History in the making: Fast as lightning By Dr. ¥.T. Tsai and Daniel Poremba A question often asked is “what is a REGITAR, what does that word mean?” REGITAR in Chinese means “fast as lighting.” The first power nailers pro- duced by the Tsai family were said to operate “regitar” or “fast as lightning” and so the name was adopted as the brand name for their entire line of power tools manufactured in Taiwan. To acknowledge that heritage and distin- guish the business here in the United States from that of Taiwan, the Tsais chose REGITAR-USA. The origins of REGITAR actually date back to when it started out as a shoe manufacturer. Roughly 50 percent of all shoes exported to the USA were manu- factured from Y.T. Tsai’s father, I.H. Tsai, selling to retailers such as Bass, J.C. Penney and various stores on New York’s notable 42nd Street. Then through the years, as technology evolved, thanks to the help of Y-T. Tsai’s brother, Kim Tsai, the company went from a high-labor to a high-tech manufacturer shifting their focus from shoes to power tools and eventually to automotive electronics. REGITAR-USA, Inc. was founded in July, 1987, in Montgomery, Ala. by the principals Dr. Y.T. Tsai, president, and his wife Dr. C.L. Tsai, CFO. Both are graduates of the University of Texas at Austin. Y.T. Tsai received his doctorate in management information systems and his wife earned her doctorate in govern- ment. From 1987 to 2000, the company operated in Montgomery, supplying pro- prietary Mobiletron manufactured recti- fiers, diodes and regulators to Wetherill Associates and the Renard Company, competitors of Transpo. In 2000, REGITAR-USA outgrew its leased building and relocated to a newly constructed and purchased 25,000- square-foot building north of Mont- gomery, supplying tools and parts to its accounts. When the supply chain abruptly changed, the company began to supply rebuilders directly as REGITAR-USA. As requests from rebuilders grew for faster and faster delivery the company sought out regional authorized stocking distributors in the USA, which now num- ber 10 in the USA, and one in Canada. In 2005, with the increased demand for products and the need for additional room, the building was expanded by 25,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet and now included multiple loading docks for shipping and receiving to move prod- uct. Despite being only 50,000 square feet, there is ample space as the ware- house is not a storage facility, inventory does not languish on shelves, it moves out to clients. In November of 2006, REGITAR- USA purchased and moved to Montgomery all working production equipment from Iota Engineering (earlier known as Ludwig), to build heavy-duty Delco and Leece Neville regulators when Iota decided automotive electronics no longer fit their core business. After a brief interruption in the supply of regulators in January 2007, product was again flowing and available. Today, with the world’s demand for all products dwindling and with many companies cutting back, laying off or closing, REGITAR-USA maintains a full staff with no cuts of any kind: growth as well as loyalty to employees is of bigger concern. Products currently available include automotive ignition such as ignition modules, ignition coils, D.I.S. modules, distributor caps, as well as various auto- motive sensors such as crankshaft and camshaft sensors, oxygen sensors and MAF sensors. For alternators, there are rectifiers, diodes, regulators and stators and some alternators. For starters, there are solenoids and switches and selected PMGR-type Ford starters and of course the new brand line of DuroFix Power Tools. While the first tools offered were branded REGITAR, a brand well-known in construction for nailers and tackers, this line has been expanded to all man- ners of cordless power tools in the new brand name of DuroFix and can be found at mass marketers and home improve- ment stores such as Costco, Lowes, Sears and others and is manufactured under the banner of the MORE Group which oper- ates as Mobiletron, having factories in Taiwan and China. The company also manufactures proprietary power tools and components for Black & Decker, Bosch, Craftsman, DeWalt, Kobalt, and Skil. The company patents several design innovations in these tools. The parent company, The MORE Group, is a publicly traded company listed on the Taiwan stock exchange. The branches included in the MORE Group are China, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, Brazil and Belgium. Recent awards and affiliations * Recipient of the “Ronald Regan Dr. Y.T. Tsai and his wife Dr. C.L. Tsai at their more recently expanded manufacturing facility in Montgomery, Ala.