternators.

Lai called back and said he went to Kiv and paid him $500.00 for each piece and he was going to

ship them back to us for repackaging.

We received the alternators, changed the paperwork, retested them and repackaged them.

Lai said they were all accepted by the Taiwan Government, with no problems and he had already received payment

Kiv has never spoken to us again.

Over the years I have E mailed him some old pictures taken when we were all young and having a

good time in the Florida Keys. But no reply,

Finally in late 2008 Kiv asked for a quote on 1 Hummer Alternator for export to Taiwan.

We quoted him and he placed an order.

I was planning to ship to him on open account, hoping to re new our friendship.

I really missed Kiv.

When Katherine informed him we needed an end user certificate so we could apply for an export

license (which is required by law), we never heard from Kiv again.

You would think that Kiv had learned his lesson about shipping Military goods without a license,

but apparently he hasn't.

The loss of Kiv’s friendship was one of my greatest Business disappointments.