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ENTAGROUP Press Release – Archive
WHERE EAST MEETS WEST – 1999
Chinese specialists in traditional pagoda architecture came over to mastermind the building project which had to be completely authentic. "I went to China twice to get the right materials. The tiles came form one the oldest ceramics factories in the world, near Shanghai. There was no way I could find those kind of tiles here, the texture and finish is completely different. "I wanted a building that reminded me home but that was also contemporary and individual. My wife, Ruth, designed it,"said Jason Tsai, who grew up in rural Taiwan, the youngest son of an illiterate farmer.
"Despite my father's lack of education he was an expert in playing complex chinese musical instruments. He was an inspiration to me." The Gardens surrounding the Pagoda are dotted with wooden bridges, waterfalls and a lake filled with 280 Koi carp imported from Japan and Israel. Inside the building, visitors sit on ornately carved chairs made in Taiwan. But the beautifully textured and durable rosewood comes from Burma- the only place to get it., according to Mr Tsai. "A Dutch friend told me that in the workshop the carpenters have to collect all the dust from the rosewood and hand it in otherwise they are accused of stealing, it is so precious." Certainly this rosewood doesn't come cheap. A coffee-table and chairs costs £10,000. The wood is hand carved and seamless. Chinese furniture differs form British furniture in that there are nails or joints.
It appears to have been fashioned out of one enormous lump of wood. Hanging on the wallsare abstract and traditional paintings by Chinese and Taiwanese artists, some of whom are sponsored during their studies by Mr Tsai. At 47, and a multi-millionaire, Jason Tsai can afford to sit back on one of his beautiful chairs and relax, buthe doesn't. Phones ring constantly from different parts of the room on one of the six different numbers he gives out to ensure he is always contactable. His company, Enta Technologies, is one of the UK's leading suppliers of computers and office equipment. Electrical giant Dixon's is Enta's main customer and the best-selling product is a notebook PC.
Turnover this year soared to ?00 million- not a bad result for a firm which started off in the Tsai family garage in November 1990 after Jason Tsai left Tatsung. He gave up a high-flying job at the Taiwanese computer maker where he was UK director of marketing after spotting a gap in the market for computer components. The firm then started assemblingits own computers from imported parts and quickly expanded. Ironically, the business flourished in the recession of the early 90's. "In times of recession people think cheap. They didn't want to buy expensive IBM computers. We were able to supply them with much cheaper models from Taiwan. That's the reason we were so succssful so quickly. It's all about timing."
The father-of-two originally thought he would stay in Shropshire for only a short time when he arrived 18 years ago. "I didn't intend to stay long, just two or three years. It was a totally different culture and enviroment and know if my wife would be happpy. But then we settled down and realized we liked living here, we liked the people and the place. We lived in Bridgnorth for the first five years and then moved into Telford." Home now is a Georgian- style house, set in three acres, with two pagodas in the garden. The house doubles up as an entertainments complex with 170-inch screen cinema, Karaoke bar, swimming pool and snooker room to entertain guests. But although Mr Tsai claims to find time for leisure it is hard to be convinced given his punishing daily schedule. "I go to bed at 3am and get up at 6am. I have always been like that. I don't need much sleep. And I am a vegan. The problem with many people is they eat too much. I don't. Eating makes you sluggish , it makes you tired. I am very energetic. If i ate a lot i would have to use up my energy to digest the food." In fact, he once went 21 days without food while working in the factory to test his facilities. Jason Tsai passes around chocolates as he speaks but doesn't take one himself. "A typical meal for me is full of organic vegetables grown in my garden. The first thing I do every morning is to go in my garden to pick vegetables.
I spend much of my time doing chinese meditation. This is extremely important. " A regular fixure in his packed diary is his translantic visit to New York to see Yan Xin, a chinese doctor who specialies in Qigong, an ancient healing art combines gentle movements with deep breathing, self massage and meditation. In China, Yan Xin is feted as a miricle worker who can cure diseases and help people rise out of wheelchairs and walk. Whatever the extent of his powers may be, Jason Tsai is so impressed that he goes to New York every month to see him. He passes on the benifits of the art himself at weekly Qigong classes in the factory at the Telford Chinese school in Wellington which he set up three years ago to promote Taiwanese and Chinese culture.
The school teaches Cantonese and Manderin to children community in Telford and also provides classes in coookery, calligraphy and T'ai-Chi to anyone who intrested. "We're increasingly attracting the intrest of local people which is exactlywhat I hoped to achieve." It is now more than three years the pagoda that houses Enta's 100 workers was built and Jason Tsai looks out at his Taiwanese neighbours, Tatung, Mitac, forming a powerful line of foreign investment in Telford happy in the knowledge that he has been a key player in this manufacturing success story.
Shropshire Magazine
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